LET CHILDREN BE CHILDREN
Childhood is a precious time; a time for developing all those innate abilities God gives to every child; a time for simplicity and for freedom to enjoy the world around in order to discover its many beauties and attractions. It is not a time to be put under pressure to become something different from what a child is. The Bible has harsh words to say about anyone, including a nation, that misuses children (Matthew 18:6). In the Old Testament Israel was threatened with punishment for their sins by the invasion of a fierce enemy. The mark of that enemy was the absence of any pity for children (Deuteronomy 28:50 & Isaiah 47:6).
The report this week, therefore, on the sexualisation of children is a further powerful censure on Britain and its current values and conduct. Dr. Linda Papadopoulos, the author of the report which was written for the Home Office, argues strongly that children are being harmed by exposure to sexual and violent images in the media, and parents have limited opportunities to prevent it. Many of us have been saying such things for a long time and have been ridiculed by those who make policy in these areas.
The report recommends that games consoles, mobile phones and some computers should be sold with parental controls already switched on thus allowing parents to filter automatically which on-demand services and on-line material their children may use. Dr. Papadopoulos also recommends that there should be a ban on “sexualised” music videos before the TV watershed and a ban on Jobcentres advertising positions in lap-dancing clubs and massage parlours. She also wants internet service providers to block access to pro-bulimia and pro-anorexia websites, and the creation of a website where parents can report any “irresponsible marketing” which they believe sexualises young children.
The impact of the celebrity culture, and especially the digital alteration of photographs, is highlighted, as is the commercial targeting of teenagers by clothing chains using provocative photo-shoots. The whole emphasis on young girls appearing to be “sexy” is challenged and shown to be very dangerous. Similarly there is criticism of the rise of teenage magazines which promote values that rob children of their childhood qualities.
Both political parties are examining these issues, and David Cameron has already indicated that the Conservatives would act against inappropriate advertising targeted at children. The Home Secretary has also indicated that the Government is ready to accept many of the recommendations of the report.
There is an irony in this because it all comes in the same week that Parliament agreed to remove the right of parents and children to be removed from sex education which diminishes moral values and marriage. The consciences of teenagers and parents will be overridden by doctrinaire insistence on the “equality and diversity” agenda which demands more liberal values. So voices have also been raised to question the rights of parents to be able to control what their children watch and read. You must draw the line at “eroding personal decision.” The damage wrong decisions make to a child is not as important, apparently as the right to make the decision. So there is an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases among young people, teenage pregnancies still are at unacceptable levels even for the Government, and violence among young people (with binge drinking) is a major problem. All of this is additionally exacerbated by the high rate of family breakdown. What a society our young people are being asked to grow up in!
The problem within our society is that with the loss of the Judeo-Christian framework a liberal and inevitably destructive relativising has become popular. The recommendations of Dr. Papadopoulos are to be welcomed but they fail to go to the root cause of the problem. Our whole society is “hypersexualised” as one commentator has observed. So “sex becomes the common currency through which adults make their way in the world and continually send a signal to children that sex is all that matters.” That has, of course, always been the case in godless societies down through the ages. God’s precious gift that enables a man and a woman to relate to each other in a unique and glorious way becomes perverted.
When we talk about Judeo-Christian values we are speaking about the teaching of the Bible. The critics of Christianity will immediately crow about the hypocrisy of the Victorian era, usually a very skewed representation of that particular culture. There was hypocrisy but there were also many good things in that society that our generation could learn from. A close look at the Puritan family would show what is good - loving parents, healthy and well-instructed children, and wholesome values. Of course, they are also usually misrepresented in popular literature and sadly also in schools.
What we are advocating, however, goes beyond what may or may not have been done in the past. We are advocating that the teachings of the Bible should be seriously considered once again: That they should be studied carefully and applied earnestly with God’s help. Then we would see happy and well-rounded children, contented homes and a society that was a fit place in which children might be brought up. God has shown us how people ought to behave and any departure from His values is bound to bring trouble and disaster. It is a simple and obvious message, but one few people will consider.