Parents can be the best media watchdogs

A Colorado middle school has recently banned "jelly bracelets" from being worn at school, according to The New York Times. School officials overheard conversations in the hallways that the bracelets have sexual connotations. Each color of the bracelets stands for a particular sexual activity and how far the wearer is willing to go - gross. While the rumors about this sex game are probably true, I do not think the school has the right to ban the bracelets. But the school should find a way to approach the issue without targeting every boy or girl that has worn these popular bracelets.

The school's principal sent an e-mail to parents explaining the situation. From this point on, the issue has been passed on to the parents, who should now take full responsibility for their children's actions. The school cannot stop kids from engaging in sexual activity; it also cannot judge all students on the same playing field. It is the parents' job to watch their children and notice what gross little games they are playing with their friends. They are only in middle school - they can't drive and can't get anywhere by themselves. Parents should be able to control their children, especially while they are at such a young age. Just imagine what these kids will be doing once they get to high school.

More and more high school kids are having sex these days and either their parents do not know, do not care or are afraid to approach the issue. And of course, everyone in high school thinks everyone else is doing it. If you turn on MTV or even ABC Family, they will make it look like everyone is doing it and it is acceptable. High school kids should be able to watch a show on television without getting permission from mommy. But television shows these days are portraying sex-crazed 16-year-olds who can do it with anyone and even get pregnant - and guess what? It's all OK! Again, gross.

Shows like the "Secret Life of the American Teenager" and MTV's "16 and Pregnant" make it seem perfectly OK for girls to have babies and for everyone to have sex with everyone else. In "The Secret Life," the main character has a baby at 15, and everyone seems to accept it. Although it was a shock at first, everyone warmed up to the idea and had fun with it. Childbirth at 15 does not sound fun to me. Even though everyone else in the show is having sex with each other, thankfully no one else gets pregnant.

I like to think that MTV's "16 and Pregnant" is supposed to deter girls from having babies, but it does a terrible job. While some have trashy families or worthless boyfriends, for others pregnancy is glamorized. Seriously, one girl looked better giving birth than I do on a typical day. But all this show succeeds in doing is showing girls how fun it would be to play house with their boyfriends and new little doll. It does mention how hard it might be, but that's what the new grandmas are for.

With influences like this, what are kids supposed to think, especially at 12 or 13 years old? It's no wonder some are playing sex games in middle school. We can't stop the media's portrayal of high school kids, but parents can certainly affect their children's actions - they should at least be trying. This is really something to think about ourselves while representing a college-aged person - since we really are all just bigger kids. People will judge all of us just by the actions of a few, and that's not fair. It's also not fair for the other children in this poor middle school who just wanted to wear a few cute bracelets.