Censoring the News for Children's Sake
Our world is in the middle of monumental change, from the shape of the earth to our warming climate. Today’s women have the burden of electronic media and television in direct competition with the Family Values we try to instill in our children.
The information age has made that job so much harder than previous era, everywhere you turn your head there’s some form of device mesmerizing our children and causing that “whatever” blank stare we often get when ask them to do something.
Obviously the problem with this media blitz is sometimes we have to explain things to our children that are not age appropriate. We can’t ignore the devastation in Japan nor would I want to, is it appropriate for your child to watch the horrific images and suffering? Like most questions mothers have to answer this one has no easy solution.
As the mother of a 26-year-old, soon to be college grad, I’ve had my share of questions I would have preferred not answering at the time my daughter posed them.
The first time this situation occurred she was five and happen to wander into our bedroom while her father was sleeping au natural on his back, she pointed at his genitalia and exclaimed, “What’s that mommy?” as her little finger pointed at the obvious difference I stood there stumbling for the quickest answer that would end this line of questioning until she was a teenager.
My short term solution was to tell her that’s how daddy’s go to the bathroom as blasé as possible. I had noticed when I didn’t make a big deal about something or try to hide things her interest quickly turned to her toys or favorite Nickelodeon show. With that in mind distraction became the tactic for avoiding issues she couldn’t comprehend or were not suited for her age wise.
Our children are very tuned into our emotional states from a very young age. Even if you’re doing your best to act normal when things are stressful they know when something’s wrong. My daughter would ask me if I needed a hug when she sensed distress. Just like we do for them when they bump their heads or get a boo-boo.
Every mother learns once your young child is fixated on a subject their inquisitiveness can last hours, days, or possibly even weeks. Playing the same Disney movie 40 times in a row became normal and unfortunately for me, I can still sing every song from the little mermaid.
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