Here's Where I Get Serious.

As a parent, there is no way you can shield your children from all potentiall harmful material 100 percent of the time. I guess you could lock them up in a concrete room with no windows and never let them speak to or listen to any other person, radio, television, movie, whatever. But, really? Why would you do that?

A few months ago, we heard Brandon singing a song (rather quietly) at random times. We couldn't figure out what song it was, so I pretty much left him alone about it. He's a kid; they sing songs all the time. He began singing this mystery song more often, and the words became clearer and clearer. I had an epiphany one day when I realized he was singing Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." I nearly died of a coronary right then and there.

If I make a big deal about how inappropriate it is for a 6-year old to sing a song of that nature, then that would be an open invitation for him to sing it more often and louder. Instead, I just simply told him that it wasn't a nice song, and I didn't want him to sing it anymore.

But now, his sponge of a little brother has begun singing it. Instead, he doesn't know the words, so what he is singing is totally unidentifiable by anyone else other than our family. Fine. I'll pick my battles and let this one fly.

So, who knows where Brandon picked up this song, it could have been anywhere, no matter how hard I try to keep his little ears covered.

But now, I apparently need to filter the Toon Network. Yes, an entire channel devoted strictly to cartoons. Who watches cartoons? Kids, duh. So what better place to play an age-appropriate commercial such as this one:



I would really like to meet the marketing "genius" that thought it was a good idea to use this degrading song to appeal to little kids. Not only that, but Burger King is basically dragging the names of Spongebob Squarepants and the Nickelodeon empire through the mud by agreeing to go along with the advertising nightmare.

I think this is totally out of line and, quite frankly, I'm a little P.O.'ed about it.

I love Spongebob and all, but teaching my kid that it's cool to sing songs about butts and obesity just doesn't sit well with me.