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Bad influence?

We try so hard.

We limit Henry's TV-watching time to about an hour a week, and only educational-ish, preschool-oriented materials. We emphasize how hurtful hitting and name-calling can be. We try not to even utter the word "gun" in our house.

Then he goes to school, and it all goes to hell.

Do you know what a Power Ranger is? My 3-year-old does. He has started picking out his clothes based on which Power Ranger he wants to be that day -- the red one, the blue one, the green one. He picks up his golf club or anything similarly shaped, makes a "ka-pow" noise and tells me that "this could be a gun, couldn't it Mommy?" He pulls back his arm then propels it forward, hurling an invisible object at me at the breakfast table, warning, "Hey Mommy, fireball comin' atcha."

To my knowledge, he has never watched this cartoon. He picked up this lingo and behavior by watching his little preschool buddies on the playground. All that cautious parenting...swirling right down the toilet.

So kids are kids, drawn to shoot 'em up and superpowers. How freaked out should I be? I did manage to give him the "we do not shoot people" speech and the "it's only pretend, in real life that will hurt people" line. But the boy has imaginary playmates and thinks Thomas the train actually talks. In a British accent, no less. I'm not sure my kid is capable of understanding the blurry line between fact and fantasy.

It's wild, though, how much influence peers have even at this young age. I shudder to think of what's to come: curfew, puberty, drugs.

I'm going to play pretend now. Pretend I didn't even bring this up.

Comments

Brianne said…
Sure he'll be able to distinguish fact and fantasy. He's only 4. I wonder what all we used to believe when we were 4.

It'll be fine. You guys are awesome parents. :)

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