You get a note sent home from preschool reminding you that you need to sign a form to allow your 4 year old to watch PG movies. On this form, you are reminded that "most Disney movies are PG."
I am not uptight. At all. I am actually pretty lax about a lot of things. But I have a highly sensitive child in Crab. She reacts strongly to what she sees. She understands that cartoons are pretend but does not understand that other shows are "pretend" too.
Before I go further, I will cop to the fact that I signed it. Sure. Let her watch a Disney movie on a rainy day in preschool. I am cool. I can be down with the kids these days.
But I am, in hindsight, not so okay.
Why are kids watching movies in preschool anyway? Shouldn't they be interacting and playing together? Doing crafts on a rainy day? I have purposely not let her watch certain Disney movies (Lion King, Bambi, etc...) because the themes of death overwhelm her. I am taking this slowly with her. I know this is an old topic, but what the hell is up with Disney and killing off parents, especially moms? I know volumes have been written about it. Crab can't bear the thought of anyone being separated from their mommy, daddy, etc... Crab is a bit of an empath, like me. She just feels her emotions a bit more than other people and picks up the emotions of others around her. A little barometer. If it is PG due to fart jokes, fine. If it is PG due to slaughtering of parents and other random violence, I am not so cool with it. I can explain and even laugh at bodily functions but I have a hard time explaining violence and impending doom to a 4 year old.
Am I overprotective? Maybe. Do I change my mind and unsign the note? Unsign is not a word, but I am using it anyway. Do I just man up and let my kid experience something with her peers that is ultimately pretty normal?
3 comments:
Um, you know where I am going to go on the watching TV/movies thing, especially in pre-school. Rainy day or not there are tons of other things they could be doing with the kids. Patrick's day care doesn't even own a TV. If you are uncomfortable with it, then talk to the director. You are good with people in those situations.
Yeah, I'm with you in terms of discomfort. NO WAY should pre-schoolers be watching PG movies. Sleeping Beauty, for one, is scary as heck. There are plenty of G rated movies out there. Scholastic does a whole series of movies from story books.
Unsign! Unsign! I am not opposed to movies on a rainy day--sometimes a little shared narrative is good for the community (class)--BUT they're 4! 4! G rated was made for them, PG was not. As a mom of two very sensitive boys, I hear ya'. OMG, I'm just remembering a 3 yr. old Max toddling into the kitchen to report that Malcolm was watching something "inappropriate and scary." Empower Miss Crab to speak up for herself!
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