Too torpescent to title this thread...

[Oversoul]

I was eating some pizza with my mother, and there was a commercial she was watching on TV. I am pretty sure it was on PAX networks (because her television didn't have any other channels the last time I checked) which I've always detested, but that's another story.

I was eating at a table and couldn't see the screen, but I caught the gist of the commercial. It was a father and teenage son having a conversation. The kid wanted to go to some party, but the father wouldn't let him, because there would be no parents at the party. Of course, the commercial was about protecting your children from drugs.

To begin with, I think that's bad simply because it sends a message that the people who provide teenagers with drugs are other teenagers. I'm sure that's true a lot of the time, but it would be completely stupid to assume that it's always the case.

But I was not thinking of that at the time. After hearing the commercial (and after the amusement from the teenager in the commercial using the word "bogus" faded) I was just thinking that the scenario it presented sounded like horrible parenting.

THAT is what they recommend doing to keep your kids away from drugs? I mean, exercising some judgement about what parties you let them go to might be a good idea, but I think there are more important things to worry about. It seemed like the whole idea was, "your own children are your enemies who will attempt to thwart you whenever possible."

Judging from how the conversation in the commercial sounded, I would put the boy's age at between 14 and 17. If he's that old, and his cognitive abilities have not already been stripped by drugs because his parents suck, what's he's going to read into his father's words is, "You are not worthy of my trust. If you have any opportunity to use drugs, you will take it."

This commercial really did make it sound as though maybe not letting the kid go to that party might be a good idea. But there is this thing called tact. If you have any actual relationship with your children, instead of sitting around and watching PAX all day, it shouldn't be all that difficult to exercise.

My mother disagreed with me on this. I was too busy talking myself to listen to her (I hate it when other people do that, but I do it myself because I'm a hypocrite), but she looked at it as a "deterrent" or something to that effect.

Anyway, I don't have children myself. The thought actually scares me. But I wondered what those who actually have children might think about the subject.

Also, the commercial reminded me of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, entirely because the son used a a bit of 80's slang. I found this amusing...

 

[Spiderman]

I imagine that this is just ONE example to try to keep your kids from drugs. Obviously if they're determined, they're going to find it somewhere. But even if you raised your kids "right", they still need reinforcing - one talk isn't going to do it.

I assume we're talking about all drugs, although in that kind of setting, I would view alchohol as more the drug being prevented than anything else.

 

[Killer Joe]

Yeah, my mother 'trusted' me and what it meant to me was a big ticket to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and without having to get her permission.

Are ALL people like that? No. But I am a firm believer that, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I'll be asking many questions from my two girls when they come of age. They have to earn my 'trust' it's not a commodity for cheap.

Lastly, I am an involved parent and my girls know that I am thier parent not their 'best friend'.

 

[Oversoul]

I imagine that this is just ONE example to try to keep your kids from drugs.

I don't think the point of the commercial was to suggest that it was the only example of a way to keep your kids from drugs, so I imagine the same thing. What ticked me off about it was that it created a scenario in which the parent is a ruthless policeman using authority to shield the child from from all things of the outside world without any explanation or consideration for the child as a thinking entity. My own father didn't treat me this way too much. I think he probably treated my younger brother (15 years old) that way, and he recently ran off, apparently...

 

[Spiderman]

I'd have to see the commercial but if the boy was at the younger age of 14-15, and by your earlier description of they were just having a "conversation", I'd say generally there isn't room for explanation by the end. "If there's no parents at the party, you're not going, and that's the rule. If you want to go to a party, find one where the parents are going to be home."

But in real life, it all depends on the relationship of the parent and child. Which a commercial can't really go into in a 30 second spot...

 

[DarthFerret]

I actually have seen that commercial (they play it on other stations too, I have the same opinion as Oversoul on the PAX channel). The boy seemed to be just under the legal driving age, and it was more like a plot by him and his friend to definately get together and use illegal substances.

That being said, I do have 2 children, but they are not quite of the age to start using drugs. (7 and 5 yrs old) I believe in having the trust of yoru children, and in keeping that trust, you need to exhibit trust in them, but that only goes so far. There are things that parents need to take strict action on. Back when I was in my teens, illegal drug use meant going into the woods to smoke a lil weed, or maybe eat a few shrooms. Anything harder was generally deemed as "pretty oinking crazy", at least by the people I hung out with. Now though, with metal detectors in schools, and drive by shootings on a daily basis, society as a whole has degenerated, so that if a parent does not take a strict policy in certain areas, kids are liable to end up in jail, or even dead.

The commercial, I think, was designed specifically to make a point to parents to take a keen intrest in what thier child is doing, and to make sure that parental boundries are respected. I do not believe it was meant to show a parent being calous and mean, and if this is what someone takes from it, maybe it should have been constructed a bit better. But as Spiderman said, there is only so much that can be done in a 30 second time allotment.

Although, it does bear saying, that the money used to put that commercial on Television would probably be better speant in the fight against drugs itself. There are enough Anit-Drug programs in High School (and from what I gather, the lower grades as well) that awareness is not as much of a problem now as it was 20 yrs ago. But that would be a whole other topic, and a whole other debate.

That is it, I am climbing down from my soapbox now...

 

[Oversoul]

The commercial, I think, was designed specifically to make a point to parents to take a keen intrest in what thier child is doing, and to make sure that parental boundries are respected. I do not believe it was meant to show a parent being calous and mean, and if this is what someone takes from it, maybe it should have been constructed a bit better. But as Spiderman said, there is only so much that can be done in a 30 second time allotment.

That's probably an accurate assessment. I probably missed the first several seconds of hearing the commercial (and I didn't see the screen either) and overreacted thinking that it had less of a point than it did.

Although, it does bear saying, that the money used to put that commercial on Television would probably be better speant in the fight against drugs itself. There are enough Anit-Drug programs in High School (and from what I gather, the lower grades as well) that awareness is not as much of a problem now as it was 20 yrs ago. But that would be a whole other topic, and a whole other debate.

Well, that's another issue...and probably a much more serious one than a commercial (especially a commercial targeted toward parents, who are HOPEFULLY going to actually think for themselves more than children would). I am young enough that I was able to experience the DARE program firsthand. I know now that some of the things taught in that program (undoubtedly, the program varies in other districts, and has changed over time) were, to put it bluntly, lies. Of course, I don't believe that there is any perfect solution that will make everyone happy. But the program I experienced was inadequate at best and possibly detrimental...

 

[DarthFerret]

I am young enough that I was able to experience the DARE program firsthand. I know now that some of the things taught in that program (undoubtedly, the program varies in other districts, and has changed over time) were, to put it bluntly, lies. Of course, I don't believe that there is any perfect solution that will make everyone happy. But the program I experienced was inadequate at best and possibly detrimental...

I agree that with the limited funding that those programs recieve, they are more than likely not suberbly adequate. My point was geared more to the fact that at least there is awareness out there now. I would say that 99% of the American public over the age of 10 knows that drugs are illegal and that they are not a positive thing. Back when I was in High School, The number was probably (this is just a guess ) closer to 65% or even less. While awareness may not be as encompassing as it probably should, it has grown by leaps and bounds in the 13 years since I was experiencing. If the trend continues, and if the money is allocated halfway intelligently, the amount of awareness will only grow.

Think back to 30 years ago. People back then hardly gave smoking a cigarette a second thought. There was a rumor that it was habit forming, but it was not a widely circulated idea. There was a rumor that it caused cancer, but not many people knew of that, let alone believed it. Now look at our society today. Everyone knows that it is a bad thing, and that it helps cause cancer. I am not saying that it is a true deterrent (Heck I smoke, despite what I know it can do to me) but the awareness is there and there are regulations being put in place to protect others from that danger.

This is not to say that I approve of having non-smoking restaurants or bars be a mandatory state regulated thing. But I do agree that Hospital grounds, or assisted living centers be non-smoking due to the invasive nature of the carcinogens in an atmosphere that needs to be moderated (such as oxygen use).

But I am digressing. On the whole, I believe that there is more awareness now than 10 years ago, yet society seems to be spiraling downward. What causes this, I cannot say.

 

[Spiderman]

I think the awareness has to be reinforced however, for the "next generation" coming up. I remember reading that the number of AIDS cases is increasing after decreasing for most of the 90's, of which a lot is attributed to the ceasing of AIDS Awareness programs. Same thing with teenagers smoking the various drugs; numbers are going up after decreasing in the late 80's and 90's.

I think general awareness is good, if nothing else than to stop useless lawsuits that claim that the person "didn't know" it was bad for them, but I think in practice, you still need active programs to continually reinforce the message.