Oh I am so with you! We were at the corner store and their Cosmo was next to the people mag under the counter pretty much right at eye level with DD. Next thing I know she is reading it....OUT LOUD! I am pretty sure it was Cosmo, all I remember her reading was Dirty S*x and then saying "hey that is Hillary Duff!".

Guess what happened when we got in the car. DD asked what "dirty s*x" was and if Hillary had said it. I so did not know how to handle that one!! LOL! I quickly said..."OH MY GOSH GUESS WHAT?!?!.....I looked into horse back riding lessons!" She forgot all about it. I agree with you. Those kinds of magazines need to be out of site. I must be a prude too!

Did you complain to management?

I think saying it's "practically porn" is being overly dramatic.

Agh! Those mags can be so icky! I also thought that those were required to have a cover on them. Maybe it only applies to the pictures? Hmmmm. I don't know what I would have done. 'Course, I have three boys, so that might get interesting in a few years...!

It is getting out of hand isn't it. I'm the Mom that won't even allow Bratz in my house. ;c)

I know we should probably take this to the conversation side but since we are OT..did anyone watch Supernanny last night? Gosh, the teen and preteen girls were so snotty and they were all over the internet talking to older MEN. I'm not ready for those years. God, help me!

I don't even know where the conversation side is...haha! I just needed to vent and no one is here but the shutter guys! :) I've watched SuperNanny before and gee, it made me feel so much better about how my kids act! Whenever I think it's hopeless, there's always supernanny to watch and make you feel better!

I really must be a prude. I'm sorry, but I do consider those specific words on the front a magazine to be quite pornographic. There were many other captions about how-to-do-what-to-who-and-where, leaving very little to any imagination. UGH.

I intend to talk to the manager next time I'm in there. Of course, it is Walmart...I may never find a manager!! :)

I just hate the unfairness of forcing our kids into s*xualization. Why can't we just go to the store without having to have "the talk" when we get back into the car??

Well you could also do the logical thing and tell them what it means. Would you rather them get the info from you or from their classmates or friends? I do not understand why we feel we need to hide our children from this stuff. Tell it like it is.

I glimsped my first porn when I was in 3rd grade at school as did most of our classmates. You will not hide this stuff from your kids. It is best they get the information from YOU and you can relate YOUR beliefs and core values. This goes for drugs, smoking, and drinking too.

If you try to "shield" your kids from it it just makes it taboo and they will do it behind your back. They will feel they need to hide what they know and do from you. The world is rough, get your children prepared so they know how to handle it. We should always have open and honest dialog with our children.

Some things are just hard to explain to children, and we shouldn't have to until we're ready. My son has read Popular Mechanics for some time, and the pages in the back are full of ads for 'male enhancement' products. How do you explain THAT to a kid? I don't even understand it!

you explain it how it is! If you do not thier friends, classmates, friends parents will and then you have no control over the conversation. If you explain it, at least you get the opportunity to insert your beliefs and values. You also are assured that they get the correct information.

Why is sex such a scary thing?

Nothing stopped me and my buddies from breaking into my dads playboy rags. Any questions we might have had weren't going to be directed to the "folks". I think mikeyvon brings up a good point.

There is a big difference between talking to your children about sex in an age appropriate and honest way and having to explain what "dirty sex" is. We as parents should be the ones who get to decide what our children are ready for and what is inappropriate for them. And IMO porn and talk of dirty sex is highly inappropriate given the ages being mentioned. And yes, I will sheild my children from things I deem as harmful, that's my job.

I totally agree armomto3boys. I have no intention of raising ignorant children. Indeed, they are naive about such things as "male enhancement", dirty sex, etc. Rarely do we watch network TV, simply because of the fact that there are no remaining boundaries in the media. We seem to keep our hand on the remote ready to "flip channels" if something inappropriate comes on. Which is OFTEN. As mikeyvon suggested, my girls know the facts that are appropriate for their age, and learned about them from me and I have taught them my beliefs and values.

But just as so many other things in this world have, the media has taken it out of the power of the parents to talk about such things when the time (if EVER!) is appropriate. There is not a darn thing wrong with sex. However, the magazine cover I saw had no taste, no boundaries, and no responsibility to little eyes who might see it.

yeah, but you will not be able to shield them from everything such as magazine covers, billboards, TV shows, classmates. You definately will not change the values of general society, so you need to perpare your children for it. I guess you can not have tv, keep your kids inside, and homeschool em.

You do not have to explain to them what dirty sex or male enhancement is, just that it is something that healthy adults do (or do not do depending on pruddness). What do you tell them when someone is loudly using off-color language?

Yes, yes...but what about McMansions? Shouldn't we really be defining anything over 3000 square feet as one?

and how about them dodgers!

The problem is that you can only "shield" so much. You can't decide when your child is going to be exposed to "age appropriate" material unless you lock them in the closet. However, you can relax and explain the world to them in an honest "age appropriate" manner.

Since we are so so OT I have a funny story. My friend has a five yo girl. her "v" had some redness and momma told her little girl that she was going to make a dr. appt. for her. The next day they went to the dentist and the little girl asked the dentist if she was going to check her "v."

And yes, the five yo little girl calls it her "v" and not the other silly names one gives to little kids genitals. And I'm censoring my post by calling it "v" out of respect for the more sensitive viewers!

LOL! My DD, who is 8 calls everything by the correct name as well. As from the age of 3. OK, since we are SO OT I have a story. We were at a restaruant, oh the steak place that has the peanuts you can eat. Well, DD was eating some and I asked for some peanuts from her. She then said in her loud 4 year old voice. "Hey! These are what daddy has!". The hostess was taking a drink right at that moment and laughed and spit it out everywhere! It was so funny! DH turned as red as an apple! LOL!

I agree with most of everything that has been stated. We have talked to our DD somewhat, I guess what *we* believe is age appropriate for her. I would never want to shield her from anything, although sometimes I sure wish I could but I know it would only do more harm then good. However, I was NOT prepared to talk about dirty s*x! LOL! I honestly would not even know how to go there with an 8 year old :-0

I didn't have to say anything, the owner was checking us out! He asked another worker to move them after he had a slight chuckle about it. He did say you have to cover the pictures, not the words. The picture of Hillary Duff was fine. It just happens that my DD wanted something to read! LOL!

I agree, we can't shield them from everything and we explain the best we can when things like the OP mentioned happens. But we can do our best and then come on boards and vent about it a little.

BTW, I have/do "homeschool em" :) (my oldest is now in public school) But don't worry, they aren't being held in the closet, they participate in all sorts of sports and other activities in the community and have lots of friends.
;)

sniggering at jasonmi7 . . .

superchick, you are not a prude for wanting to keep your child, a child and not have her talking and acting like an adult at age 5!! The problem with today's society is they forget that decency never goes out of style. That "she'll hear it from her friends" is an excuse by some not to parent, but rather let society parent for them

I have a neighbor who thought it was alright for her 13 yr. old to watch R rated movies that included language, sex, nudity. When he was 15 she also thought it was OK for him and his 15 year old girl friend to make a baby right there in her house, under her roof. Her ignorant philosphy is "well I'd rather have him do it here than somewhere else." How ignorant is that? Oh, forgot to mention he went to jail at 16 for selling drugs. Again, he was selling it on the sidewalk outside of her house. She and her husband knew it, but because he was doing it in front of the house, it was OK with them. When they carted him off to jail, she didn't think that was OK. I personally thought she should have served time for ruining his life.

So chick, you keep shielding your child as much as you can. Children are not allowed to be children. Adults think children are little adults and they are not. They are not emotionally able to handle "adult" subject matter and it only serves to confuse them.

Thank you so much, brutuses. You said exactly what was in my heart. It makes me physically ill to think of young ones like your neighbor KNOWING about such adult things. It's just so sad. I've known many children, some relatives, allowed to see/hear/do things that only adults should. That didn't mean they didn't grow up to be great people in spite of the fact, but I strongly believe they were robbed of a great innocence.

Why isn't this thread shut down and moved to the 'Marriages' forum???

WOW!!! You don't see this topic around here everyday!! LOL!! My children (9 and 11) just brought up the Jamie Spears/Zoey 101 topic yesterday!! How proud I am that those two sisters are from my state! HAHA I agree that parents should talk to their children, but parents should be able to CHOOSE the time and place... not standing in a Walmart check out line!

Okay, the point is that we don't live in a fantasy world where parents get to choose the time and the place. The reality is that you get smacked in the face with these situations and you have to deal with them as best you can. Children grow up well adjusted based on the way they are raised by their PARENTS. Not because they were shielded from the words "dirty sex" at Wal-Mart.

It's all well and good to talk about the way things SHOULD be or the way we WISH them to be but that's just not the way it IS.

{{gwi:1401841}}

ROFL. Miss LoveJoy (!).

Don't shop there, if it bothers you.

I'd just tell my kids that sex=fun+procreation+lots of potential problems. Dirty=a need to wash.

So easy. Why go all ballistic? They('ll) know all about sex already or soon anyways. The more the better. Less chance of an accidental, life-threatening STD and/or unwanted pregnancy.