Pop culture can have a huge influence on your child depending on how much TV, Internet and radio they are exposed to.
Even if you are fairly restrictive on the amount of media your child may digest, kids share videos, songs, texts, lyrics, web sites, e-mails, etc.
with each other and they talk about TV shows and video games at school.
There is simply no way your children are going to avoid bumping into explicit lyrics and graphics unless they're home schooled, live under a rock and have zero friends.
Magazines at the grocery store checkout line, TV shows and commercials playing in restaurants and rude people walking down the street shouting curse words into their cell phone are all part of common culture in the United States.
Recently my daughter asked me what does porn mean? Once I got my heart back into my chest, I explained what it meant and asked where she'd heard the term (she had seen it on a license plate).
This is the world we live in.
What you CAN do as parents is educate, inform and ask good questions.
Stay in the loop.
Most importantly, when your child asks you a question, always give it the time and attention of a clear, honest response.
You would be AMAZED at the misinformation kids tell each other.
For example, my tween asked me, is it true that you can get breast cancer from wearing your bra to bed all night? LOL, I'm glad I had the chance to clear that one up! To strengthen your relationship with your child, stay informed of their favorite brands, songs, celebrities and other trends.
By understanding and valuing what's important to them, you keep the door open for discussion and can encourage critical thinking.
You can jump in with commentary or clarify an obvious untruth.
While you may not invite poor role models or rampant consumerism into your home, you cannot shut them out entirely.
Turn these incidents or exposures into opportunities to dialogue with your child about your values and the fact that there are all sorts of people in the world with different lifestyles and beliefs.
Empower your child to draw their own conclusions and give them credit for making sound judgments.