How to handle Tim Tebow Superbowl ad?

[Anonymous]

I hate the ED ads too! But at least it is easier to distract the kids during those commercials. My sports-crazed son is sure to focus on Tim Tebow. Some old guy golfing (etc.) is much less interesting. Although they have commented about the two bath tub ads for Cialis.

[Anonymous]

penguinsix wrote:How are you going to handle all the erectile dysfunction ads?

Funny!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

penguinsix wrote:How are you going to handle all the erectile dysfunction ads?

Funny!!!

The really awkward ones for me with my DD8 and especially DS14 are the stupid KY ads for the You + Me gels. The rockets and being in the bedroom talking about how great hubby is when she uses the gel - - - fireworks. Oh, they definitely 'get it'....

[Anonymous]

How are you going to handle all the erectile dysfunction ads?

OMG! Last time we caught one of those ads, the voiceover at the end said "So ask your doctor if Viagra is right for you" and my 7-yr old DS turned to me, looking very concerned, and asked "Mommy, has Daddy asked his doctor if Viagra is right for him??"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

How are you going to handle all the erectile dysfunction ads?

OMG! Last time we caught one of those ads, the voiceover at the end said "So ask your doctor if Viagra is right for you" and my 7-yr old DS turned to me, looking very concerned, and asked "Mommy, has Daddy asked his doctor if Viagra is right for him??"

ROFL.

[Anonymous]

Unless Hannah Montana will be playing in the background what 7 or 9 year old would want to have a discussion about abortion?

[Anonymous]

Gosh, if you can't explain your position to your children, did it ever occur to you that perhaps your should revisit your position, or that maybe it's a little more complicated than you thought?

My kids have known what abortion is since they were around 5 or 6, just as they have known about war, death, sexuality, and homosexuality in age appropriate ways in response to questions they asked. Why not? They are all facts of life, and knowing the truth, not sugar coating it, early on perhaps will help them make better decisions when they are older. Abortion is when a woman who gets pregnant decides she doesn't want the baby anymore and kills it before it is born. Not too hard for a 7 year old to understand. As they get older, they start to understand that there may be compelling circumstances for doing so, and there may be good reasons why the government shouldn't be involved in her decision. If you think abortion is nothing more than a personal choice with no moral implications, why are you so afraid of having your youngster find out about it?? Reeks of hypocrisy or willful blindness to me.

[Anonymous]

PP here. On a lighter note, a friend who prides herself on answering her kids' questions honestly found herself floored when her 13 year old son was lingering near the condom section of the grocery store aisle, then caught up with her and said, "Mom, I know what condoms are for, but why would anyone ever need flavored ones?" Mom could only respond, "I don't know, that's really weird"....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, if you can't explain your position to your children, did it ever occur to you that perhaps your should revisit your position, or that maybe it's a little more complicated than you thought?

My kids have known what abortion is since they were around 5 or 6, just as they have known about war, death, sexuality, and homosexuality in age appropriate ways in response to questions they asked. Why not? They are all facts of life, and knowing the truth, not sugar coating it, early on perhaps will help them make better decisions when they are older. Abortion is when a woman who gets pregnant decides she doesn't want the baby anymore and kills it before it is born. Not too hard for a 7 year old to understand. As they get older, they start to understand that there may be compelling circumstances for doing so, and there may be good reasons why the government shouldn't be involved in her decision. If you think abortion is nothing more than a personal choice with no moral implications, why are you so afraid of having your youngster find out about it?? Reeks of hypocrisy or willful blindness to me.

I actually couldn't disagree more. You say "knowing the truth and not sugar coating it early on...". I prefer to try and preserve innocence as long as possible. There is a lot of ugliness in the world (and whether you are prolife or prochoice, I don't think anyone thinks of an abortion as a happy occasion), and where possible, it's nice to occasionally not put it all right in front of your kids but instead try and protect them a while longer. I happen to be prolife, but that doesn't mean that I'd want an ad tonight to force me into a discussion about abortion that I thought my children were too young to need to have.

[Anonymous]

From what i understand, the ad never even mentions abortion - by name at least. His mother had a choice, and chose to keep her baby. Celebrate family. I don't think it will be an issue. As often is the case, the media has made this the story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102067.html?waporef=obinsite

[Anonymous]

My 9 year old know what abortion is too. And he knows the difference between something that looks like a raspberry and something that is more developed, and that one can be aborted if the mother decides that's what's best, and that the other needs a reason.

He supports gay rights, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what i understand, the ad never even mentions abortion - by name at least. His mother had a choice, and chose to keep her baby. Celebrate family. I don't think it will be an issue. As often is the case, the media has made this the story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102067.html?waporef=obinsite

Actually, no, Focus on the Family made this story. By paying $2.5+ million to air an ad that deliberately exploits a family's personal decision for their own agenda. By framing the story in a way that shades the truth about placental abruption, a life-threatening condition that could and does kill millions of women (and their fetuses) worldwide who don't have access to knowledgeable clinicians and/or appropriate medical care (which includes clinicians who are trained to provide safe abortion services). By positioning themselves in such a way that the majority of Americans believe that criticizing this ad is an act of aggression, of hatred toward family, of calling themselves "pro-choice" but then also referring to "armies of feminism" and "pro-abortion" and "See, the best way to deal with unwanted pregnancy is to not get the sperm in the egg and the egg implanted to begin with..." as in the Jenkins article linked above. By boiling down the issue of choosing to continue a (risky) pregnancy to something so black and white that it should be obvious that because Pam Tebow made the choice she did, that this should be the only choice anyone else should get to make.

Try reading more than one op-ed about this issue. A lot more knowledgeable people have written about it. Here's one to get you started (and while Saletan isn't always a solid friend of choice, in this article, he nails it): http://www.slate.com/id/2243218/

I plan to donate money to the DC Abortion Fund tonight in protest of the ad, and in support of the hundreds of women in the DC area who will no doubt be in need of abortion services in about 8+ weeks as a result of the blizzard. And because I believe every woman should be able to access safe, compassionate abortion care - all 1 in 3 women who have an abortion in this country before they turn 45.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, if you can't explain your position to your children, did it ever occur to you that perhaps your should revisit your position, or that maybe it's a little more complicated than you thought?

My kids have known what abortion is since they were around 5 or 6, just as they have known about war, death, sexuality, and homosexuality in age appropriate ways in response to questions they asked. Why not? They are all facts of life, and knowing the truth, not sugar coating it, early on perhaps will help them make better decisions when they are older. Abortion is when a woman who gets pregnant decides she doesn't want the baby anymore and kills it before it is born. Not too hard for a 7 year old to understand. As they get older, they start to understand that there may be compelling circumstances for doing so, and there may be good reasons why the government shouldn't be involved in her decision. If you think abortion is nothing more than a personal choice with no moral implications, why are you so afraid of having your youngster find out about it?? Reeks of hypocrisy or willful blindness to me.

I actually couldn't disagree more. You say "knowing the truth and not sugar coating it early on...". I prefer to try and preserve innocence as long as possible. There is a lot of ugliness in the world (and whether you are prolife or prochoice, I don't think anyone thinks of an abortion as a happy occasion), and where possible, it's nice to occasionally not put it all right in front of your kids but instead try and protect them a while longer. I happen to be prolife, but that doesn't mean that I'd want an ad tonight to force me into a discussion about abortion that I thought my children were too young to need to have.

I completely agree with you on preserving innocence as long as possible. Not making the children ignorant, but no need to rush things. I really don't think my kids need to know about abortion just yet (4 & 9).

[Anonymous]

"I don't know honey"

that always works.

I bet your kids won't even notice because the ad is likely to be boring.

[Anonymous]

If they happen to see it and seem confused, just say he is thanking his mom as all kids should. The more blase and off-handed you are about the whole thing, the better.