http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7401630%255E13569,00.html A five-year-old Territory girl shocked teachers when she showed her class how to make a bong out of a Coke bottle during a ``show and tell'' session.

The incident took place at a primary school in Darwin's northern suburbs.

The revelation comes amid mounting concerns over drug use among Territory primary school students.

At least two instances have been reported to the Education Department of children aged between five and 12 being caught with drugs at school.

In one case the drug was amphetamine. Teachers have indicated this may be the tip of the iceberg.

``The little girl showing how to make a bong was the most in-your-face example of drug culture among primary school students I've heard of,'' one teacher said.

``It's not unheard of that primary school children will be found with drugs at school,'' the teacher said.

``Usually it's just a bit of dope _ they've probably nicked it from their mum's purse and brought it along to show off. What, Barney just not cool enough for you or what, kid? :eek:

[ September 29, 2003, 20:53: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

Oh, come on.

We all know Barney smokes crack. How else do you numben that overwhelming shame and gulit after acting as a big purple dinosaur?

Oaz, I have to say I'm really disappointed. I would have thought such a comment beneath you. "Barney smokes crack." Have you no decency, sir?

Barney is way too much about love, hugs, group dancing and pretty colors to be a crack head. Everyone knows Barney's drug of choice is X. Clearly.

Seriously dude...get with it.

Could I be luckier than to have a small child who is NOT into Barney OR the Teletubbies in any way? Bob the Builder is a small price to pay, IMO! Further proof that my son truly is the world's only perfect child. :good:

Bob the Builder?! How could you choose Bob the Builder when you have something like The Wiggles to choose from?! I mean c'mon... 4 guys in coordinating colours dancing around and...
Hehe. Oh.

The Wiggles and Hi-5 ROCK guys!!
Both Aussie creations!
But then, unfortunately this Darwin kid is indicative of what a lot of kids get exposed to in some areas of Australia these days. Particularly in smaller towns and such.

BTW, a little :yot: I know, but does anyone out there remember (or did anyone outside Australia even hear of) an Aussie group from the 80's called The Cockroaches? Well, for those that remember who I'm talking about, they are who the Wiggles were.

I am quite confident that I could have neem able to make a bong, at least in theory, when I was 5. All you need is to read whatever you get your hands on.... You learn stuff.

*shakes her head*

Where is the world going?

Aldazar: Actually, only Jeff and Anthony were in The Cockroaches; Anthony met Greg and Murray in college and then asked Jeff to be a part of The Wiggles when they started doing children's songs.

What? What?! I like 'em, okay!

Now that I'm done being :yot: I think kids knowing how to make bongs has a lot to do with a combination of natural curiousity and complete parental uninvolvement. Not only that, but you have the new breed of stoners having kids now, and at very young ages, so that they're not as careful with what they do in front of said kids. All in all it is really sad... It'll be worse when we start getting bomb-making as a recreational activity.

4 guys in coordinating colours dancing around and...
Hehe. Oh. Your post reminds me of a bunch of people who believed that the teletubbies were teaching their children to be gay.

Those stupid cartoons actually teach kids things. They have a 'mission' which depends on the views of people behind the cartoon.

Tolerance, tolerance and leeway, just an excuse for laziness and lack of care, as well as avoidance of responsibility.

Something needs to be done about brainwashing toons and adverts on the TV. It should be illegal to target minors with very suggestive advertising. Not only does that de facto force them into buying, in a very unfair way, but it also damages their personality. All in the name of profit. Toons operate the same way. So, death be to them and let's protect our kiddies!

Something needs to be done about brainwashing toons and adverts on the TV. It should be illegal to target minors with very suggestive advertising. Not only does that de facto force them into buying, in a very unfair way, but it also damages their personality. All in the name of profit. Toons operate the same way. So, death be to them and let's protect our kiddies! Well, then, let's be thankful for TiVo and videotapes where you can skip the commercials at the beginning and end (which are usually just for more videotapes).

Insidious advertising is one thing, but consider some of the values taught in the shows my sons likes best (Bob the Builder and Stanley):
* Teamwork
* Overcoming your fears
* Thinking before you act
* Persistence
* The satisfaction of accomplishment
* The fun of investigating the world around you
* The importance of good manners
* The value of friends

Cartoons directed at slightly older kids (6 and up) have more of the advertising and less of the values. I hope that by the time my son is ready to watch those he'll have a sufficient grounding in good sense to accept it when we say "No" to the latest toy-fad.

But those cartoons too often teach to use teamwork to exploit others, make kids want to be better than others (just listen to Pokemon team song, IIRC Pokemon but not sure), and well - manners? Dexter, Cow and Chicken etc - one big obscenity, insult to aesthetic taste, where are manners there? Be loose, be relaxed, be yourself, your feelings are important, tell them what you feel, always, be assertive... don't let the parents push you around, what do those old people know about life etc etc.

'Thanks' to those films, those boys will push their fat arses through the door right before their female friends, won't say 'hello' first to a female or older person... They also display pathetic table manners, caveman style. I've never seen one pull the chair so that a girl/woman would sit down, never seen any help a girl/woman with her coat or jacket, never ever. But groping is a different thing - they perfectly know how to, even though they're completely incapable of providing a warm, healthy embrace. Just don't let us mention their manner of speaking, I'm feeling sick at the sole thought.

Stanley is another show that is really wonderful--not only does it teach the things you've already mentioned, Rallymama, it also fosters a specific interest in nature and cause-and-effect problem solving. In fact, I've found many of the shows on in the morning on the Disney channel (Playhouse!) have been wonderful, informative and interesting shows. As you also said, it's the ones that come on in the afternoon that are worrisome... kids that are taught to explore their surroundings and learn from life are then taken and taught that it's okay to be sullen and a little bit manipulative pre-teens. But hey, maybe it's just the Disney channel...

And why should we pick on only the cartoons? How long has it been since a prime-time family-based sitcom didn't feature a wiseacre teen AND use the laugh track to highlight how "clever" he or she was when sassing adults? What percentage of plotlines revolve around manipulation?

Chev, stop taking things out of context. Pokemon, et. al., is NOT appropriate for a 3-year-old, even supervised. As I said before, I hope that when my son is ready for such shows he's sufficiently aware of our expectations that getting punished for manipulation and backtalk comes as no surprise.

It's not the shows to blame; it's poor parenting.

Poor parenting....which ties back into the 5 year old making a bong thing. (It all fits I tell you!)
But not only are the afternoon shows and the cartoons that are designed for older kids--and by older I would hope that I mean over 8 or 9, but you never know nowadays-but not only are they intent on proving the wrong point and teaching the wrong thing.. But they are placed in a time slot so that when these kids get home from school, the tv lineup is so saturated with shows and yes, sitcoms, that it's rather hard to escape from. (though the HBO kids channels have some nice educational shows geared toward pre-teens, kinda like the ones I remember watching when I was younger).
But we watch Disney most often, and as soon as 6 o'clock hits, we have a choice between The Proud Family and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, where there's always one token idiot parent figure, and the biggest lesson that's taught is that lying is wrong simply because it will get you in trouble if you're caught.
I still think the Cartoon Network is designed mostly for adults, and I'm not even touching Pokemon...though it's probably the least offensive of that particular time-slots offering.
The bottom line? You HAVE to know what your kids are watching, to the point of actually *gasp* sitting down and watching the shows with them. Because if you're simply allowing the mass media to raise your kids....

Doesn't anybody watch Seseme Street anymore? I know Mr. Rodgers passed away, but aren't his shows still on?

Dragon's Jewel: I knew at least some of them were in The Cockroaches, and yes they were as cool band.

Anyway, back (kinda)on topic, I never did like Teletubbies simply because they talk like babies which seems to me to not help little-uns learn to talk. I mean surely they could have made the Teletubby-talk a little less babyish?

And back on topic a bit more, it's very unfortunate that kids growing up with drug-addicted parents do tend to have a head start on others in learning to make and use things like bongs. Maybe there should be a service implemented where there can be some kind of assistance for these people to get off the stuff and to help the kids break that cycle. Probably just too idealistic though.

I'm just wondering about the earlier points of honour and so on and I'd like to make a counterpoint. Has anyone ever heard of the phrase "sexual equality". That means that (gasp) we're all treated equally . If someone wants to open doors for ladies and pull chairs back then I do in fact wish him the best (I may be guilty of doing it myself) but that doese'nt mean anyone gets to disparage everyone else for not doing it. One more point, while most of you might not know this a large part of the girls in school (13-20yrs) are idiots, tarts or in some kind of depression. Granted that 9/10 people go through depression as children (it is SO not fun) it is still not even remotely seductive / cute / healthy.

As a man I want to ask "why".

Yep, what's with the stupid chivalry? Just grow up and get out from your Middle Ages and Renaissance. I have some boys opening doors, but I just tell them to go first. It depends on who first reaches the door, not your gender. Pfeh.

Rastilin, I'm quite obsessed with equality too. To this point that I don't understand men who actually ask women to marry them, instead of asking if they would marry them.

However, you may talk to me all day long about equality and some things will not change, anyway. Of course, it would be rude to help with the coat, pull the chair or hold the door if you were specifically asked not to do so. Well, I would stop. But nothing less than potential danger on the other side would make me go through the door first etc, call me outdated as you like, call this guilt, call me a snob, I don't care. And I still believe that this current relaxation of manners is simply boorish. I don't want to have to do with people this way 'natural'.