The following editorial, which does not necessarily reflect the views of The Spokesman-Review editorial board, appeared Monday in The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin:

Parents, not government must monitor kids’ TV habits.

Do people want government to be our nanny?

Apparently some folks do. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found two-thirds of parents want the government to place tighter controls on sex and violence on television. And not just for broadcast TV. About half the parents wanted the government to crack down on sex and violence on cable channels.

So, are these parents doing their part to keep their kids from watching inappropriate TV shows? Nope.

In fact, just 15 percent of parents have taken advantage of the new technology mandated by the government, the V-chip, that allows parents to block specific programs. Just 40 percent of parents were even aware their TV had a V-chip.

Apparently it isn’t good enough that the government took steps so parents could more easily control what their kids watch. No, parents want the government to do it all for them.

It’s absurd. Parents need to parent. They, not the government, should set limits for their children.

Televisions today have remote controls that turn the TV on and off and change the channels. If you don’t like what your kids are watching, change the channel – or turn the TV off.

It’s fairly easy for parents to gather the information to make a decision about whether or not a particular show is appropriate. The TV industry has voluntarily adopted a rating system that discloses whether a show contains adult content, nudity or violence.

Children, particularly teenagers, don’t like being told they can’t watch a show. Getting children to follow rules isn’t easy. Nobody said it would be. But expecting the government to do it all isn’t reasonable, nor is it right.

While the government does have a right to set reasonable guidelines and regulate content for the public airways, cable is a different matter. Those who subscribe to cable know, or at least should know, the type of programming they are buying.

The government doesn’t need to get involved any further.