Early Sexual Activity in Children and Teens Linked to TV Viewing

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

17 Jun 2009 10:40 AM

How young is too young for sexual activity? In my house it was any time before marriage, but the reality is that teens and even children are sexual active way before they or their parents are ready. Some kids as young as nine years old are taking the initiative to experiment with sexual activity, although thankfully this isn't the norm. As scary as this is, it is important for parents to understand the various reasons behind early sexual activity.

A recent study at the Children's Hospital of Boston may offer at least one clue about early sexual activity and adolescence. Researchers studied and tracked children from the age of six to eighteen, monitoring their television habits and their sexual activity. For every hour that the youngest children watched adult-targeted content, their likelihood of engaging in early sexual activity increased by 33 percent!

The study showed that the younger children are when exposed to adult-theme content, then the younger they were when they became sexually active. The lead researcher of the study, Hernan Delgado, MD, was quoted as saying, "Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents. Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life."

We all know that television can influence children. They just don't have the brain development, maturity or life experience to be able filter content. Plus, children are geared for learning from their environment.

While most parents may not allow their young children to watch adult-targeted television on their own, how many times might a young child wander in when an adult is watching something that may not be completely appropriate? Also, I feel that inappropriate content may be hiding under the guise of children's or teen programing.

While many of my daughter's preschool set are bopping around as their favorite High School Musical character, I prefer that she emulate Dora the Explorer. My eight-year-old (today) enjoys Noggin or PBS. My kids are definitely less mature and less worldly than many of their peers, and for now, I prefer it that way. What do you think?

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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thequeenofthecastle (413) 19 Jun 2009 07:00 AM

Amen! I am so disheartened by some of the mature and inappropriate themes that sneak into even the "kid" shows on television. Without sounding like a conspiracy theory paranoid parent, I believe this is actually intentional in many cases. From a marketing perspective the sooner that marketing groups can push our children prematurely into adolescence, the sooner they can remove us from the picture and have full access to our children to sell them products. The insecurity and vanity of the teen years are a perfect marketing tool and the parental voice of reason stands in the way of making our children into some of the best consumers out there. My father has a masters in education and is currently a teacher as a prestigious private school. I say that to say I trust his judgement. He recently mentioned the book "Consumed" by BR Barber, to me. I have yet to read it, but it sounds very interesting on the subject.

thequeenofthecastle (413) 19 Jun 2009 07:17 AM

* correction - I told you the wrong book. I started looking closer at it and that was not the right one. The book my father mentioned was Consuming Kids by Susan Linn. I think that's the correct one. Sorry about that.

LarryJameson (101) 30 Jun 2009 01:50 AM

The lead researcher of the study, Hernan Delgado, MD, was quoted as saying, "Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents. Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life."

Parents need to have a continuing discussion with their children about these matters. We, as a nation, don't talk about sex. In most cases, we're not qualified to talk about it. But we are able to talk to our kids about anything and everything.

I remember my father coming to me and saying, "I don't know much about this because of my early life." He lived in an orphanage, then with an uncle before joining the Marines. He gave me a book, The Illustrated Guide to Sex (or something like that), told me to read it, and then we'd discuss it.

I also remember a phone call from my son. "Dad, Donna wants to get married. Got time to talk?"

All of us need to learn to communicate.