WHAT Did You Say?!

Any parent knows that car rides with our dear little ones can be enlightening, frustrating, noisy, hilarious and interesting- all at the same time!  I am the proud dad of a four-year-old and a three-year-old, so one of my favorite things is listening to the two of them hold a conversation in the back seat while I'm driving.  It's the very best when they forget I'm there and go back and forth with each other about something important...like the new bark on the playground or what they like to eat at El Pollo Loco.

Last week, our family was cruising down the road and Renee & I were listening to Bauer & Reese in the back seat.  Reese was pestering Bauer by reaching over "his side."  Does this sound familiar to any other parents?  After she had done this for a time, we heard Bauer say, "Reese, stop doing that you idiot!"  Our mouths dropped to the floor and we looked at each other with a silent "WHAT?!?!?!?"  As we've all said..."We don't teach them that at home."  I can just imagine a class for our children at home- "Ok kids, this is how we say idiot; and this is how we hit someone; and this is how to pronounce stupid."  Anyhow, I digress:)

I pulled the car over and we took Bauer's drumsticks away (that's like death to him).  As most of us would do, we gave him a quick lesson on using kind words.  He responded with this: "But on Toy Story, they say 'You're just a toy you idiot!'"  Well, indeed they do.  For several months now, we have been discouraged and frustrated with the "family" movies and shows that are out there.  It seems that even the safest movie turns out to be filled with innuendos, words or attitudes that we try to avoid in our home.  Truthfully, we've pretty much decided to take a break from taking the kids to movies after being surprised by a couple of G-rated family flicks.

After hearing Bauer's explanation for the new name he gave to his sister, I was reminded immediately of Luke 6:44-45- "You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces...Your words show what is in your heart."  He heard that word while watching a family movie right on our couch.  He then repeated that word and even used it correctly- garbage in = garbage out.  I believe the following so strongly: what our kids watch affects them greatly and we are responsible to guard that gate with diligence and passion.  It is far too easy to set our children in front of the TV with a program that is "safe" according to the world's standards.  Remember though, the world's standards are not the same as the Bible's standards.  If the world says PG-13, I will not just accept that without applying it to Biblical standards.  If I'm letting my ten-year-old watch PG-13, my standards are suddenly lower than those of the world.

This is a tough battle to fight as media and marketing surround our children.  However, I would encourage each family to be ultra-careful of what our kids are watching and remember that when junk goes in, it is inevitably going to come out!

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