Children learn values at young age
You've all seen them. The graphic tees that have kitschy phrases like "Spoiled Brat" and "It's all about me" plastered across the chests of children as young as two and three are hard to miss.
Now I get it, it's supposed to be cute, even funny – but to me it's just further proof of the increasingly selfish consciousness in America and across the globe. In a society that is all about looking out for ourselves before our friends, family and neighbors, it makes me wonder what the world will be like in the coming years.
Just a few weeks ago, I turned on the news to see an older man run over by a car, with not one single person stopping to help him. There were people walking across the street that didn't look twice at the horrific sight before them.
Some states have gone so far as to create Good Samaritan laws to try and curb this growing problem. What has the world come to when we have to create a law to force people into helping someone in need? The world isn't all bad, I'm sure of this. But future generations will never begin to start taking their civic responsibilities seriously if we don't stop glamorizing selfishness or teaching kids that it's okay to act with such disregard for other people.
Though T-shirts with obnoxious slogans certainly aren't the source of our societal woes, whether we like it or not, they do impact children who will eventually grow up and carry the things they learned [and maybe even wore] into their adulthood.
As a daycare worker this summer, I've learned more than I ever thought I would about not only kids, but the messages sent to them through the media on a daily basis. It's as if toy companies are intentionally preparing youth to have no respect for others around them. Take the Grand Theft Auto video games, for example. The entertainment industry is essentially making it "cool" to steal cars and rob people at gunpoint. I won't try to argue that video game violence will translate into real-life actions, but why take the risk?
An equally important concept to take into account is that we must raise our children to respect themselves before they will do the same for others. How can we expect them to care about anyone else when we have taught them since birth that they are not worth anything? Young girls especially have a difficult time learning self-respect.
One online game, Miss Bimbo, is marketed as a "virtual fashion game," but it's far from that. Getting points for a boob job, finding a rich man, or losing weight, is hardly something I want my little girl playing.
The products geared toward girls are simply irresponsible and inappropriate. Has anyone seen Barbie or her sassy friend Skipper lately? They look as if they have just walked off the set of a 50 Cent video. Today's dolls are donned in risqué, low-cut blouses, barely-there skirts, hooker heels and heavy makeup. It's a look fit for the likes of Paris Hilton and Jenna Jameson – not a first grader.
I realize that just because kids play with skimpy dolls doesn't mean that they will become "Girls Gone Wild" stars, but I am saying that in a society lacking decent role models as it is, this doesn't help.
In order to prevent our children from continuing on this path of self-righteousness, we must start acting now. Enough with the ridiculously immoral games, movies and entertainment – it's time to start teaching them the meaning of integrity before it's too late.
Samantha Williams
14 July 2008