I've been wondering lately if Disney is all its cracked up to be. Then I realized that there are few places my daughter isn't going to learn bad behavior. I just wish Disney wasn't one of them.We don't let Keara watch TV, but we do let her watch movies. So far, she's only seen about 6 movies, but she sees them over and over, so she knows them well. And I'm realizing just how much she is picking up from them.
Here's a snippet of what she's learned:
"Stupid" - The Santa Clause
"I don't care" - The Jungle Book
"I hate you" - Finding Nemo
"Leave me alone" - The Jungle Book
"You idiot" - Toy Story
Yeah, they portray stories with morals like friendship and loyalty, honesty, forgiveness, gratitude, etc. but they also show cruelty, rudeness, and talking back.
And, have you noticed that the majority of Disney movies feature single parents? Note: The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Dumbo, Finding Nemo, The Santa Clause, Cinderella...the list continues.
Anyway, where do your kids find truly good entertainment without it being on TV? I don't like commercials or how quickly time passes with TV. It's easy to sit your kid down in front of a TV show and not realize that 5 episodes have passed before you know it. I prefer short, hour long movies where there is a distinct start and end. And I like the Disney stories, for the most part (though I'm realizing a lot of what I liked as a child are SCARY!).
Anyway, just my observations about movies.
7 comments:
I've thought of the single parent thing quite a bit, and, honestly, the only one I could find that had 2 parents was "Sleeping Beauty". Oh, and I guess "Lion King", but we all know what happens in that one...
I am not a personal fan of Disney. There, I sad it. I DO believe that they are made for older children's entertainment, and it's getting more and more that way, with them picking up with Pixar...if adults are equally as entertained, I don't think it's really suitable for kids.
I do like Veggietales. Thank goodness I inherited a LOT of videos from someone else that I never would have bought on my own--Just classic kid movies, Peter Rabbit, Blues Clues, etc. Other than that, our TV is always tuned to PBS (though there are shows there that Carter doesn't watch too, Arthur and Word Girl) so if he turns the TV on, I'm not afraid of what pops on until I can get to it (I.E., during our "naptime" today when he snuck downstairs).
Have you tried Little Einsteins?
I don't have any kids yet, but I like the Disney movies. I think they show a balance between good and evil (can't have one without the other in life, right?), hard times that kids might go through (all of the characters triumph despite being left with unfortunate circumstances like dead or missing parents), making good decisions, etc. Some are definitely too scary for really little kids, but I think overall they aren't that bad.
I like showing the Disney Fantasia movies for Brynn. There aren't obnoxious lines for her to pick up on, and it's easy to stop it between songs ("I'll let you watch 2 songs"). Also, at the D.I. we got a couple of "Little Saints" dvds. Have you heard of them? They are basically Baby Einsteins put to primary songs with like the Angel Moroni behind them and stuff. We thought they'd be too young for Brynn (she turned 2 in December), but for whatever reason, she can't get enough of them. Plus they only last about 20 or 30 minutes. One other thing, the much earlier Disneys are better, and Brynn still likes those. I borrowed a bunch of the way old ones from my parents and I have been SO grateful for them lately. I would RATHER not just stick Brynn in front of the TV, but the closer I get to my due date, the more I've been relying on them...and really not feeling too guilty about it. Sometimes I just HAVE to put my feet up! :)
agreed! Andelyn hasn't noticed yet but I lean to more musical shows from the library and little einstein is always a good bet.
We are pretty strict at our house. I have one child that if there is ANYTHING naughty in it that is what we hear over and over. Regardless of the message of the movie or how much good was in it. We have always liked Berenstain Bears, from Feature Films for Families.
I'm not a huge fan of Disney Princess. We haven't bought any (because it's expensive and for the reason you mention).
I think PBS Kids has some good shows. We like SuperWhy, Word World, Curious George, and Barney. Victoria also likes the Little people DVD's and those are good.
Good luck - kids get exposed to those kinds of things no matter how hard we try to protect them from it.
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