Do you know where your children are?

For the Michael Jackson song, see Xscape (album).
Do you know where your children are? - Public Service Announcement

"Do you know where your children are?" was a question used as a public service announcement (PSA) for parents on American television during the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The term was coined in 1967 by Mel Epstein, the Director of On-Air Promotions at New York's WNEW-TV.[1][2]

The question "Do you know where your children are?" was typically asked around 10:00 PM or 11:00 PM, depending on the market and the time of the local youth curfew, usually immediately preceding the station's late-evening newscast. The PSA was largely targeting the parents of Generation X, described by a 2004 marketing study on HighBeam Research as “one of the least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history.”[3][4][5][6]

The PSA was featured on Time magazine's "Top 10 Public-Service Announcements" list.[7]

In popular culture

The PSA was often parodied. Following a White Zombie's performance at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, Dennis Miller quipped, "It's 11:00; do you know where your zombies are?" It was featured in an episode of The Simpsons, with Homer Simpson responding to the television, "I told you last night — no!"[8] Additionally, American recording artist Michael Jackson recorded a song using the question, "Do You Know Where Your Children Are", which was initially unreleased but was eventually released on his second posthumous release Xscape. Bill Watterson featured a reference to the announcement in the first book of comic strips for Calvin and Hobbes.

References

  1. ↑ "Top 10 Public-Service Announcements - What Time Is It?". Time. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Kovalchik, Kara. "The Origin of "It's 10 PM. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?"". Mental Floss. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Top 10 Public-Service Announcements - What Time Is It?". Time. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Kovalchik, Kara. "The Origin of "It's 10 PM. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?"". Mental Floss. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Clack, Erin. "Study probes generation gap.(Hot copy: an industry update)". HighBeam Research. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Thomas, Susan (21 October 2011). "All Apologies: Thank You for the 'Sorry'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Top 10 Public-Service Announcements". Time. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top 10 Public-Service Announcements - What Time Is It?". Time. Retrieved 3 April 2016.

External links


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