Oh, believe me, I talk to my kids about everything. How can you not if you are a parent in a house with more than one television with cable, with more than one computer with access to the internet, or if the kids go to the library where there's computers with internet access, or you own a music system and so do they, or let your kids do anything at all with other kids.

If you want your kids to get the right information, rather than let the media or kids educated by the media educate them on values, you gotta talk to them. A lot of parents fall prey to it, saying they're just going with the flow or keeping up with the times, so it really is important to keep the communication going. Really because you cannot keep kids away from other kids, and they talk about everything.

And... yes, they do listen, even if they disagree sometimes. Other times, it's just a stage, like the goth stage, the baggy stage, the name brand across the chest or butt stage, the "are you sure there's enough unripped cloth to hold those jeans together" stage. (We've seen a lot of stages, they can be quite entertaining).

And it really feels good when you see them rise above the influence of pop-culture and show who they truly are, or when they make decisions not to be followers of the crowd, even at the stake of being left out. Those are proud moments.