Often we have to make decisions in our homes or classrooms about
appropriate media for our children. If you're like me you may not have
time to sit down with your child and watch an entire Disney movie so you
can answer questions and maybe fast forward through scary parts. It
gets even harder when you have a child who begins reading
independently. I had two instances this past year when CommonSenseMedia.org came
to my rescue. The first was when my son was shown Sleeping Beauty in
his preschool. I had never shown my kids that particular Disney movie
because of the dragon scene, possibly one of the scarriest bits of hand
drawn animation Disney ever made. Besides the fact that Disney
continues to kill off parents in their movies (eight according to some
estimates including The Lion King, Dumbo, and Bambi. Sleeping Beauty
addresses the idea of evil and some issues that I was not ready to talk
to my son about yet. That is the great thing about CommonSenseMedia. If
I had been able to check the site before my son watched the movie I
would have learned about some of the details that parents need to think
about. The website provided this breakdown of the film:
for Ages 4–5What to watch out for
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Messages :
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Violence & scariness :
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Sexy stuff :
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Language :
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Consumerism :
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking :
support my case that Sleeping Beauty was not appropriate for school
without sounding like a goody two shoes.
Beauty is that as an educator I believe there is a difference between
educational entertainment and kids entertainment. Both have their time
and place but, the place for kids entertainment is not in the
classroom. I can best describe the difference between educational
entertainment and kids entertainment as the difference between watching
Dora the Explorer and watching Sponge Bob. Most parents don't mind Dora
because "Hey, they're learning Spanish." Watching Dora also exposes
young kids to sorting, matching, and retelling stories to name just a
few of the skills Dora covers. Here is what CommonSense says about
Sponge Bob,
Parents need to know that this cartoon includes
violent, dark satirical humor that will confuse kids who can't separate
fantasy and reality. Characters' relationships are marred with
name-calling and mockery, but no one ever seems affected by the
exchanges. Anger and frustration often lead to physical (which, in the
real world, would be harmful) resolutions that leave no lasting
effects. Messages about friendship, perseverance, and self-respect are
mixed into the plot, but the overall silliness of the show and the main
characters' annoying behavior often make them hard to find. All in all,
this is a real "know your kid" situation.
kid who is reading above their age level. Over the past year my
daughter has progressed from reading picture books, to American girls
historical novels, to some of the classics of children's fiction. When it came time to decide if she could read the Narnia series
I checked the website at the suggestion of our local children's
librarian. I found that it was appropriate for her age and did not deal
with issues beyond her experience.
and you are not sure how educational it is, check out CommonSenseMedia
and make an informed decision.
