[uuucdekz] Think of the adults

The plastic minds of young children may absorb all sorts of stimuli, especially in their own curiosity, without suffering damage.  Rather, it is the adults, whose minds are hardened and brittle, who will be shocked, disturbed, or otherwise irreparably mentally damaged from "offensive" content, and they are projecting onto their children: "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"  (Humorously, it's as if porn should be restricted only to under a certain age, not over.)

This hypothesis could be tested in a long-term experiment: the experimental group families are given a free subscription to Playboy; the control group families are prohibited from subscribing.  We measure, over the course of a lifetime, how the kids differ.

Selection bias may be a problem: some parents may withdraw if assigned to the experimental group.  Those that don't probably have a certain parenting style of philosophy, which will likely skew the results.

Inspired by: a surgeon studies a book on surgery in a cafe, containing many graphic photographs.  A small child curiously peeks over the shoulder, fascinated by the pictures.  This goes on for a while (there are lives to be saved).  Only when the parent approaches, curious about what the child is curious about, does the surgeon quickly shut the book, leave the cafe, and try to find somewhere else to study.

A similar idea is depicted in the Animatrix episode "Beyond".