Do kids understand sexy jokes on TV?

Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s not.  Either way, sexual content is being piped into our homes on television. And our kids are watching: even “Desperate Housewives” is a top-rated show among the 9- to 14-year-old set.

Kaiser Family research shows that kids watch an average of about four hours of TV a day and that two thirds of children age 8 and up have television sets in their bedrooms.

“What this means is that it’s even harder for parents to be able to monitor either how much their kids are watching or what they’re watching. It would be tough to avoid sexual content on television even if you tried,” says Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

But first the question is: When your kids sit in front of the tube, do you really know what they’re watching? How much of it do they understand? And how are they influenced by what they see?

“Dateline” gathered a group of parents of 10 to 12 year olds from across the country and let them watch from a separate room how their kids reacted to certain shows. We presented the kind of programs these pre-teens and their parents told us they typically watch and selected kids this age because research shows that they watch more TV than other groups of kids. We limited our focus to broadcast television because it is heavily-watched and, unlike cable TV, it is regulated by the government. 

The parents involved with the study say they often watch TV with their kids, but as you’re  about to see, they were very surprised when they took a closer look at the material their children are watching.

We showed the parents the sample clips before their kids saw them. As you read through the selection of clips, consider this: The scenes all come from shows that run during or before the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. slot ET—a peak viewing time for kids.

NBC Matt LeBlanc stars as "Joey"

Show: "Joey"
Clip shown:
Assistant:  Here is your schedule for today. Oh, and uh, some girl named Amelia called.
Joey: Ewww...
Assistant: You want me to break up with her but still leave an opening so you guys can sleep together?
Joey: You’ve just got yourself ‘Employee of the Month!’

Kid’s reaction:
Lauren: He’s using girls for sex. Like you can hear him. And he’s like, “Oh, I  might not want to go out with her. But I’ll have sex with her. And then I’ll go do another girl.
Rob Stafford, correspondent: Skylar, when Joey said, “You get employee of the month,” what do you think he meant?
Skylar: “He means, like, good job. You got me...”
Danasia: “You got me a girl.”

Michael Lavine / Fox The cast of "That 70s show"

Show: "That'70s show"
Clip shown:
Donna: Jackie, I went on the pill.
Jackie: Oh my God, you are going to be so popular!!

Kids' reactions:
Nick: I don’t really get it.
Stafford: When she said ‘the pill,’ what do you think they were talking about?
Nick: A drug? I don’t know. Something to help her?Stafford: Taylor, what do you think?
Taylor: I’m totally confused.
Danasia: There are different pills. There are Zurtek, Tylenol.

Amused and perhaps relieved, the parents seemed to welcome their children’s innocence.

Warner Bros. / Getty Images Cast of "Friends"

Show: "Friends"
We played a clip from the sit-com “Friends.” Up until last season it ran during prime time at 8 p.m., now it’s re-run even earlier. We asked the kids what they thought the program was about.

Kids' perception:
Lauren: It’s like real life, you know? Like what you basically do if you’re older or something, you know?
Stafford: That’s what the older folks do? What they’re doing on "Friends"?
Lauren: I guess so. Because parents, they act totally different around you, but you don’t know what they do on weekends or something.
Stafford: But you think that watching “Friends” gives you a clue about what we’re up to when you guys aren’t around?
Lauren: Yeah.

Clip shown:
(Chandler is doing sit ups as Monica urges him to do more while she is sitting on him.)
Monica:  Come on, give me 5 more.
Chandler: No.
Monica: 5 more.
Chandler:  No.
Monica:  5 more and I’ll flash you.
Chandler (immediately starts to do them)
Chandler: (doing sit ups - struggling) 1, 2, 2 and a half.  (Collapses.)  OK, just show me one of them.

Kids' reaction:
Stafford: What do you think’s going on in that clip?
Danasia: Women could use their body parts to get men to do stuff. That’s on a lot of shows. Like, women do that to men to get them to do stuff. Like, take out the garbage. Do work.

Straight talk from 10-year-old Danasia from New York. For Danasia's mother, Victoria, it's a strong message to send little girls. "I think that’s a very negative message to give to little girls," she says

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