Good job Netflix! You "Saved the Children!"

You cancelled Netflix! You Saved the Children. You really showed Netflix! But what about the children…what did you do to really save the children other than a hashtag?

I watched the show Cuties because I wanted to see what the teens in the youth group might see and what I saw was more than a subscription that needed to be cancelled. I saw something that is happening right in our faces in so many homes and nobody seemed to notice until Netflix made a film about it.

Cuties showed me an 11-year old girl who often took on the role as a parent to her younger brother and had a father that was cheating on her mother (his wife) and he was going to marry a 2nd wife. I saw this child find an outlet from her current feelings and situations in a group of other 11-year-old girls that gave her attention and made her feel included. This child stole a phone (she was not given one) so she could look at social media and take pictures of herself and friends. This child watched an X-rated video from the stolen phone and learned how to do sexual-like dance moves and poses and she taught her friends how to do these cool new moves because nobody was around to tell them otherwise. I saw these girls look at things and talk about things that an 11-year old should not even know about. I saw children dress in shorty shorts and midriff baring shirts because it got attention. I saw a child seemingly post a nude picture of her privates to show others that she was not a child. I saw children think that the number of likes they got on a social media post really mattered.

THIS IS OUR WORLD RIGHT NOW. THESE KINDS OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AND NOT JUST ON A NETFLIX MOVIE.

Children are being neglected.

Children are acting out because of the results of her parent’s actions.

Children are needing love, affection, attention, and affirmation and are seeking it from anywhere and anyone.

Parents are not paying attention to where their kids are going.

Parents are not paying attention to what their kids are watching on their computers, phones, and television.

Parents are not paying attention to their child’s friends.

Parents are not being parents.

Parents are not being role models.

As a parent or caregiver, you get to decide how to parent. As a parent, our first responsible is not to be the COOL parent and let your child make the decisions to do whatever, whenever and however they want. If you really want to #savethechildren, then …

Pay attention to your child and care for them.

Give your child your attention…. Undivided attention. Make time for your child.

Know that your actions as a parent can have an effect on your child and make wise choices yourself.

Pay attention to what your child is watching. Check their phones. Check their apps. Put restrictions in place to limit adult content if necessary.

Pay attention to your child’s friends and their parents and know that it is ok to say “no” to hanging around with bad influences.

Pay attention to where they are really going.

Give your them love and affection.

Make sure that your child knows that they do NOT have to dress or show off their privates for attention. The world (social media, music, movies, tv shows) will tell them they need to show their body and use their body to get what they want. They world will encourage them to do whatever they want…it is their body. You be the one to show and tell them differently.

Netflix should not have used children to “prove a point” of what is happening around our world. But I do hope that this show has awakened us to be the parent that we are supposed to be.

Children are a gift from God. As a parent, we should strive to be the best we can be to take care of the child that God has loaned to us. There are many people in this world that cannot have a child and would love the opportunity to be in your place. Being a good parent has nothing to do with money or circumstances or situations. It does not cost a thing to nurture, to give kind words, to be supportive, to be a positive role model, to pay attention, to care. At the end of the day, the choices that your child makes is their own. We aren’t perfect and we won’t always do parenting the right way. But as a parent, we need to make sure that we have put everything in place to help them make wise choices.

#savethechildren #cancelnetflix #cuties #netflix #parent #beaparent #beagoodparent #parent #children