IslandMix - Soca, Reggae, Zouk and Caribbean Entertainment

Ok i know this world is a cruel world, and children in urban environments are forced to encounter things they shouldnt see at an early age... But do yall think it is futile to try to shelter your kids too much... This question came to me after having a conversation with my neighbor who has a 12 year old son, in Junior Highschool mind you, but that kid is not allowed to listen to any radio station other than Radio Disney.. he can't watch any TV channel besides Disney, Cartoon Newtwork and Nickelodeon.. And his parents took him out of Public School and put him in Private School because the child thought the kids were too rough..
But the kid knows all the 50 Cent songs and talks every slang in the book when his parents not around..
Is there such a thing as being over protective and sheltering your kid too much?? does it serve any purpose... What do yall think??

i think that keeping your kids from some things is beneficial, but then as always, there is a limit. I don't think its good to take it to the extreme that they are not in touch with the outside world. Because one day, years later, they are going to leave the house, see the way it really is, and either not be able to deal with things as well as others, or go to the extreme and feel the need to do everything they weren't allowed.

I can remember as a kid listening to rap, (which doesn't have half the lyrics as it has today) and my mother bein like 'do you know what they are saying?' and really explaining it and why it wasn't always something positive. But she never restricted us from
listening. she left that to us.

Granted its hard to raise kids, I would think the better approach is to let them be exposed to these things, but explain to them the difference between good/bad, right and wrong.

times r crazy, but although i'm not a parent i can c where parents/guardians r being over-protective w/ their children. it is true they can block or keep their children away from the 'not so good' of the world, however, unless joining a monastery they will be exposed 2 it eventually.

to me, i believe the best thing is to be very open with the child. in the caribbean i think it's referred to as being 'a love child'. this is when the child is raised being told the truth about everything and being 100% open w/ them on every issue regardless subject matter.

in all i believe it is possible 2 be over protective and it will work on many youth's, but it is dependent upon the child's environment, peer's and rebellion factor.

salt

My wife and I realized very early on that you cannot shelter kids. It is part of their educational process. We allow our daughter to listen to whatever she wants to and view with certain restrictions what she wants to see. The difference is that we talk with her about everything. With her, there is little to no hiding as we are open and she knows she can talk with us. We feel we have the advantage with this approach as we are aware of what she is doing.
You cannot hide kids from the world. It is best to let them experience most things. We just have to be parents and guide them through life.
D Bad Lad

Yes there are some things that you must sheild a child from, but there is ah limit.Someday de child have to enter de cruel world by him /her self and if they are not accustom to it they will not last a day.
When yuh try to shield ah child from all de bad ting s out there yuh just making things worse for de child. If de child ain`t come out to be spoil, haugty or just lost, bet yuh bottom dollar de child will be doing de worst things when yuh turn yuh back.