Children are copying provocative dance moves and repeating sexual song lyrics after being exposed to explicit pop music, with some understanding their meanings by the age of five, a survey of parents has found.
It suggests that mothers and fathers are increasingly concerned that many of today’s pop stars put on far more explicit performances than when they were young, and that it is sending their children negative messages about sex.
Many fear that their sons and daughters are being taught that they need to show off their bodies and act in a sexual manner in order to get noticed
Many fear that their sons and daughters are being taught that they need to show off their bodies and act in a sexual manner in order to get noticed.
The findings, in a poll conducted by parenting website Netmums, come just days after Jo Heywood, headmistress of Heathfield School in Ascot, warned that teenage girls were being “manipulated and confused” by would-be celebrity role models like pop star Miley Cyrus, who start out as clean-cut TV characters and reinvent themselves as controversial performers.
The Netmums poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 parents, found that more than eight in 10 (81.7 per cent) said that their child had sung or repeated sexual song lyrics without realising what they meant, while a third (33.4 per cent) admitted that their youngster had copied overtly provocative dance moves they had seen pop stars perform.
Almost one in 12 (7.8 per cent) said that their son or daughter had sung lyrics knowing what they meant.
Around 8.5 per cent of the parents questioned said that their child was five or even younger when they first became aware of the meaning of the songs they were singing.
The most common age for children to be able to understand explicit song lyrics and actions was 10, chosen by almost a fifth (18.2 per cent) of parents.
Almost seven in 10 (68.6 per cent) said that the message being sent by some singers was that “you need to flash your body and be sexual to get noticed”.
Of those questioned that have boys, almost half (45.4 per cent) said that they feared sexy music videos may make them grow up expecting women to be too sexually available, while over half (58 per cent) said it may leave their sons expecting women to have unrealistic figures.
Of those with girls, three-quarters worried their daughters would think they would be judged on their looks, not personality or achievements, and nearly two-thirds (64.3 per cent) said they thought their child might be expected to be sexual too soon.
Around 87.1 per cent of parents said that they thought pop stars acted worse today, and had to go further to shock, than singers from their own childhood did.
Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: “Modern parents aren’t prudes – they know sex sells.
“But there’s a strong feeling that things have gone too far now.
“It’s toxic to tell young kids casual sex and violence are something to aspire to.
“Instead, if a star wants to make a statement, why not use their brain, not their body?”