Watching TV With Your Children

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

08 Sep 2006 06:15 AM

When my daughter was five, I made the crucial mistake of trusting a movie without watching it first. The show was "Madeline: Lost in Paris," and my mom brought it over as a gift. I had things to do down the hall, so I put in the show and went on my merry way.

Later I found my daughter in hysterics, scared that someone was going to chop off her hair. After I got her calmed down, she told me that in the show, Madeline had been told to make lace, and if she didn't do it, all her hair would get chopped off. "Mommy," my daughter said, tears wetting her cheeks, "I don't know how to make lace."

I sat down to watch the show myself. Madeline was kept in a dungeon, forced to do slave labor at a lace factory. I was furious. What kind of children's entertainment was this? I sent an e-mail to Disney, venting my frustration. The reply they sent back was infuriating, but made perfect sense. I don't still have it, or I would give it to you verbatim, but in essence they told me that as a parent, I am responsible to prescreen any show my child watches and make sure that it is suitable for them. While I was angry with Disney for not taking more responsibility, I was even angrier with myself. I had expected Disney to do my job - deciding what my child should be watching.

Since that time, I've made it a point to preview shows for my children, and I've never regretted my decision. Most shows for children aren't blatantly offensive, but every so often, one will introduce a theme I don't agree with, such as fighting, manipulating, etc. When I am nearby, I have the opportunity to talk to my children about what they've seen and help them to understand that the character on the show was setting a bad example.

Being a parent is a tremendous opportunity and challenge. It's my sincere desire that through the television blogs here on families.com, we can help make your job a little bit easier as you sift through all that's available and choose shows for your own family to watch.

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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Jaime Egan (2178) 08 Sep 2006 10:13 PM

Yes, parents are ultimately responsible for what their children watch. However, sometimes the companies do need to think about their target audiences. I mean, if it's Disney, as a parent you generally think that it will be okay for a child of almost any age to watch. And then you can think about a movie like "Snow White" where there are MANY scary parts. Even my nephew does not like to watch "The Lion King" because he thinks that Scar is too scary. In any case, it is important that we as parents make sure that we get the right message to our children.

Tristi Pinkston (10839) 09 Sep 2006 11:14 AM

My daughter was traumatized over Snow White, and a friend's daughter threw up in Monsters, Inc, she was so scared. I sure do wish that companies like Disney would be a little more careful with what they present. And what's up with calling on the powers of darkness in Hunchback?