My husband and I could not understand why our seven and a half year old daughter suddenly was so fearful. Our always-independent child suddenly never wanted to be alone. She started spraying “monster spray” around her bed at night (a tradition abandoned sometime ago around 3 or 4.) She didn’t want to be alone in her room at night. She couldn’t sleep. She had nightmares. We couldn’t understand where this had all come from.

She finally told us why, and then it all became clear. The previews that are constantly running on the On Demand menu were running previews for horror films. She had seen a possessed jack-in-the-box spring open and a disembodied head roll under the bed of a little girl, and who knows what else.All this while trying to find her favorite Disney Channel show “Dog with a Blog.”

We have parental controls set up on our television so as to avoid our children viewing content that is inappropriate for them, yet we cannot control or deactivate these incessant inappropriate previews. I have long been uncomfortable with the violence and adult content that runs on the menu screen, but did not realize what an effect they were having on my children.

I contacted customer service on October 27, and was told there is no way to deactivate the previews, but something needs to be done. Either there needs to be a way to turn them off, or they should be suitable for all audiences. I would think that if parental controls are enabled that could activate a signal that trips a different stream of content that is appropriate for children.

I am not alone in this complaint, and have viewed discussion groups about this topic dating back to 2008. Comcast representatives counter that "content is rated 'suitable for all audiences like in a movie theater.' In a movie preview they only show previews for the audience that the movie is appealing to. These previews may meet sensor ratings for audiences that are going to see adult movies, but I have never seen previews for horror films, violent action movies, or mature content films when I take my young children to G rated movies.

Comcast states that one of their core values is "integrity." Surely something can be done to convey a sense of integrity against the violence, gore, and adult subjects to which our children are being unwillingly subjected.

Please join with us and let Comcast know that they need to change this practice and protect our children!