In the beginning, we did alright. When Jurassic Park came out in 1993, we hired a babysitter and saw th
e film in theaters, but we waited until it came out in VHS to watch it at home (on a much smaller screen) with the kids. We made a big deal about watching it, Grandpa and Grandma came over and Austin, who was 3 years old at the time, crawled up in Grandpa's lap and stayed there until the last Raptor clawed his way through the museum.
e film in theaters, but we waited until it came out in VHS to watch it at home (on a much smaller screen) with the kids. We made a big deal about watching it, Grandpa and Grandma came over and Austin, who was 3 years old at the time, crawled up in Grandpa's lap and stayed there until the last Raptor clawed his way through the museum.It was about 5 years later that we started to fumble. One thing that I began to notice was Adam's movie choices. While he was a preschooler, he preferred to watch the same movies as his brother who was in grade school. While other 
preschoolers preferred Blue's Clues, Adam moved through that phase rather quickly and he began to request movies such as Jumangi. I didn't see it as a problem, it was just animals...and floods...and games that swallow you alive. Later, when he began to have difficulty concentrating at school, I remember reading about how "over stimulation at a young age" can make it difficult to concentrate later. It also said that not getting enough water could aggravate ADD symptoms. I ran to my little 6-year-old and begged him to drink as much water as he could stand! It was too late and my heart sank; I longed to go back and not let him indulge in the action films he loved. I wanted to take him back to Sesame Street!
When Adam was in the first grade, he was having a difficult time staying on task and finishing his school work.
David asked him, "Adam, do you not understand what you are supposed to do?"
preschoolers preferred Blue's Clues, Adam moved through that phase rather quickly and he began to request movies such as Jumangi. I didn't see it as a problem, it was just animals...and floods...and games that swallow you alive. Later, when he began to have difficulty concentrating at school, I remember reading about how "over stimulation at a young age" can make it difficult to concentrate later. It also said that not getting enough water could aggravate ADD symptoms. I ran to my little 6-year-old and begged him to drink as much water as he could stand! It was too late and my heart sank; I longed to go back and not let him indulge in the action films he loved. I wanted to take him back to Sesame Street!When Adam was in the first grade, he was having a difficult time staying on task and finishing his school work.
"No," replied Adam, "I know what I am supposed to do, but then I start thinking about Indiana Jones and then I forget."
Sweet and Adorable? Yep. Painful? Yep.
In 1999, I was working as a waitress at Black Angus and I would often work evenings. One evenin
g when I arrived home, I was walking up the sidewalk when I could hear screaming coming from the house. I knew it wasn't my children, I could tell it was a movie. I unlocked the security screen door and came into our family room where I found my 3 children, ages 10, 8 and 5 cuddled together on the couch watching Poltergeist. On the other couch, I found my darling husband fast asleep. That was a fun night. Not.
g when I arrived home, I was walking up the sidewalk when I could hear screaming coming from the house. I knew it wasn't my children, I could tell it was a movie. I unlocked the security screen door and came into our family room where I found my 3 children, ages 10, 8 and 5 cuddled together on the couch watching Poltergeist. On the other couch, I found my darling husband fast asleep. That was a fun night. Not.Then, there was the October evening, in the year 2000, that I sent David to Blockbuster to rent a movie for our family and our best friends to watch together. Being that it was Autumn and I had begun to learn how much David adored the season of ghosts and ghouls, I told him very distinctly, "Do not rent Poltergeist".
He didn't come home with Poltergeist. Instead he came home with Johnny Depp's Sleepy Hollow. I hadn't seen the film, and I 
forgot that David seems to get movie amnesia from seeing so many films. We started to watch it and we were about 
10 minutes into it, when Adam, age 6, said he didn't want to watch it. He asked if he could crawl into our bed instead and watch, Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol.
So, needless to say, through the years, our friends, many of whom had children older than ours, learned not to ask us if a movie was okay for their teens to view. In some ways it was kind of freeing. I liked not having to try to make that decision for anyone else. I obviously wasn't doing it very well for my own. And, while we really did give thought to the movies that we allowed our kids to see in the teenage years that followed, we also knew that we would probably make some mistakes.
I am sure I could list many more theatrical mistakes that we made. In the end, we have had to cling to the hope that the grace of God is able to fill in where we have fallen short.
forgot that David seems to get movie amnesia from seeing so many films. We started to watch it and we were about 
10 minutes into it, when Adam, age 6, said he didn't want to watch it. He asked if he could crawl into our bed instead and watch, Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol.So, needless to say, through the years, our friends, many of whom had children older than ours, learned not to ask us if a movie was okay for their teens to view. In some ways it was kind of freeing. I liked not having to try to make that decision for anyone else. I obviously wasn't doing it very well for my own. And, while we really did give thought to the movies that we allowed our kids to see in the teenage years that followed, we also knew that we would probably make some mistakes.
I am sure I could list many more theatrical mistakes that we made. In the end, we have had to cling to the hope that the grace of God is able to fill in where we have fallen short.
No comments:
Post a Comment