13 Million Reasons Why (Two Minute Talk Tip)
God has called you as the parent of your child to protect them. It can be difficult especially when it comes to the media your teen watches.
Luckily Emery Page, a Nurse, a Health Educator, and most importantly a Mom, discusses the movie "13 Reasons Why" and what discussions you should be having with your teen because of the movie.
Full Transcript Below:
I don't know about you, but I have gotten so many emails, articles to read, so many people telling me that as a mother of teens, I need to watch the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why".
Let me tell you, I don't think this is a bad thing. Actually, I think it's a really, really good thing, Netflix aside. The fact of the matter is, we do need to be watching what our teens are watching. A lot of times when I bring that up, people think it's about not trusting our teens, but the fact of the matter is, it's about protecting them. It's about actually knowing what's being presented to them, and then also looking and seeing if it works within the framework of what our family values are, our family beliefs are.
Again, it's not about not trusting your teens, but it is about protecting them. As your teens get older, without a doubt, they're going to want more freedoms. You know what? That's right. They should have more freedoms the older they get and the more mature they are. However, all freedom is really safest and best and healthiest when kept within a boundary. It's nothing wrong with knowing exactly what your teens are watching. You know what? Sit down and watch the show with them. If, by chance, your teen is like, "There's no way I'm going to watch that show with you", perhaps that's a red flag that they shouldn't be watching it in the first place.
Think about it this way. Would you ever allow your teen to go in the middle of New York City? Would you just drop them off, leave them there for the day, and then pick them up, and then not talk to them at all about what they experienced? Of course not. The same thing happens, though, if you allow your teens just carte blanche access to watch whatever they are. You don't know what kind of influences, what's coming at them.
Again, it is about giving them boundaries. It's about protecting them. There are 13 million reasons why we need to protect our kids. There's 13 million reasons why it's okay to know what your kids are watching, to know what your kids are being exposed to, but you know what? In the end, there's only one real reason why to do it. Because they're our kids and we love them.
Emery is a mother of 5 children, ranging in age from 8 to 22. She has been married for 23 years. She is a nurse and sexual health educator with a passion for teaching teens.