As some of you may have read, there has been a little uproar about the educational videos from the BBC, that are questionable when it comes to how appropriate they are for their audience.
I read that an M.P. wanted 'cinema style' ratings on these videos... After thinking about this, I wonder to myself why there isn't already a rating for these educational videos, based on how explicit they are.
With these kind of video's being shown in schools, I feel it is important for parents to know what materials are being shown to their kids.
It's fair enough having kids bring home letters from school saying they plan to show a BBC educational video, 'Living and Growing' explaining how it teaches and explains what is going to happen with their bodies etc as they approach and go through puberty. Like many people seeing that it's a 'BBC Educational video' with such a simple and clean name, you'd trust it would be appropriate for the audience it's catering for. People trust the BBC, they have a trusted reputation.... Why would we think the BBC would be showing inappropriate things to our kids?
This video in question contains;
-
an animated video of two cartoon characters making love and a computer-generated sequence showing a couple having sex, accompanied by a graphic explanation
-a child's voice over commenting on how they are 'Having fun'
-
footage of a naked man and woman, used to demonstrate the differences between the sexes,
-information about 'wet dreams' and masturbation,
-graphic diagrams of genitalia.
-penetration
-explanations of sexual feelings
-same-sex relationships
I'm only 10 years older than the audience this video has been made for, and I remember the education video I was shown in year 6 (Age 10/11). I learnt about periods, erections, and pubic hair. (More than likely also about how sperm fertilises an egg and the woman becomes pregnant) But I really don't remember that, meaning the emphasis was on periods and erections, as these are the matters at around age 10.
I do believe some of the areas covered in this BBC video that wasn't covered in the video I watched at that age needed to be put in. Such as sexual feelings and masturbation. A lot of kids do start masturbating at age 10 and 11, without actually knowing what they are doing. They are just acting on these sexual feelings which to them are weird. The same with 'wet dreams' if it can begin to happen at that age, then give them the education, tell them what it is.
However, creating a cartoon video of a couple actually having sex. Is it really that appropriate? Having a child's voice over saying how they are 'Having fun'? Have the BBC there, either consciously or sub-consciously just encouraged kids to have sex? Think about it, at that age, when one of your friends says, 'Oh that ride over there is fun' You want to go on that ride. 'Ooooh, this video game looks fun' You want to play it. If one of your friends in the playground came up to you and said 'Having sex is fun' after learning that it is fun, you can't deny that you would be a little more interested in what it is, or whether you'd enjoy doing it too etc. Telling kids that having sex is or looks 'fun' is going to encourage at least some of them to go and do it. Bad mistake BBC.
At age 9/10, I remember knowing there was a thing called sex, I wasn't quite sure what it was, but when my friend told me you did it naked I was confused as to why I would ever do anything naked with a boy. A little more innocent than some of today's 10 year olds.
But we do need to accept that kids are learning these things at a younger age, this video has had a massive range of responses, from 'The kids now need to learn all of this stuff' to the argument of childhood innocence and 'why are they learning things I didn't till I was married?'. Childhood innocence is not the same as it used to be, I'm only 19 and I'm shocked by some of the stuff younger kids know, I didn't learn some of the stuff some 10 year olds know until I was 14. They need to be taught the truths of the stories that go around their playground. They need the education about some stuff no-one would of taught us at that age. Kids are way too curious, they want to know what they don't. Sex is everywhere nowadays, on tv, in music videos etc.
Personally, I think I'm bang in the middle about it, they need the education on what is going on, what happens etc. But leave them a little innocence here, there are still limits.
Bring back the cartoon diagrams of a penis and vagina, and tell them sex is for when you old and starting a family.
Not make out sex is some kind of game that is 'fun.' And you wonder why so many young kids get pregnant...
This is an interesting point. In the Nordic countries and Holland I believe that they have a much lower teenage pregnancy rate than the UK because their sex education is very strong, but I believe that they don't say its "fun", they just talk about positives and negatives.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that overall the BBC do a good job but sometimes like this they are being too permissive and by saying its fun, may encourage kids to have sex at an earlier stage. (sound like a right old fuddy duddy!)
The BBC do do a good job, and they do have a really good reputation, but yes, i totally agree at times they can make a couple of stupid mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should have a strong sex education like other countries if it does lower the numbers of teenage pregnancy, but I wonder what reaction it would get from parents!
My 2 cents would boil down to this; Reproduction is among the most basic functions of life, a long with eating and breathing. It should be taught as such, at a basic level. The deeper and more emotional aspects of 'making love' should be left to an appropriate age group who have a better capability of understanding these additional layers of human emotional development. Children don't exhibit the same layers of emotional depth as young adults but the emotional side of sex was never touched in our school, at any age. The act in it's self, as a means to continue life, should hold no issues surrounding morality. We have, however, become somewhat detached from the 'function' of reproduction and become too entangled in the hedonistic side of sex. We don't even view sex primarily for it's function any more, it's something we get drunk and do at the weekend, it's something we judge all future relationships on, it envelops some peoples lives and ruins others. I don't really see educational institutions as anywhere to learn anything. At the 'school' level you are not taught to be a critical thinker, you are not taught to gather, collate, display and reference quality source material. You are taught nothing of law or legal, consumer, tenant, contractual rights and obligations. Global or personal finance never appeared on my curriculum. I'm sure leaving school able to drive would be more useful than my R.E, Art or Drama GCSE's. I digress, Sex should be taught as a reproductive process to children who are learning about reproduction in other mammals and should be taught as a deeper emotional process later on.
ReplyDelete