Note from an Overprotective Mom . . . . .

I had the comment below left for me recently by a reader in regards to my review/opinion of the movie "We Are Marshall" . In the section where I stated what I felt about if it was OK for kids this is what I said:

OK for Kids? Well, I let my 12 year old watch this, but if I had of know how much bad language was in here, I may have rethought it. It was the sh*t word or the da*n word like 10 times or so. Yes, it's a great story, it's inspirational, and no sex. But I don't like my 12 year old hearing swear words thrown in with regularity (even mild swear words), thinking it is ok to use in normal conversation. The Christian Reviewer here suggests it for teens. Put it this way, if my son had a friend over, I would not let them both watch it.

Anonymous said...
Lol. I'm sorry I really had to laugh. You don't allow your 12 year old to even hear the word damn? You have to be kidding me. Very sorry, but in 6years time the world is going to eat him alive.

OK, it's not that I don't allow my 12 yr old to hear the word "da*n", he hears it every day at school and aftercare at the YMCA. It's that I feel like when I show him a movie, when I watch it with him, that if there is bad language in it, or sex, or drug/alcohol use, then it is saying these things aren't so bad, it's OK to watch stuff like this. And at his age, no I don't feel like he should be watching movies with that stuff in it. I don't want him desensitized to those experiences. The more you are around something, the more acceptable it becomes.
Yes, I am pretty conservative on the TV and Movies I allow my kids to watch. They don't watch much TV (only on the weekends during the school year). And because I have such a range in ages (6, 10, 12) if the 12 year old is watching TV, it has to be something OK for the 10 and 6 year old to watch. Today they are all going to see the Bee Movie and are quite looking forward to it! (We have a XBOX game, some Sonic game where every time he dies he says a curse word, I think it is "s*it". - They must turn down the volume when they play that game.)
Is it so wrong that I don't want my 12 yr. old hearing a bunch of cuss words on TV? Guess what - I don't allow them to say a lot of words that other people say. Words such as shut-up, or butt, or OMG, or freakin' or crap, the list could go on and on. But, those words just don't sound good coming out of the mouths of children (or anyone else for that matter!). I try to teach them to be more creative and thoughtful when speaking.
Do I think he's going to be "eatten alive" when he is 18? No. My son is one of those types of people that gets along with most anyone. He is funny, athletic, smart, and polite and well mannered. He is surviving the 7th grade at the public middle school he attends, he's very much in the "real world" (more so than I wish he had to be), and he's still expected by my husband and I to behave. To avoid using bad language, to be nice, to be polite, to avoid violence when possible, to be responsible for his actions and decisions.
This world, our society, are trying to tell you that sex before marriage is OK, that sex with anyone, anytime is OK. That using bad language is OK. That stealing because you want something you don't have or can't afford is OK. That you don't have to work for what you need or want, the government will give it to you. That violence in the face of poverty or desperation is understandable. That saying the "f" word, smoking pot, getting drunk, all are fine, they are just part of a cool kids life. I don't agree with any of that. And I am trying to bring my children up so they don't either.
When I was growing up, my divorced parents were very busy, tired and somewht uninvolved in my day-to-day life. I watched what I wanted to watch, my Mom even took me to "R" movies when I was 12, I spoke how I wanted to speak, hung out with people I shouldn't have, went places they never knew about. And I suffered the consequences of those actions/decisions for many, many years. I am trying to teach my children to live better than I did. To make good choices. To make right choices. To live in a way that honors Christ.