Kids Without Parental Controls

We got satellite TV recently. Before you start congratulating us, you should know we have intentionally been without satellite/cable for almost 4 years. During that time, our TV experience was exclusively streamed service via the internet. Our primary service was Netflix, and loved every minute of it. 

We controlled what our kids watched. 

We didn’t watch commercials. 

We could watch entire seasons of a show. 

It got to the point where when our kids went over to friends’ houses that didn’t have streaming services, they ended up saying things like, “oh, you have to watch commercials…” It was awesome.

Unfortunately, our new house is considered “in the middle of nowhere” by most, including all local cable subscribers and high speed internet providers. Therefore, we got satellite TV with internet.

Probably the most interesting thing I have found so far with the service we got was the parental controls. You type in a code that locks out all the adult channels, provides limits on TV time, sets up access to kids only channels, and a plethora of other features. And that got me thinking……

I don’t want parental controls. What I want is for my children to not even want to do things that parental controls limit. 

I want them to not want to watch porn.

I want them to limit their own TV time. 

I want them to turn the channel when they see things they know are inappropriate.

For that matter, I want them to walk away when the conversation goes sour. 

I want them to stand up for the guy who is getting made fun of in the youth group. 

I want my daughter to call me to come pick her up when her date is being inappropriate.

And that is hard as a parent. Its exhausting. Why? Because you have to give up the things you want to do, and get to KNOW them. We have to do things they want to do. We have to put down our phones, A LOT, look them in the eye, and listen to them. Talk to them. Make them answer us. Tell them what is right. Over and over and over. Understand how and why God brought them into this world and point them in that direction, instead of trying to make carbon copies of ourselves. 

I want a child who doesn’t need parental controls to make wise decisions, to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves, and to say no when the time comes.