I do see a lot of kids doing "The Finger"

@nykel88 (999)
Philippines
March 13, 2010 11:11pm CST
Is it something to be proud of knowing the finger? This is so wrong. I can say how careless parents raise there child. I mean these gesture wouldn't be imprinted to children if they haven't seen MOVIES or SHOWS. How many instance have I seen kids younger than 10 years old already use "the finger" gesture. This is the reality and I hope parents improve the T.V. or Movie viewing for their children. Why do you think Parental Guidance is advice? Tsk2x
3 people like this
22 responses
@iamamommy (163)
• United States
14 Mar 10
I also see this to. But I think its more of the parents fault that they would let that go on. I will raise my daughter with respect and I would ground her if she ever did something like that. Some parents think it is funny, I know some people who thinks its funny for their childern to cuss and do the finger. I think it is really wrong. Parents should deal with this problem instead of letting it get worse.
3 people like this
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Yes it is. Considering they are the ones who have the responsibility in raising the child. Old habits do lasts. If that parent was once like that then as a result that would likely be what their children be like.
2 people like this
• India
14 Mar 10
YEs, I agree, Parents must take necessary precautions to ensure that child is well behaved.
2 people like this
@choybel (5042)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
I sometimes think it's funny, knowing that some of this kids who do the finger do not actually really know what they are doing, but it does disgust me also being one who believes in child discipline as parents' obligation. I agree that parents should really deal with this problem so as not to let mistakes like this develop into a common practice.
• United States
14 Mar 10
I haven't really noticed kids under 10 doing this a lot...but given some of the media these days, I wouldn't be too surprised either. I feel like if they are doing this though, it's behind their parents' backs. Any parent seeing a kid do this would be shocked, so I don't think it's necessarily the parents' fault (except maybe letting their kids watch shows and movies with that gesture in it....).
2 people like this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
14 Mar 10
I'm guessing that you are not a parent yet. Parents can not watch over their children 24/7. They have to work and the kids need to go to school etc. You really are wrong in just assuming the parents are to blame. I raised 4 kids and trust me...there were times that I got calls that one or the other had done something that totally threw me because it was so far off from how I was trying to raise her. She'd been influenced by another kid or whatever. As a parent, I can tell you right now that I responded to and appreciated anything that anyone informed me that one of my kids had done. Kids do things and parents don't always know. Heck, I was a teen in the late 60's and 70's. My parents were so strict. Still...I did things that they never ever found out about. Parents aren't magic....they can't just magically know what their kid is doing when they are not there unless someone tells them. You are just being way to harsh on the parents without considering that there could be other reasons as well.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
How can it not be the fault of the parents if they don't know their own child are doing this? Yeah its true that we can't all see what others hide but they should be more aware of their children acts. An uncorrected wrong would always mean right.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
14 Mar 10
nykel88 those parents that should be setting good examples to their children then do the finger should be paddled like the grown up brats 'they are for doing this to young impressionable children. shame shame on them. If I were young again and had a child that did that she or he would not do it again as i would both explain and give a sharp slap on the seat just to make it take a bit better.I dont think television or movies are asmuch to blame as the parents themselves as kids ape their parents.
1 person likes this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
14 Mar 10
While some parents may be to blame for this behavior...actually I'm sure they are, you can't really just assume it is the parents. I mean kids go to school and they see their classmates do this stuff and they do it to fit in and be cool. Some parents are completely unaware that their kids are doing this stuff because the kids don't do it around them because they know better. Kids start going to daycares and whatnot so much earlier than back in my day that they see a lot more than we did as kids. It used to be that we did not go to school until age 4 or 5. Prior to that we were mainly influenced by our parents. Kids start up with day cares now at age 2 and 3 and often earlier. You really can't assume it is all the parents. It's how the parents respond to knowing of it that matters.
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
I believe there is a huge gap of parenting before the existence and after the existence of internet. before, parents can really control their children and could only stop doing so if they grow up, but with the internet mania, people like children learn something outside from the internet and it's not healthy because they're not guided by parents.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Yeah they should be slapped. That is not a parent. Parents are responsible not the bad habit initiators! It seems some parents like it when their child is one of the bad types. Personalities..
2 people like this
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
14 Mar 10
I think that its a ugly thing for a child to learn to do. I don't think its anything that anyone should be doing let alone a child. However, as long as parents allow their kids to watch everything and anything on TV kids will pick up all the good and bad that TV and movies put out there.
2 people like this
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Hi Lelin Yeah. This is a sad reality! I really wonder now what would the youth be after I get 40 in age. Time really moves fast.
1 person likes this
@common_man (1799)
• India
14 Mar 10
Friend, I agree Parents need to control, what their child watch and what not. on TV and Internet there are facilities available for Parents controlling what their child watch and not. If child watch something not desirable and behaves in in appropriate manner, Parents must correct their child in suitable way.
2 people like this
@sunkernjs (219)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
The gestures seems to be accepted by communities now a days. In my place parents do the same so no wonder their child age 6 will do the same also. I think a person really adopts what his surrounding brings. Yes for me this is also a tremendous "mutation" of gesture and I am really against this. Change will not start by me unless those parents were educated since they were still child.
2 people like this
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Then those parents need counseling themselves. That is so wrong.
1 person likes this
• Canada
14 Mar 10
I dind't learn the finger from my parents, but I learned it from kids at school. I never used it, because I caught on pretty quickly that it was not a nice thing to say to someone. If a child gives me the finger, I will just ignore them. Often a child will do it for attention, and if we give them the attention, they'll do it again. Better just to ignore something like this, than to give it unnecessary attention.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
I learned that "finger" when I was 14 through my friends. Well if we don't give much attention to this.. I don't think I can live seeing children doing a finger on me when I reached 40 years old. If I do see them doing that then sorry I'm reporting their parents for negligence.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
14 Mar 10
I carefully supervised my children's television and movie viewing when they were young so they didn't start doing that until they were older and out of my view. They knew it wasn't allowed in my presence and even when I was not there. I heard of one of them doing it once at school but I stopped that pretty quickly. I told them both that people who cursed and used rude gestures were ignorant of proper ways to express themselves and it was a reflection not only on their own character but that of their family. Even now, as adults, they rarely curse or use that gesture. I think parents need to pay more attention and not use the television as a babysitter. I realize people are busy but talking with their children when they can will only make their families better. We need to revise how we think of our children and stop looking at them as little adults and instead as our life's treasures and our future.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
15 Mar 10
That is good of you dragon. If haven't done anything to end on what they are doing then it would probably give your family a negative outcome in the future. Parents should always be aware but the only problem is if the parents are the ones who are being mischievous. Tsk2x
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
16 Mar 10
I think that movies and television as well as older relatives or friends are the reason for children knowing "the finger" or "the bird" as it is sometimes called. When I was younger, though I had parental guidance I was allowed to watch Rated R films at a young age. I do not think it affected me though and I don't remember if I ever saw a film with the middle finger being used when I was younger.
@trisha27 (3494)
• United States
14 Mar 10
I've also seen this going on and I agree that it is not right. People are being so disrespectful I've even seen some kids do it to their parents. I know that this is something that my mother or father would have never allowed to be going on, when I was younger. I think that yes children watch to much tv and when they do watch tv they are watching the wrong kind of shows suitable for kids. Sometimes parents allow this too, and this is something I just don't understand and sometimes though, parents don't know that they're children are watching these type of shows. I think not only are kids learning it from the tv shows that they are watching, but they may be getting it from school. So although some parents may have a handle on what their children watch, they may be getting it from school then and I also sometimes I think that they learn it from they're parents. They probably use the finger around their children. I can never understand this either. When I become a parent, I will make it a habit not to do that around them or curse around them either.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
15 Mar 10
Major factor contribution is always in the media not only the T.V. but also the radio. It is where get information and I know how children like to watch T.V. even its not cartoons. If not really supervised they could even access viewing for adults only. That is not right.
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Hello nykel, I don't where they got that idea but am not surprised if they are doing that now. with technology being misused in terms of internet use. they do this with out the presence of their parents, are you kidding, they will get scolded for sure. there's still lack of parenting responsibility coming from the parents. come to think of it? is this one of noynoy's platforms? he didn't even clear it up? and now he can never clear it up since he's backing our on debates, boooo
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
more details? check this discussion. http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/2273655.aspx
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
Wow Letran that was shocking. Lol. Yes I agree with you. He keeps underestimating people. I'm not even close in voting him as president. He can be misleading. You give me a quite a shock there man. Lol!
@kaylachan (56277)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
15 Mar 10
Young couples often think it will be great to raise a family, but they are way to busy. So Other people end up raising their children for them IE T.V. The internet, and they see this stuff out on the street. To be honest trying to hide reality from a child isn't exactly wise. They are smarter then you could amagine given the right credit.
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
15 Mar 10
Well it is not necessary that you just hide reality to the child but you can let them know that is wrong and shouldn't be done. This is the thing for parents, they sometimes think of themselves and not seeing how their children grew up to become to be. This usually takes a way family bonds.
@libramie (562)
• Philippines
14 Mar 10
I always recognized this gesture mostly in squatter areas and the street children whom their not attended their parents. Their lack of proper care and love and their surroundings influence them. The parents must drive the viewing of kids in television.Yeah, I agree you on that. So,they don't let their kids watch the show having Parental guidance rating if they can't guide them on watching.
1 person likes this
@scja16 (322)
• Philippines
15 Mar 10
Well, I think that this will depends on how the parents educate their kids or will they let their kids do it. Regardless if they can not see their kids do that gesture, still they need to know. Movies now a days are uncontrollable and I do not know how they rate the movie.Plus the fact that we have pirated cd's that any people can buy for a low cost and we dont have control to those people who are watching the movie. Let us hope that all parents will do more effort on guiding their children. God bless
@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
15 Mar 10
Well let us all hope that most of the parents are not one of those abusive types who would just let go responsibilities on their kids. It is often seen here in third world countries.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
15 Mar 10
my 13 year old daughter was lunch monitering a grade 3 class and she told me she couldnt believe the amount of swearing that went on! but i think it depends on the parents and the upbringing. if parents swear like a trucker, then the kid is going to pick it up too.
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
15 Mar 10
i think parents are really responsible for those kids. i mean, not blaming the parents totally, but they are the ones should be playing a good role model to their children. parents should not really ignore the tv parental guidance, it is there because shows have scenes not really for the kids and we have to really be watching with them, for proper guidance.
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
14 Mar 10
Is it just me or is that the first bad thing every little kid learns? Unfortunately tv an movies aren't the only places they get this stuff from. They also get to go to school where you can't follow to guide them and learn from the kids who have parents that don't care and then they come home wanting to show off the rude things they were taught and the parent gets to clean up the mess. My 10 year old has never used the finger or even known what it was until recently a girl in her class got in trouble for doing it and she decided to show me about it when she got home. *face palm*
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
16 Mar 10
At Christmas I was taking my children to the babysitter's for the evening because I had a meeting that I needed to go to. We first went to McDonald's to get some dinner for them and after we got through the drive thru there was a young girl standing in between the doors and she flipped us off. I would guess that she was no older than my daughter (seven years old) and I was utterly offended by it. Why should a child that age know that kind of a thing. It is such a crude gesture and I think that her parents should have been paying attention to her and corrected her for what she did wrong.
@merlinsorca (1118)
• United States
16 Mar 10
I see two sides to this. I think that this is terrible how kids are already using this gesture that everyone knows to mean bad. If it is insulting, and everyone KNOWS that it is insulting, this shows that the kids are purposely using the finger to insult someone. And they probably learned it from the TV, which means there should be stricter TV and movie rules. On the other hand, one would argue that this simple gesture is not harmful at all. It's just a finger, right? How is that supposed to hurt anyone? If sticking out the MIDDLE finger is wrong, why isn't sticking out the ring finger or the pinky finger wrong? Someone once stuck out the middle finger at me, and said, "What? it's just a finger." What's the difference between the middle finger and the ring finger? Why do people make the middle finger out to be such a bad thing? I kind of agree with this. Sticking out a middle finger is nothing bad if you think about it. Really. . .
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
14 Mar 10
I do remember how taboo someone doing the finger was when I was a child. It was very serious business to do something like that. It was almost like dropping an F-Bomb and technically it was, considering what it is sign language for. If someone did it, it was like the world completely stopped. In fact, its funny how it has been done so much that it is lost its meaning, much like its verbal equivalent. Still, there are a lot of things that children do. I hate to say this, but television is not always to blame. The parents should look a bit closer to the source to find where their children is actually learning these behaviors. In many ways, entertaining is a toned down version of what reality is. While I do agree parents should monitor the viewing habits of their children, if there was nearly as much swearing on television or movies as there is in real life, then it would be something to get offended by.