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.

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.”

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

Use 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!" 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.

External links

• Public Service Announcement - It's 10PM Do You Know Where Your Children Are?
• Do You Know Where Your Children Are?- PSA from 1979 - with Grace Jones
• Do You Know Where Your Children Are?- PSA from 1984 - with Andy Warhol
• FOX/WNYW's Earl Monroe PSA from 1986
• It's 11PM Do You Know Where Your Children Are?-WKBW version, circa 1988.
• It's 11:00 Do You Know Where Your Children Are - featured on The Simpsons
• Micheal Jackson - Do You Know Where Your Children Are from Xscape (album)