Channel blocking and parental controls have been around for awhile now. There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of situations where you can block what your kids are and are not allowed to watch on TV or which website they can and cannot visit.

Never mind the setup that most of these controls require, in the long run, I have to ask… are they really worth using?

Take a look at prime time shows for example, the shows our kids want to watch. In the line up you find shows like Knight Rider, Life, Law & Order, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, etc. Sure, some of these shows might seem to be appropriate for our kids and I don’t really have an issue with a lot of them. However, I have an issue with something else… something that your parental controls won’t handle.

The commercials.

Last week, Heidi Klum’s new commercial was announced. With a name like Heidi Klum, I’d imagine that I’d see fashion, beauty, makeup, or some other product that I’d be happy for my kid to watch. No, I did not think that I’d be seeing Heidi Klum in a lace bra and underwear rocking out with Guitar Hero.

This commercial is nothing more than 30 seconds of pure sex display. And generally, I’m all about seeing a hot girl do something crazy, I won’t lie about that. But this commercial is not something I would want my child to watch. And to make matters worse, the product it’s promoting is geared towards tween and teen boys and girls. Don’t believe me? Ask your kid if they want to play Guitar Hero, I’m sure we both know what the answer is there.

Is this even right?

So you’ve taken steps to block out all the bad on television and the Internet but during your kid-friendly programming hour, you’re shown this commercial for Guitar Hero with Heidi Klum. And now that you’ve seen it, I have to ask, what’s the point of even having parental controls in the first place?

Think this commercial won’t make it on TV during a kid-friendly hour? Think again.

With Heidi Klum appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the commercial has already played on Ellen’s show on November 10th. I don’t know about where you live but here, Ellen is on at 3:00 PM… prime time for kids watching TV and I certainly wouldn’t think that Ellen would be a show blocked by parental controls.

And you know, for me, it’s not just about the sexed up commercials. We’ve seen these for a long time. So, let me talk about other commercials.

The movies.

I am not a fan of scary movies. And I think what’s worse than taking your kids to see these horrific movies is allowing the trailers for some of these movies to be shown on television. Who’s in charge of approving these terrible commercials?

Flashes of crazy faces, clear distress, etc. are not great for children to see. It makes me wonder, should this really be approved for all audiences?

As parents we’re constantly trying to look out for our kids, do what’s best for them and give them some morals to stand on. Why has television become who can pay the most amount of money instead of who’s ready to show something moral and really appropriate for all ages?

I’m tired of the world fighting frivolous battles and am ready to see someone get pissed about what’s on TV.

In the meantime, I’ll keep my shows on TiVo for me to watch at an hour where I don’t have to worry about what my kid is seeing. Until things improve, TV is off.