“Mom, did you know that Britney Spears’ sister is going to have a baby?”

I turned to my youngest son and nodded. “Yes, honey. I know.”

“I don’t really understand,” he tells me. And I don’t either. I don’t understand why I am about to have this conversation with my eight-year-old son, but it seems I have no choice. Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101” is pregnant. She’s 16 years old, she’s not married, and my kids don’t understand how that’s even possible. At 25, her older sister is cavorting around town without underwear, has had several stints in rehab and one marriage under her belt and lost custody of her children.

Aren’t we impressed! If only their mother would write a book on parenting, it would be a best seller. Possible title: “How NOT to Raise Your Child”

Parents, welcome to the world of celebrity role models.

These are two perfect examples of why it is so important to monitor who your children look up to and admire. Believe me, you’re not going to find a role model on television. It’s natural that children are interested and enamored with the young celebrities they watch on TV. Some even play cute, wholesome characters on their favorite shows.

But in the real world, these beautiful child stars face temptations and situations they are ill equipped to handle, and the odds are not in their favor that they will emerge from Hollywood pure and unscathed. With the paparazzi hot on their heels and ready to record their every misstep and the Internet poised to post their transgressions for all the world to see, our children our bound to hear about it. And to be honest, aside from cutting off all TV and computer access, there is little we can do to prevent the exposure.

But maybe there are some things we can do to minimize the damage.

Help your children understand that the characters these child stars play on TV are simply that – characters. And the same goes for young musicians. It’s all an act. They look cute, they act cute, but we don’t know what they are like in real life. And we never will.

Monitor what they watch on television. I’m the first to admit, I rarely venture into the playroom anymore, and although I’m familiar with the show “Ned Declassified,” I’ve never actually watched an episode.

Parents, we have to be aware of what our children are taking in. Take time to find out what shows they like, and spend an hour watching with them. You may be surprised that what you thought was a wholesome, harmless kid show, is nothing but a bunch of bratty, disrespectful, and sassy-mouthed kids getting into trouble and making it look cool.

Monitor the sites they are visiting on the Internet. In our house, YouTube crept in under the guise of watching videos made by other kids of Lego Star Wars adventures. The first one I watched was actually pretty cute. The joke my son told at the breakfast table last week was not. And guess where he heard it? YouTube. YouTube is no longer on the list of acceptable sites.

So the next time you spend weeks on end, finagling a way to get your child tickets to the Hannah Montana concert, you may want to rethink how much influence you want pop culture to have on them. There’s something to say about a weekend spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and old-fashioned entertainment and influence from those with a proven track-record.