Don’t want your child to see Dexter on CBS? Shut the TV off and put your kid to bed.

A few days ago I noticed in a local newspaper that Marcia Weedon, the director of the Rhode Island Chapter of Parents Television Council got both her logic and panties twisted in an op-ed about the show Dexter. The children will see the show! Think of the children!

I would like to ask Mrs. Weeden a question: don’t you have anything better to do with your life?

You talk about keeping children safe. What about children who witness (not on TV but in real life) domestic violence? What about children who don’t just witness but are victims of domestic violence? Sexual abuse? Neglect? Do you care about any of this?

You claim that hundreds of thousands of children see 10 p.m. shows. First of all, this is on the parents, not the television networks. I know you don’t want to hear that because that means you actually have to take responsibility and act, and we can’t have that now. Afterall, the TV is your favorite babysitter. Also, I know parents don’t believe in bedtimes anymore — just let your kids fall asleep to cartoons or run around till they cry and pass out — but that sure would fix this problem.

Second, Weeden seems to think that children somehow cannot see shows that air on cable, but have 20/20 vision for broadcast stations. What is the difference between airing Dexter at 10 p.m. on Showtime or at 10 p.m. on CBS? Not a damn thing.

Third, you really need to let go of Janet Jackson’s nipple. Just. Let. It. Go.

I’m not going to get into the plot or character analysis for Dexter because I haven’t seen it. I want to, but I did not watch last night. I’m waiting to watch it on DVD. Also, I may be 27 years old, but I’m in bed by 10 p.m. on a Sunday night — I have to work in the morning. Twenty years ago, I would’ve been in bed long before that — I had to get up for school the next morning.

It’s so simple: children should not be seeing even half of what is aired on television (but I didn’t hear anyone complaining whenever Jack Bauer cut off an extremity). Here’s the solution to that — shut the damn thing off. Take the remote. Move the TV to your bedroom. Act like a parent. Act like an adult. And quit whining about this nonsense. Do something real to help children.

Jennifer Leblanc