ARE THEY OLD ENOUGH?
Orchy bottle bongs; endless ciggies; shagging on the beach; boozy, rooting parents and scrag fights on the bus.
As Dragon sing it: “Are you old enough?” Are you letting your kids watch Puberty Blues?
Of course it doesn’t matter what rating it has or what time it’s on at night, a quick visit to the Channel Ten website and there it is, alongside Masterchef, Bikie Wars and The Project.
Your kids can catch up with it, any time they like.
A girlfriend came home from an evening out to find her ten year-old son wide-eyed and in shock after watching last night’s ep.
“Took me quite a long time to debrief him,” she said.
His big brother (14) added: “Mum, I don’t think he’s old enough to watch this.”
The kid’s been sin-binned. Puberty Blues is banned.
My own two children (12 & 14) watched the first episode and, in what can only be described as a triumph of modern parenting, said: “Hey! That dad just whacked his kid across the head!”
The outrage! They thought he should have been done for assault. No such thing as a “clip around the ears” any more in empowered teenage land 2012.
The kids missed last night because they’re away with their father on holiday and there’s no TV reception.
Would I have felt comfortable sitting with them watching the scenes of titting off, dick sucking and scoring bags of dope at the hot dog van? Going grog-runner for their pissed parents? Let alone the abject sex scene on the beach where one girl just lies back and endures fumbled sand encrusted intercourse with no pleasure at all?
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32 Responses to this article
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Wolfie Rankin August 23, 2012
What’s wrong with kids where they can go into shock from seeing scenes from puberty Blues?
When I was a kid, and for reference I was born in 1965, I saw one thing which shocked me as a kid.
On ABC in the 70s I saw a man talking about the liver, he walked up to a live sheep, sliced it open and pulled out it’s liver.
I also remember a man having a philosophical discussion about appropriate dress, He had dressed as a native, covered only in necklaces of shells, his penis was clearly seen as he sat on his desk, I’m sure I’ve seen this video on youtube in recent years.
I’ve never been bothered by body parts, Dad used to get around naked quite often.
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Koby August 23, 2012
I remember asking my Mum, if I could go and watch “Kuperty Blues” when it was released in the cinema.. she said I could – once I could pronounce it correctly!
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Tess Zed August 23, 2012
Last nights episode was not as tame as the week before nor was it as entertaining. It wasn’t suitable for under 14′s.
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Prude-ence August 23, 2012
I’m feeling a bit of a Mary Whitehouse at the moment and at the ripe old age of 45, feel like a bit of a prude. But, while I myself really like Puberty Blues, I think its pretty full on for a show airing at 8.30pm, where most kids 10+ are still up or at least lying in bed not asleep (and listening in to what the adults are doing in the lounge room !!).
I remember sneaking down the hall to watch Deadly Earnest (nightmares for weeekkkss !!) at around my kids ages..but thats pretty tame compared to watching someone asking to “suck my c*ck”, or watching kids go at it on the beach.
We all knew what it would be about from the book and the original film, but maybe a later time slot would be more appropriate ?
I know we have the option of changing the channel etc etc, but think things have gone a little overboard recently. Last weeks Packers War where every second word was the F-bomb, again was at an 8.30pm time slot. My kids are only 6, so they are not up at that time, but most nights are awake. I think I will probably tape both of them next week to watch when I’m definately alone, because I do think its way too full on.
Would I let my kids watch at 10/11/12/13 years old ? No way. -
Van Essa August 23, 2012
What is it rated? I wouldn’t let my child watch it until they were 15 at least.
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Wolfie Rankin August 23, 2012
Does it really matter that there are time slots anymore? considering that it’s not hard to record or download a show.
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Mich August 23, 2012
I decided to watch with my daughter, who is 13… I don’t know who is more uncomfortable watching…i read a tweet from a teen last night saying how embarrassing for kids to be watching with their parents and i almost replied and said, how about for parents watching with their teens….you go in a bit blind, wondering how the director will handle certain issues and then when it’s on the screen and you’re there, watching, not sure what to say…it’s too late, you’ve seen it or heard it. I talk about sex with my kids but the nitty gritty details are just too much and too confronting… The conversation flows much easier talking about the other issues, the teens smoking, fights on the bus, the drinking….there’s something about sex, and maybe especially oral sex? that makes it just too awkward to chit chat about. I guess I just never anticipated these conversations…someone pass the parenting 101 book…while I work out how to have conversations I didn’t think I’d be having
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The Huntress August 23, 2012
I am personally of the belief that the younger we start educating our kids, the better. Kids need this information before they hit high school, or they will go looking for it themselves (and believe me it’s not from evidence based sources). Yes, for most people it seems shocking, but by not sitting with our kids and talking about these issues we’re doing them a disservice.
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The Huntress August 23, 2012
Or my other suggestion is get them to read the book first, then watch the series.
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Bananarama August 23, 2012
I have a 15.5yr old son and an 12.5 yr old daughter (oh, and I have a 5yr old but of course he is in bed while this show is on) and I let them watch the first one. I don’t think it was extreme. I know that my kids have probably seen or heard worse when I am not around (I realistically know it is impossible to police my kids 24/7) though hopefully not too much worse.
I haven’t seen last nights episode yet. Even after reading about what was shown, I would still let my kids watch it. I think that watching this stuff with our kids helps open up communication and helps facilitate discussion about these topics with our teens.
But, to be honest, I don’t think my kids liked it enough, or cared about it enough to watch it again when I watch it (recorded) tonight. But I loved it!
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Lou August 23, 2012
I watched it with my 14 year old daughter. There was nothing in the program that she hasn’t come across on the internet. That it opened a dialogue between us is a good thing. It means we can get closer and talk about all sorts of things because the ice has been broken. I was a teen in the late 70s and basically lived Puberty Blues. I’ve read the book so I know some tough issues are coming in future episodes. I look forward to continuing the discussion with my daughter. And besides I got to text her today and told her to “rack off” so that was pretty funny!
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Tim Murphy August 23, 2012
I don’t have kids but are you old enough is a tough question. Maybe 12-13.
I am surprised by the 8:30 time slot. 9:30 feels right to me. Later time slot doesn’t solve everything but it has to help.
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Julie Gale - Director Kids Free 2B Kids August 23, 2012
Hi Wendy – This is a good question – and one that each parent will have to determine depending on the development of their own kids. Another question: Who exactly is scaremongering about rampant teenage sexuality? I see a lot of concern from parents, psychologists, adolescent psychiatrists, social workers, teachers and other child development professionals about the sexualisation of children – kids being exposed to too much adult sexualised imagery and messages before they are ready emotionally and psychologically.(and increasing research validates these concerns) Sexualisation, however, is a different issue to naturally emerging sexuality. There is a lot of confusion between the two.
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Me August 23, 2012
I began talking to my daughter about sex when she was three which saved a lot of embarrassment I think. By the time she was a teen she knew about most things.and the odd Sex and the City episode filled in the details. I watched them with her and we had a few laughs Sure it’s a bit uncomfortable – but isn’t it anyway? I watched last nights PB episode with my 78 yr old mother who’s had 9 kids and I felt a bit coy!
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Jo-Anne August 24, 2012
Hmmm. After lasts nights viewing I felt really concerned for the girl on the beach who was basically being raped (she was the one been pushed up the beach the week before) & after a lot of thought, decided on…. that whatever happens to us seems to be part of our greater learning curve that either makes us or breaks us! A lot of the “breaking” could be avoided from being informed, discussing possible scenarios… not that you can prevent every single negative experience…. but it left me thinking…
My mum couldn’t bear to watch anything on the telly that showed intimacy – If my daughter was 3 yrs older – she’s 10 now, it would give me an opportunity to firstly, see what she thinks & secondly, to discuss LIFE. -
Carz August 24, 2012
I was only 11 when I read Puberty Blues and saw the movie (both with my mother’s permission) and there is no way in hell I would allow my 11 year old daughter to do the same or watch the TV show. Nor would I let my 13 year old son. It is my belief, backed up only by something as scientific as my personal experience, that exposure to something that normalises this sort of sexual activity can set kids up for unrealistic and unhealthy attitudes and expectations about sex, especially if it is not counteracted by information about healthy sexual relationships.
Let’s face it, if a girl learns from something like Puberty Blues (and remember it is autobiographical) that it is normal for boys to treat girls like shit and to use them when they want to, and that message isn’t counteracted by watching their parents in a loving and equal relationship, then they may well come to believe that is the norm. If that way of thinking is then reinforced by reading stuff such as Twilight or even Fifty Shades, where a controlling (some may say abusive) man calls all the shots, then we are talking about creating a situation where girls (and women) may believe that this is how things are and they have to just live with it.
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Nikki @ Styling You August 24, 2012
My teenagers wouldn’t dream of watching this …. with me. Too AWKIES (their word, not mine).
My daughter is 15 – the same age as the girls being portrayed in the series – and the same age I was (approx) when the movie version of the book came out. She is much more behaved then I was at her age … let’s just leave it at that shall we?
Oh, and the quote from the boy about friction and ejaculating – I had to laugh as my mum dished out the Where did I Come From and What’s Happening to Me books to us one hot sticky summer holiday on the Gold Coast in 1975. Cringe.
And lastly, it was all about squash in the ’70s where I lived – and the swinging was rampant.
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Alison August 24, 2012
I’m watching it with my 17 yr old and 14 yr old, the latter who puts her head under a blanket when the parents on the show get up to their shenanigens. I’ve felt like putting my head under the blanket a few times too. The 17 yr old just rolls her eyes – she’s not experienced anything of what is being shown on the show, but due to the good sex education curriculum that they have these days, she’s completely comfortable with watching something like that with her mother (I could *never* have watched anything like that with my mother – I grew up in the 70s!). Actually that’s why I want my girls to watch PB – I want to share the era in which I grew up with them and explore the changes. So overall it’s worth watching together despite the occasional embarrassing moment.
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Chris August 24, 2012
Received a tweet from a young-ish girl [later teen] about PB, who had a pouty tweet image and name that emphasized her comfort with advertising a dirty conversational credentials.
She was upset about the 1970′s sex having the look and feel of going to the toilet.
Yes, I told her, that was just how it was at Port Macquarie and Cronulla in the 70′s – my home territories. Some of the more confronting pet sexual phrases left out eg. “snotting in” girls for having sex. Now that really brings the waste as sex theme home.
Investigation of other eras and lives invariably causes jolts, discomfort and in best situations, an appreciation of what has and has not changed – not imitation.
My only surprise? The bus drivers super tame response to the bus fight. Those involved and anyone else within arm’s reach would have been whacked hard or kicked if in foot’s reach. Then dumped off the bus in the middle of nowhere with no concern about their safety or how they get home.
I tell the younger ones around me the current series is soft peddling 70′s reality on many fronts. -
Sharon T August 24, 2012
I started talking to my daughter about sex and the FACT that she would be approached by boys to do it, when she was about 12. I was fairly blunt. I mentioned that she would be curious to find out for herself, but that at this early age, if boys couldn’t get sex from her, they would move on to someone who would. I tried to explain that this should not be a reflection of how attractive she was, but merely the beginning of how boys and girls start to sort out their sexuality. I still think that some of these conversations should be underway as early as you think your child is capable of understanding them.
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Kris August 24, 2012
I think it depends on the child. For some, it will be too old for them & they won’t quite “get” it. For others, it will be the perfect opportunity to open discussion about sex, drugs etc. Sure, it’s a bit “cringey” & “yuk” in places – but hey, that’s life really!
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thefeminist August 24, 2012
We did not watch it in our household. I would not in any way promote such androcentric ideas of sex, so if we had watched it I would have had to provide a running commentary that would have exhausted us all. Sucking dick, and being raped on the beach are models I will not normalize or excuse – I am of the thinking that women and girls are human beings and are not here to serve men in such demeaning ways; there is nothing in it for the women at all.
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Kathy August 24, 2012
for what it’s worth, I watched it with my 11 daughter and 14 yr old son who were bored witless at the lack of a storyline!! The drink-driving repulsed them, as did the oral sex scene, that took even me by surprise, but they were really appalled by a scene in which a girl in a carpark was saying ‘no’ to her boyfriend’s advances, then she was heard screaming in the background as the two lead characters ignored her.
“That’s not entertainment,” my 14 yr son finally said, and asked to go to bed!
They have expectations of redemption and justice in the context of a story and there was none for them in Puberty Blues. That seemed to over-ride any sexual curiousity, for what it’s worth. I suspect they already have more self-respect and insight than the girls in the Puberty Blues. Fingers crossed. -
Rachel @ The Kids Are All Right August 26, 2012
My daughter is 14 and she’s old enough – because they are themes happening in her real life. I’d rather watch it with her and talk about the problems or challenges of the scenarios.
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Nothing shocks me August 26, 2012
My 12 y o daughter wanted to watch it and so I sat with her through Part 1. I wanted to hide my face behind my hand. “This is my life and I do not want to relive it” was all I could manage
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Sarah Taylor August 30, 2012
I am not conservative but after feeling numb last week at the girl being essentially raped on the beach and then last night tuning in to the end with the poor Frieda in the back of the van, i cant see the point of showing this on TV, we all know the worlds realities, lets watch something more uplifting on TV and get a movie if you want to be challenged. Change channel and lets work on how we can instill self worth in our kids.
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Andrew August 30, 2012
Chris, I loved your comment about this series “soft-pedalling 70′s reality on many fronts”. Despite THAT I’d still be reticent to allow “the kids” to watch this–and I’m referring here to under 15′s ala the old “M” cinema rating.There’s me–showing my age: 47 in this case. There is an essential grossness to some of the sexual stuff here that parents of up to Year-9′s need to be a bit wary of. Don’t mean to get too off topic, but apart from being a lovingly crafted evocation of the era, I’m finding PB doesn’t breathe well as authentic drama. The kids all seem to be trying too hard–current Gen-Y’s(or whatever) trying to sound and act like Aussies of more than 30 years ago.
When they use a word like “mole” .. or put it into .. “rack off yer mole” .. it packs none of the venom it did when I was a 14 year old in 1979…Often sounds like these kids are saying to themselves “isn’t this really cute/cool old people’s language”…It produces for me a lack of Aussie grit from the period, not helped by their clean, modern Australian accents. I’ll keep watching though to see if the new PB becomes something much more than a beautifully set designed 2012 high school production. -
Tammy September 5, 2012
I reckon there is nothing wrong with letting kids watch puberty blues. I have the movie, book and have downloaded all the eps so far and let my daughter watch it.
She was 10!!!! And she had no problem at all. You can’t let your kid stay a kid forever, they need to grow up. -
Teen October 16, 2012
I’m 15 years old and i absolutely LOVE puberty blues.
I think that these days teenagers are being underestimated in concerns of what we believe to be right and wrong. With the way that adults talk about these ‘crude’, ‘inappropriate’ and ‘heavily influencial’ television shows, it’s almost as though they assume that we have no common sense–that we immediately blindly consume what we see to be acceptible and will subsequently go and try to mimmick it.
This is incorrect.
I watched the first episode with my older sister (not my mum because I will admit that it would be awkward) and have continued to watch the rest of the episodes without her as she can’t spare the time. To me, this show is incredibly realistic, easy to relate to and gives me an outside perspective of the things that either I’m going through now or might inevitably experience in the years to come. It has been educational regarding the fact that I am able to observe the mental and emotional impacts the girls’ decisions have had on them.
Another point I would like to make is that this show includes no more than I have already been exposed to, whether on the internet or talking with friends. The show presents information that teenagers have already accumulated and puts it into a real life context, so that we may be able to learn from the occurrences without physically experiencing it ourselves.
Of course, what we get out of the show depends on our level of maturity. I believe that parents now are getting too protective of our innocence and forget that they were just like us as some point, and from what I hear, a lot less well-behaved. My mum even watched puberty blues when she was my age!
All my friends and I love puberty blues because it’s funny as well as presents us with situations we may face, if we haven’t already, in the future and provides us with the what-nots to do.
