SKINS

Skins US to be exact.

We began watching this show with The Teenager at his request. It's become our "Tuesday night thing". I know it airs on Mondays but we DVR it and watch it together after dinner on Tuesday.

In case you aren't familiar with Skins, it's an adaptation of a British show by the same name that airs on Mtv about a group of teenagers who are friends and attend the same high school. Each episode highlights a different character on the show and depicts their individual life and how they relate to each other.

Yes, there's a lot of drugs and sexual content to the program that has prompted several of the advertisers to pull their campaigns from the show. The Parents Television Network has lodged a huge campaign against the show. There are groups of parents starting Facebook pages against it.

We've watched this program together as a family since the beginning. We've used each episode as an opportunity to discuss drugs, sex, and partying with our son. We've talked about how the relationships of the kids on the show shadow those of The Teenager's friends.

I've come to really like this show. I would even list it as one of my top favorites. I would like to encourage other parents of teenagers to watch the show with their teenagers and talk to them about it.

It's also been an eye-opener for me. My teenager knows kids that live these lives that are portrayed on the program. The opponents of the show state that it doesn't depict and over-exaggerates teen life problems but statistics do not lie.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion reports that, as of 2009, 46 percent of teens have had sex, and 55 percent have had oral sex and almost three-quarters of high school students have gotten drunk by the time they graduate, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

I wonder about the parents that are so committed to having this show canceled. Are they afraid to talk about these topics with their kids? Do they think their kids don't encounter the same situations as the teenagers on Skins every single day? I'd like to know what life they live that there isn't sex and drugs in their schools.

Parents, get your heads out of the sand and pay attention to your children instead of spending all of your time getting programs like this off the air. Sit down and watch an episode with your teenager and ask them the name of their friend that is just like Stanley. Ask them how many Cadies they know. Find out whether or not your daughter is just like Michelle.

Trust me, it'll shock you. But what a better way to get to know your teenager and be able to relate to their lives.