Well, all of you know that I'm constantly laughing off my ability to be a little too liberal with the kids. You know, I let them sleep in the bed with us, drink too much juice and sometimes pop, and spend too much time in front of the tv and computer. Well, here's a new one for you... I guess.
Bailey has been saying for the past two or three weeks that she wants to take a movie in to day care because they get to watch tv for a few minutes while the teachers get ready for lunch (it's a full total of maybe 15 minutes). I kept denying Bailey. Day care has a rule against bringing in toys from home. So, Bailey has lamented that her friend, Olivia, brings in movies to day care and that she wants to take in a movie. I promised on our last trip to day care that we could take in a movie, but that I couldn't promise that they would let her watch it. So, this morning, Bailey decides to take "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I worried that it was too scary, but seeing that I wasn't feeling well (thanks to Jake and Bailey spreading their little sickly germs), I didn't argue. Of course, I told them at day care that I understood that it might be a little too scary for the kids, but that she had insisted on this particular movie. So, tonight, I asked Bailey if they watched her movie at day care. She started telling me that they told her no because it was a "PGS" movie. My translation... it was rated PG. Yes, mommy doesn't think about these things... I'm sure they all think I'm terrible at day care.
As a matter of fact, I don't even think about movie ratings for my kids. Sure, I'm certain that other parents think I'm awful and would criticize me for letting them watch things dubbed inappropriate for children. However, I have grown up without censorship, probably knowing too much for my age, but always feeling comfortable talking to my parents about everything. I have always known that I can ask my parents anything and they will give me an honest answer. So, yes, I know that some think I'm terrible when my kids know the characters from "Family Guy" or they are terrified of the Sandman from the Spiderman movie. But, I see it as a teaching opportunity to explain reality from fiction... the real world from fantasy... and to show them that no question is stupid and that there is nothing that they have to keep from me.
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No one who knows you would ever doubt that you are a wonderful parent to those babies! You're making decisions about the kind of relationship you want with your children, so who care what anyone else thinks anyway.
And, if it makes you feel any better, Connor now likes to go around saying "I shoot you!" because that's what he saw Eve doing in Wall-E (rated G, by the way, and I had to look at the DVD because I had no idea what rating it was either!)