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High School Musical 2

Last Saturday, Focus on the Family was on the radio with thier weekend roundup show. It's sort of a summary from the week with little snippets. One of the snippets was actually on High School Musical and what a great positive influence it is. I was very skeptical.

So many young girls (ages 5-10) are big into Hannah Montana, iCarly, and High School Musical. It's so hugely commercialized. I feel like I see it everywhere--and then to hear about it from Focus on the Family. Wow!

I actually didn't get to hear what they had to say, but it made me curious and determined to make up my mind for myself what I think about the High School Musical craze. From my Netflix this week, I got High School Musical 2.

It was indeed pretty wholesome. I can't remember any language and aside from Sharpei's very revealing outfits, there wasn't any other barely clad bodies. The message was that friends are more important than everything else--I think. It made me realize how out of touch I am with fashion. It surprises me what is considered wholesome dress nowadays. All in all, I can't say that I have any huge objections--minus one very big one.

Is it age appropriate for the little girls viewing it? It definitely is appropriate for middle schoolers and high schoolers (though I think it might be too Junior Highish for them). But, do 3rd and 4th graders really need to be focused on dating and having a boyfriend and the cutest boy in school? Do they need any more encouragement in that direction than is naturally already in school.

A friend of mine used to teach 5th grade in Colorado. It was part of her curriculum to teach Sex Education. She had to push to get the okay to teach abstinence. It's so hard to believe, but true. This is what truly happened to a friend of mine. After teaching her class one day, one of the little girls said that she wished her cousin had heard that lesson before she got pregnant (as a 7th grader). And another little boy came to tell her that two children in the other 5th grade class had had sex.

I know that sex is a far cry from dating. They're truly very far apart. But, my point is, are our kids being exposed to things too young--whether it's dating or sex? Are we letting them be kids and are we even helping them stay kids? Or are we allowing the culture to send them on a wave that's going to crash very quickly onto the shore.

I'm thankful my friend had the courage to speak to her students about what they were already being exposed to. But, is it possible to stave off that exposure until they're a little older? I don't know the answer to this one.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I too enjoyed high school musical but had some of the same doubts about dating. I watched it with a friend's family and saw their little 8 year old girl's face when some of the more "romantic" scenes came up. I don't think that little girls need to think that this is what dating is all about. So... I'm beginning to wrestle with all of these standards with the baby on the way. Maybe we'll just never watch tv or movies and just read books!
Michelle
November 7, 2008 at 11:56 AM
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