A survey of parents has found that mums and dads are increasingly concerned that many of today's pop stars put on far more explicit performances than when they were kids, and that it is sending their children negative messages about sex.
They are also worried that their sons and daughters are being taught they need to show off their bodies in a sexual way in order to get noticed.
The findings from parenting website Netmums come just days after Jo Heywood, headmistress of Heathfield School in Ascot, warned that teenage girls were being "manipulated and confused" by would-be celebrity role models like pop star Miley Cyrus, who start out as clean-cut TV characters and reinvent themselves as controversial performers.
Cyrus, 20, made headlines following her controversial performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards in August this year.
Since then, the former Hannah Montana star has continued to provoke debate with a series of racy music videos and public appearances.
Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "Modern parents aren't prudes - they know sex sells.
"But there's a strong feeling that things have gone too far now.
"It's toxic to tell young kids casual sex and violence are something to aspire to.
"Instead, if a star wants to make a statement, why not use their brain, not their body?"
The Netmums poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 parents, found that more than eight in 10 (81.7%) said that their child had sung or repeated sexual song lyrics without realising what they meant, while a third (33.4%) admitted that their youngster had copied overtly provocative dance moves they had seen pop stars perform.
Almost one in 12 (7.8%) said that their son or daughter had sung lyrics knowing what they meant.
Around 8.5% of the parents questioned said that their child was five or even younger when they first became aware of the meaning of the songs they were singing.
The most common age for children to be able to understand explicit song lyrics and actions was 10.
Asked how they felt about singers such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna , more than half of parents (55.9%) said that while they did not mind stars acting sexily, they believed some were "over the top".
Around 18.8% said that pop stars had always acted in this fashion because they knew it sold music.
Almost seven in 10 (68.6%) said that the message being sent by some singers was that "you need to flash your body and be sexual to get noticed".
Of those questioned that have boys, almost half (45.4%) said that they feared sexy music videos may make them grow up expecting women to be too sexually available, while over half (58%) said it may leave their sons expecting women to have unrealistic figures.
Of those with girls, three-quarters worried their daughters would think they would be judged on their looks, not personality or achievements, and nearly two-thirds (64.3%) said they thought their child might be expected to be sexual too soon.
Around 87.1% of parents said that they thought pop stars acted worse today, and had to go further to shock, than singers from their own childhood did.
