Are kids as innocent as they used to be?

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...

Know your limits?

With the new year coming up, and people lecturing about how you should always know your limits, i was wondering when it comes down to consuming alcohol, to what detail can we actually know our limits?

So many factors go into how much drink we can all personally handle...
For example; how much we've eaten that day, how well we are, how tired we are, what we're drinking, what we're mixing etc. You don't always know when you've had too much, sometimes we do feel fine and hit some fresh air outside and we end up on our faces almost instantly! Where as sometimes we do gradually feel the effects of the alcohol getting too much and just stop.

I'm not going to lecture you on how much to drink etc, as tomorrow night I will be on my face, but it was just a thought I wondered if you all agree on? Do we really know our limits entirely?
Sure we find out what drinks we can't handle... I personally have to be careful with the sambuca!....always!

However, I'm sure you've noticed how one night you can drink loads and be sober as a tree, and some nights, it barely takes you anything and your friends have to carry you into a taxi!


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