I’m a High School Teacher and Here Are 3 Shows I Would Never Let My Daughters Watch

Screentime is the topic of endless discussion—how much is too much, what content should you protect your kids from, how do you ensure they only see the age-appropriate stuff and what shows are actually educational and not just a total waste of time. Indeed, the subject of screen time is loaded with nuance, and you can add one more consideration to the list—namely, how does certain content contribute to perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes? (You know, the kind we’d like our daughters not to absorb.)

I’ve been watching my own tween daughter’s increasing interaction with technology, including a growing devotion to the TV that’s aggressively defended with things like “ugh, mom, I just want to chill right now OK?” or “I’m not in a great mood, so can you just stop asking me to do things and let me watch my show?” I have to admit that I feel like I am already losing ground in the daily battle against raging hormones and almost-teen angst, but I refuse to surrender control when it comes to the specific type of content my daughter consumes. That’s why I asked Mona E., a high school teacher with six years of experience educating teens and a mother of 16-year-old twin daughters, for her advice. Here are the shows that the seasoned educator will not to let her kids watch.

“This reality show is so vile! It is about mothers and daughters who behave so badly towards each other to get ahead. Competition is very healthy, but this show is filled with the lowest form of backstabbing, grubby behavior. The attitudes of the mothers are often worse than that of the girls. This sends a very dangerous message to young girls. It reinforces the idea that even cheating and denigrating others is OK as long as you get what you want. These mothers place unattainable expectations on these girls and are angry if they do not win first place. This causes so much stress and pressure on young girls who are not old enough or experienced enough to handle it.”

“This show is relatable because it is set in a high school. However, there are several instances of inappropriate teacher-student relations that can be very persuasive. This behavior makes young girls feel like they can have suggestive dialogue or behavior towards a male teacher. All of our male teachers are very careful not to hug or touch female students so as to not give the wrong impression. Suicide is also a reality that I find to be somewhat glorified in this show, as well as other instances of violence that promote violence as a solution.”