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Cheerleaders, Innocent or Immoral?

Parenting Help Me Author, Gabriella Parker

In Bothell, Washington, parents of two high school cheerleaders are suing the Northshore School District after their daughters were suspended from the cheerleading squad. They were suspended when nude photos of the cheerleaders were found to be circulating the school via text message. The lawsuit charges that the punishment was not fair for all, meaning the children who were found in possession of or forwarded the photos, were not punished. The parents also accuse school officials of basically viewing child pornography by showing the photos to other school officials in their process of determining what action should be taken against the girls.

It is important to note that the cheerleaders took the photos themselves on their cell phones. One photo was sent to a boyfriend and it has yet to be determined how or who sent out the other photo. Needless to say, once the photos were released, they spread like wildfire.

Once again, parents and children alike, don’t seem to accept any responsibility for their own choices. Rather, the parents’ first instinct is to sue. The cheerleaders obviously didn’t think it was inappropriate to take the photos. And the parents were clueless in recognizing that it was even a possibility. By suing, the parents are admitting that their daughters participated in a lewd act.

This story is not unique. Children are sending explicit pictures and texts on cell phones everyday. Given the fact that children today have unprecedented access to media that is not monitored by parents, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these types of incidents are occurring.

It is still the parents’ responsibility to protect their children, even if it means children need protection from themselves.