Earlier this week, I was desperate for something new for Westley to watch. Westley doesn't seem to mind watching the same movie for weeks on end. But my brain was going to turn to jelly if I had to hear the same dialog coming from the living room even one more time.
So I racked my brain and my DVD collection for something preschooler-friendly that wouldn't also make me want to claw my eyes out. I finally settled on my favorite of the Pixar films. Except that I completely misjudged the preschooler-friendliness of my selection.
Do you remember how flippin' scary the beginning of Monters, Inc. is? Well, I didn't! And instead of adding a new movie to the viewing rotation, I terrified my child.
I should be better at finding awesome, non-scary children's entertainment. I studied film in college, and I know how visual media works on us and why. Furthermore, I know what I like to watch and what my kid likes to watch. I just can't seem to make this knowledge work for me.
This left me wondering why it's so challenging to find movies and television shows for people Westley's age that don't also bore people my age to tears. Of course every child - and every parent - is different. What my kid finds terrifying, yours might find hilarious! I'm not looking for something challenging or deep - just something I might watch even if I weren't the parent of a young child.
"Sesame Street" - or, I should say, old "Sesame Street" - is wonderful for this. But I'll admit that much of my fondness for "Sesame Street" comes from having grown up loving Bert and Ernie, Grover, and Kermit the Frog. I'm sure there are parents who detest "Sesame Street," or whose toddlers just aren't interested.
As much as I try to push my viewing agenda, several of Westley's favorites were discovered by chance. Shrek II just happened to be playing on TV when we were on vacation, and Westley now adores it and asks for it at least twice a week. When I put on Shrek, in attempt to expose Westley to the excellent movie that precedes his current favorite, he declared the original "too scary."
So, I'm curious: how do you decide what your little ones will watch (assuming your family watches television or movies at all)? Do you take your own tastes into account when choosing media? What are your kids' favorite films and television shows?
6 comments:
Watch Fantastic Mr. Fox, E loves it. I dictate the movie or show choices most of the time but let her choose too. Seriously, they will watch the same damn thing over and over.
She likes singing and dancing too so we watch Glee and So You Think You Can Dance but I often get forced into Robin Hood (original Disney), Shark Tale, Finding Nemo, The Shreks and Spongebob.
It's tough figuring out what is okay for kids to watch. I almost envy Waldorf families who don't allow their children to watch anything until later on, at like age 9, I think.
The Disney movies are by far the worst in terms of scary and downright fucked up with their misogyny and double standards.
Oh man, for the longest time my kids were stuck on cars. Now they are watching Peanuts, and for some reason, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, is there current fave, which I would consider an also-ran.
We just completed our first cable-free month, too. And we're going to learn French. I'm very excited.
Hi! I found your blog through Seattle Mom Blogs. I am also in the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Barney is a demon from the darkest realm of hell. We don't really watch TV. It isn't totally forbidden though. Aunty shows Soleil different shows and DVDs and I youtube kid songs for her so she can watch fun little videos. She is crazy for Baby Beluga.
The one thing I wanted to shield her from (and save myself from) was Barney. We were enjoying a harmless youtube sesh one day when Soleil requested her favourite song Old Brass Wagon (we're working on her taste). So I typed it in. And what do you know? There is a clip from a Barney show where they sing OBW. Well. Here is where I made my grievous error. I thought one little taste would be enough. She doesn't know his real name and has coined him "Froggy" and she bleats like a maniac for "Froggy" at least thrice daily and pretty much gets the shakes when I don't allow "Froggy".
What the hell is so baby-crackalicous about that hideous purple reptile? Pure evil.
I think we started H on Monsters Inc early enough that it never scared him, but believe me, I watched him like a hawk for any indication of trauma and nope, none. However, The Incredibles has been pulled from rotation because of its violence. Hollis would become uber aggressive after a viewing and it'd last for days. Since he doesn't see it anymore I don't have the same issues.
I HIGHLY recommend Ratatouille and Wall-E. I can watch those a thousand times. Finding Nemo, too :)
(Meanwhile, H is behind me watching Dora on a loop ;))
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