Kathryn informed me the other night that many of her friends were not allowed to watch some of the shows she did as a kid. I wasn’t quite sure where this conversation was going – was I going to be a hero or once again, proven to be a questionable parent? Thankfully, this time she was on Team Ellen.
Every parent makes choices and decisions for their kids on what they think is right and wrong and I fully support those individual decisions. I don’t always understand them but I support them. Parenting is hard enough; you don’t need outsiders to weigh in on what the type of influences you do or don’t want your kids to have. Kids TV shows were just not something I spent a lot of time worrying about. I know that every show geared toward a child isn’t necessarily great but in moderation and with some supervision, I was ok with most.
Sure, I made a few blunders along the way. One time we were at the beach with my sister and her family and I got a Ren and Stimpy video. That show was weird and its creepiness fascinated the kids. I didn’t exactly read the full description and it turned out to be very inappropriate. I mean very inappropriate, even for my lax standards. But if we had let on it was not a good choice, they would have wanted to watch it even more so we had to create a distraction and then turn it off. Oh, the games you play as a parent.
Kathryn and I discussed the different shows that were on her friend’s list of banned shows, I finally concluded that given she’s the 4th child in our household, things might have been a little less strict. This is classic parenting, in my opinion. The first child is the lucky recipient of all the reading and fresh enthusiasm of parenting there is, the second child is still getting some of those effects, but in a lesser manner and 3rd on down, well those kids are practically raising themselves. I joke but we all know there’s some truth to it. Kathryn experienced a hybrid of sorts – she’s my first biological child so she got some benefits of my new parent readings and philosophies but as the 4th in the household, she always benefited from the experiences of her siblings. I need to remind her of the charmed life she’s led…
Kathryn and I watched a lot of shows together on PBS, Disney, Cartoon Network, Food Network and Animal Planet. I think this represents a good smattering of topics, a balance of educational and not so educational. One show we did watch was Hannah Montana. This might have been on the banned list for others but I didn’t then and thinking back now, see it has too bad. This was my first introduction to Miley Cyrus. A lot can be said about her but I think she’s extremely talented. Like so many Disney stars, she’s grown up in an age of social media and no privacy and all her missteps and normal teenage rebellion have been captured for the world to see. Regardless, I think she has a great voice and so today, my Christmas song of the day is from her. I think Miley just needed to find her balance, just like the rest of us.
spooningwithsmokey 