This particular subject has been on my mind in the last few days. If you're familiar with my blogs, you would know that I work for TagMeADate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. That led to the creation of our podcast called The War Report. Information about all of that can be found below. We have listeners send in questions to us regarding the site, anything to do with wrestling, etc. Recently, we received a question about whether parents were responsible or not for letting their kids watch professional wrestling. However, this was directed specifically towards those of us on our show that have children. It came off as this person implying that those who let their kids watch wrestling are irresponsible. We will be addressing this tonight at 7:00PM EST. However, I wanted to say a few things about this beforehand.
Parent Responsibility
During my adolescence in the 80's, wrestling on television was very kid friendly, with colorful characters. I had all the wrestling figures as I grew up and other memorabilia and attended wrestling shows. My parents didn't even have to inform me what wrestling really was, as I kind of figured it out on my own. I knew not to do these things at home and my parents were responsible when it came to me watching wrestling. Did I play around and practice some moves? Yes, and I think many kids did as well. However, I was smart enough to know what moves not to do and usually there was a bed or soft surface involved. It was just light playing that many kids did, whether it was from watching wrestling or whatever else was on TV. Don't get me wrong, though! I do not condone backyard wrestling or anything that is unsupervised!
I do agree that parents should be careful and responsible when it comes to their children watching wrestling. Watch with your children and explain to them a little of the ins and outs of wrestling, pertaining to safety and not to do that at home, which WWE for a number of years has warned its younger fans. But don't tell me wrestling isn't for kids! If you ask the average child that watches wrestling who their favorite wrestler is, there's a good chance they might say John Cena. When I was that age, my favorite wrestler was Hulk Hogan. If parents explain wrestling to their kids, then it is absolutely okay for them to watch. We're in a PG era currently so there may not be as many risque things. Obviously, many kids have bed times and may only get to watch a little. In that case, the parent may watch the rest and figure out what is and is not appropriate for the child to watch the next day after school. I don't agree with this person basically attacking those on our show that have kids for allowing them to watch wrestling.
The 90's and the Attitude Era might be a different story! When it comes to being a wrestling fan, I find myself very fortunate to be the age I am. I had the honor of being a kid during Hulkamania and a teenager during the Attitude Era, the two most profitable times in professional wrestling. Though I was a teenager watching Stone Cold Steve Austin flipping the bird or DX saying "suck it," I do recall children that knew about wrestling as well. That right there would be a good example of a parent taking responsibility for the content their children watch. However, it's still not fair to condemn people that let their kids watch wrestling. I know people that state wrestling kept them out of trouble as kids. Wrestling has always been an outlet for me to escape but as a child especially, it was simply magical! I'm not a parent but rest assured that when I am, my children will be watching wrestling and it will be done in a responsible way.
There are many wrestlers that are great role models for kids and people they can look up to. When I was a kid, the Ultimate Warrior was a hero of mine, for instance. To kids, these people are larger than life! Even at my age, I can attest to that! Since the dawn of our company, we have been fortunate to have met some of our heroes growing up and the current guys as well. I can even call a few of them friends! Even now, these people truly are larger than life. Nowadays, someone like Bayley is a huge role model for little girls and I already went over John Cena being the poster boy when it comes to wrestling role models.
There is a degree of responsibility parents should take when it comes to their kids watching wrestling. And yes, there are irresponsible parents out there, whether it has to do with wrestling or any other form of entertainment their kids enjoy! However, you cannot generalize that all parents that let their kids watch wrestling are irresponsible! I'm sure my colleagues and I will have some choice words for this person tonight on our show. The bottom line is, whether we like the way it came off or not, this question has led to a fantastic topic and I hope any of you reading this will tune in tonight. You can respond to me in comments for this blog or even better, share with the TagMeADate crew. As always, the bottom of my blog contains all of that information. I'd love to hear what you all think!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/
During my adolescence in the 80's, wrestling on television was very kid friendly, with colorful characters. I had all the wrestling figures as I grew up and other memorabilia and attended wrestling shows. My parents didn't even have to inform me what wrestling really was, as I kind of figured it out on my own. I knew not to do these things at home and my parents were responsible when it came to me watching wrestling. Did I play around and practice some moves? Yes, and I think many kids did as well. However, I was smart enough to know what moves not to do and usually there was a bed or soft surface involved. It was just light playing that many kids did, whether it was from watching wrestling or whatever else was on TV. Don't get me wrong, though! I do not condone backyard wrestling or anything that is unsupervised!
The 90's and the Attitude Era might be a different story! When it comes to being a wrestling fan, I find myself very fortunate to be the age I am. I had the honor of being a kid during Hulkamania and a teenager during the Attitude Era, the two most profitable times in professional wrestling. Though I was a teenager watching Stone Cold Steve Austin flipping the bird or DX saying "suck it," I do recall children that knew about wrestling as well. That right there would be a good example of a parent taking responsibility for the content their children watch. However, it's still not fair to condemn people that let their kids watch wrestling. I know people that state wrestling kept them out of trouble as kids. Wrestling has always been an outlet for me to escape but as a child especially, it was simply magical! I'm not a parent but rest assured that when I am, my children will be watching wrestling and it will be done in a responsible way.
There is a degree of responsibility parents should take when it comes to their kids watching wrestling. And yes, there are irresponsible parents out there, whether it has to do with wrestling or any other form of entertainment their kids enjoy! However, you cannot generalize that all parents that let their kids watch wrestling are irresponsible! I'm sure my colleagues and I will have some choice words for this person tonight on our show. The bottom line is, whether we like the way it came off or not, this question has led to a fantastic topic and I hope any of you reading this will tune in tonight. You can respond to me in comments for this blog or even better, share with the TagMeADate crew. As always, the bottom of my blog contains all of that information. I'd love to hear what you all think!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/
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