Why do they put Wanted ads on during prime time TV?
Seriously?
Wanted is a fairly new program on Channel 10 that “works with the Australian public and police to help solve major crimes and bring offenders to justice.“ It’s basically Australia’s Most Wanted with a couple of words chopped off the front and added Sandra Sully.
The cases they’re discussing aren’t things like overdue library books or even grand scale espionage. Not even bank robberies or drug hauls – but murders. Chilling tales of unsolved murders of regular people like me or you.
But back to the advertising. And the fact that they talk about the cases they will be discussing later that night during prime time. Specifically during prime time shows that I am watching with my son. I’m looking at you Masterchef.
Little Pencil is 12. He’s robust and strong. He can watch the scariest of movies and read the most nail clenching of books. He can also distinguish between fact and fiction. He is 12 after all.
And while 12 might be old enough to distinguish between fact and fiction it’s still young enough to be scared shitless by real crime. He’s fine with the news. He watches with me and he understands more global issues than I did when I was his age. He even understands that there is crime and murder and rape. But on the news it is somehow quarantined. We know what we are watching and we can deal with it in more “global” terms.
Some of them are Anise, Chamomile, order free viagra Fennel, Ginger, Hawthorn, Oregano, Motherwort, Peppermint, Sage, St. Kamagra levitra without prescription robertrobb.com 100mg comes in 5 separate flavors. cialis generic no prescription Other selected happenings include the explorer Ed Stafford talking about becoming the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, Peter Snow presenting To War With Wellington, looking at the exploits of the Duke of Wellington. This is obviously very important purchase cheap viagra for people of the world.
We have had the “robbers” discussion more times than I care to admit and, even if this is not the best or most honest parenting technique, I have gone for the “it’s not going to happen to us” story mode. I point out where we live, the proximity to our neighbours, the dog that barks at passing pedestrians and of course the flashing red sensors in the corners of the rooms which are linked to an actual back to base alarm (you can take the girl out of South Africa but you can’t take South Africa out of the girl).
Recently there was a shooting in a suburb where there aren’t normally shootings. It wasn’t really that close to home but it wasn’t that far either. For nights after that we had to go through the same conversation. About bikies and gangs and how safe our house is and how we should never join a gang (or smoke or get tattoos) for fear of getting shot. Hey I’m the mum, I can use whatever tactic works at the time.
He’s really not a nervous child and if you had to meet him it would surprise you that he needs to talk this stuff out – although if you remember he talks EVERYTHING out (click here to read about that). He is a real “boy” who is not averse to a spot of violence in a movie, a boy who can shoot at enemies on a screen with no qualms and full understanding of the scenario. But deep under that he’s just a kid who’s scared of “real life crime”.
Every time a Wanted ad comes on I just know that we are going to be pulling it apart before bed that night. Dissecting it and discussing it and hauling out maps to show how far away we are from the crime scene. And while it’s well and good that he’s exposed to the news and to events that are taking place around him I’d like to have some control over what he’s being exposed to and at what time of night.
And if I had that control, I can guarantee you he would not be watching real life crime re-enactments.
Were you scared of “robbers” as a kid? Are your kids scared of them?
This is definitely a subject we touch on more frequently since we moved from Double Bay. We live in the suburb where the bikers were shot and one killed just recently, in fact only a few streets away.
Over the past 14 months there have been two separate incidents .
Our 11 yr old squirt was just getting used to riding his bike to the local park.
A few months ago after talking to a group of boys who also frequent the park, he explained to us with such serious conviction he could no longer step out of the house because of the gangs who sell drugs near by. In fact he would NOT go anywhere out of the house without us.
He was terrified. We argued that whilst unsavoury elements could be anywhere, this behavior would not be going on in the middle of the day surrounded by people enjoying the many amenities in the park.
Fortunately for squirt he befriended two Samoen brothers both slightly younger and 3 times larger.
As true friends do, they pick him up and drop him off without batting an eyelid ensuring that the skinny kid up the block comes to the park.
I love your 11 year old squirt. Wise, sensitive and warm.
We try to talk about things as they come up but I must share a moment you will understand & appreciate given the whole, ‘you can take the girl out of South Africa’ situation.
One morning in our last month in South Africa as we lined up in our car to swipe out of our gated community on our way to school, my son, 9 at the time, said ‘Mum I don’t want to move to Atlanta, in my book the Top 10 of everything it says Atlanta is in the top 10 of crime cities in the USA’
Apparently there was no top 10 for South Africa….
Oh Nikki that is classic. Out of the mouths of babes!
When I was a kid, we had this character terrorising the neighbourhood. His modus operandi was to strip naked, wrap his singlet around his head, and then jump out of the bushes and startle unsuspecting female passers by. The was quite a police presence in the area for some time. Our neighbourhood stripper was known as “The Naked Man”.
To cut a long story short, his reign of terror lasted around six months. When the police caught him, he committed suicide to avoid a prison sentence. For years I had this recurring dream that the Naked Man was chasing me along the railway bridge that bordered the local football oval. He always got close to catching me, but never actually caught me.
I always felt uneasy when I had no option but to walk through the oval.
What a hideous nightmare. And a sad story
On a completely different note I cannot tell you how happy I am to see your name here 🙂
Thank you for your warm welcome, Lana. I saw your comments on another site and decided to check out what you had over here. You have some interesting articles and it appears that people are free to give non-moderated opinions. Quite liberating ! Every success with the blog. I hope to become a regular part of your community. I look forward to stating my case on the odd occasion and having the opportunity to ask genuine questions when I feel the need to ask.
And I look forward to hearing more from you
Does anyone recall the days when a TV program would suddenly be interrupted for a police message ? It was short and sweet, something along the lines of “Anyone knowing the current whereabouts of Joe Bloggs, believed to be travelling in the area between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, please contact your local police station as the matter is urgent”.
When I was on baby sitting duty, I always locked the doors the moment that the adults vacated the premises. Should a police message happen to screen during the baby sitting period, my younger sister would instantly become hysterical and rush to see if I had indeed locked the doors. Once, she even insisted that I ring the police to see what Joe Bloggs was wanted for, he reasoning being that if the police were after him he had to have done something wrong. On this occasion the officer told me that Joe was wanted because he had to urgently contact his family.
Panic averted. Sister calmed down !
When I read this post I was reminded of a strategy my friend uses in her house. She works in advertising and is completely oversaturated with marketing in her life, so whenever she watches TV she hits the mute button the instant the ads come on.
You would think that it would be kind of annoying, but it’s amazing how quickly it becomes habit. In her family I’ve noticed that it generates conversation with her kids about the show they are watching rather than the products being advertised. She’s also explained to her kids that advertisements tell you what to think, and “that’s why we don’t watch them”.
I’ve started to do it myself because I seriously resent being yelled at in my own living room. It’s nice to have a conversation for a couple if minutes without having to talk over the ads.
It doesn’t tackle your problem head-on, but maybe it would help?
When the commercials come on, my wife channel surfs ! If we’re watching a recorded program she skims through the commercials to get back to the program as quickly as possible. We generally chatter during the program, tending to miss out on very little of the plot. I honestly don’t how we do this because I have trouble chewing gum and walking at the same time….or so she tells me ! 🙂
Brilliant idea – I like it!