MTV "Music" Video Awards, Pop Culture, and How Raising Kids is Made More Difficult

Raising kids has never been easy, I know. My grandpa was the youngest of nine and his mother died when he was around 14, and I imagine his father (who, by all accounts, was one mean old cuss) had a difficult time. Heck, I imagine his mother did, too! He grew up in the depression ("Them was hard times," Grandpa likes to remind us) and had nothing but the clothes on his back and food that he either grew or killed himself.

My mom is one of four, as is my dad. All of my grandparents were working class folks who earned their livings the hard way. My parents are working class people, too, and I'm proud of their efforts in raising me and all they did and sacrificed for my sister and I. 

My kids are 11 and 6, respectively. Our daughter is entering sixth grade and is at an extremely impressionable age, and the little guy is like a sponge who soaks up everything around him. These ages are good because, as parents who are doing their best to raise our kids to be law-abiding, moral, thoughtful contributing members of society, they're each at an age where learning comes natural and we can really begin to instill decent values in them. 

It's a struggle now, though, perhaps more so than ever. I wasn't aware of it at the time but MTV held its annual VMA show sometime in the last week. This was the host, someone that claims to be "pansexual" (whatever that is), and who wants to be a role model for young girls to look up to:

This is not sexy, it's not classy, and it's certainly not for anyone under the age of 16. It's trashy, plain & simple. This spoiled brat looks and acts like a two-dollar hooker whose level of intelligence is bested by the average gutter rat and whose outfit came from a Halloween store. This, my friends, serves as the antithesis of what I want my daughter to be. I have no doubt she will be a raging success at whatever she wants to do. She will achieve this through creativity, intelligence, and a good work ethic, not by selling her body to the highest possible bidder. 

In a world filled with Miley Cyrus, the Kardashions, Nicki Minaj, and a host of other women whose public personas are deplorable - all the while being made into "role models" by the mainstream media and some highly paid advertising agents - it's difficult to explain to kids. The best we can do as parents is not to deny that this kind of stupidity exists, but rather limit our childrens' exposure to it. We must explain to them that just because something is popular doesn't make it acceptable or good.

Thankfully, there are plenty of talented, intelligent people to serve as role models for our kids. Musicians (not the kind you'll find on MTV), athletes, scientists, entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and even the everyday person can serve as someone kids can look up to. I will use my wife as an example: she is fiercely intelligent and works in the non-fiction section of our town's library. She dedicates her entire being to her children, she's a youth group leader at our church, she's well-spoken and her values are unquestionably positive. She is the kind of person I want for my children to turn in to. 

So don't worry: if you take a moment or two to look past the sleaze and stupidity of MTV, tabloid gossip rags, and what passes for pop music today, there's still plenty of hope for our kids. I'm certain of it.