Disney & Parenting.

[Danustouch]

LMAO....i don't know about you guys..but I took this very tongue in cheek. Funny read. How does Disney affect YOUR kids?
************************************************

Check it out:

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/4885/disney.html

[reanna]

Huh! Well! That was quite a read.

I am of the frame of mind that if I raise my children properly with open minds and clear thinking processes, I give them all the tools they need to reach maturity and I provide great amounts of love and support, it doesn't matter what they read or see. They will know what is right in their hearts.

The only thing that has bugged me about disney movies....... the fact that they never stick with the true and original version of the fable they make the movie out of. That has irked me for awhile.

The other thing about stories or research like this.......

A friend of mine watched a talk show a few years back. The talk show title was something to the effect of " Disney Movies.... Putting subliminal sin in our children" or some crap like that.
The guests were people who had discovered all these "nasty" little things in the disney movies. If you have seen that particular talk show, or read the numerous articles on these researchers, you have a good idea of what I am talking about. (On the slight chance that a younger reader may read this post, I'll refrain from using the language etc...)

Anyway, after watching that talk show, she dropped all of her extensive disney library off at the local video store, and has refused to let her children watch anything disney ever since.

My feeling on this..... it's a little extreme, but they are her children to raise, so who am I to judge?

But when she starts blasting at me about letting my children watch these shows, and how irresponsible that is as a parent...blah..blah...blah.....
I have to draw the line. I told her I respect her decisions, why can't she extend me the same courtesy? We don't speak much at all anymore, and I think it's sad.

However, last time we spoke about the subject of disney researchers.......
I asked her if these researchers were parents... her response
" most definitely. That shows how much they care about their children, to go through the trouble of screening and making a better world...blah..blah..."
I mentioned that these people seem to have an awful lot of time on their hands if they can go frame by frame through all these movies. They obviously don't spend much quality time in the presense of their children then.....do they!"

Needless to say, she didn't have much to say after that, and I truly didn't intend to get nasty in my response, but it felt really good to slam her. (still feel remorse about that one though)

But, such is life.
I think it is truly an admirable quality to be so concerened about the children of the future, but as with all other things...there needs to be balance. We can't possibly shelter our children from everything and everyone in this crazy world we live in that we would deem inappropriate. We just do our best to raise them with the right stuff, and hope that they make it though without too many bumps along the way.
But, like I tell my own 2 lovable monkeys...... life is a lesson. There can be no mistakes if you learn what you are here to learn. :D:D:D


This is a good topic though. It will be interesting to see other parental views.

As for my own..... oh yah! Disney has done major damage! NOT!
They have loved most of the movies, and so have I :):):):)

I have had to buy 2 copies each of Aladdin and the Lion King. They wore them out,,,,,,,no joke:):):)

[Faery-Wings]

Disclaimer: Yeah, I have been nuts about Disney forever and fell in love with my hubby the night he wore a Mickey Tshirt on a date. My house has Disney stuff everywhere, even a MM glove for a doorknocker. :p

I agree with Reanna, that one thing that I do dislike is not keeping with the story better. However, I also see it as a way to reach masses of kids to give them a glimpse of a story or myth they might not have heard of in another way. For example, there are parents who do not emphasize the importance of books or verbal history. There kids might get a peek at Hercules through Disney, and in that interest, check out a book or ask a teacher more about Greek Mythology. I also see the movies as great openers in teaching lessons~ and I do watch the movies with the kids too. I think that the Lion King and Pocohontas have wonderful Pagan messages in them too.

I am somewhat offended by the witch references in the earlier movies. But I also have to look at the time frame they were made in~1937 for Snow White and 1950 for Cinderella. At this point, witchcraft laws were still in effect in England. And the US had never elected a President that was not a Protestent. It was made as a product of the times and prevalent culture. I can't think of an example right now, but I wonder if we took a different genre that has spanned as many years and dissected that in the same manner. Would we have a similar situation? Movies reflect popular culture. So does music. Could you pull apart, say country music, and find a political agenda?

I dislike Halloween decorations of whitches to an extent. IMHO, I am teaching my kids that they are just that~ "Halloween Witches" in the same class as living mummies and Frankenstein. Very different from real witches. Maybe I haven't been Pagan long enough to let some of this get to me, but I figure I have to find a way to fit myself and beliefs into society .



BTW, if you look at Disney from a Racial perspective, there are lots of things that are not politically correct either. The Siamese cat in Aristocats, the Indian Chief in Peter Pan... My point is that Disney has made an effort to be more politically correct. Oh and this is somewhat OT, but in Disney World, there is a relatively new park, Animal Kingdom. A whole section of the park is devoted to conservation, and they support other non profit conservation/endangered animal organizations. That is a big help to our Mother Earth.

OK, I am sorry this got so long!

Chris

[Faery-Wings]

I am of the frame of mind that if I raise my children properly with open minds and clear thinking processes, I give them all the tools they need to reach maturity and I provide great amounts of love and support, it doesn't matter what they read or see. They will know what is right in their hearts.


Exactly!!!


Chris

[Lilu]

Originally posted by reanna
The only thing that has bugged me about disney movies....... the fact that they never stick with the true and original version of the fable they make the movie out of. That has irked me for awhile.

I have to agree with this. I remember watching a show... "It's a miracle" or something like that, long story, but the gist was that this little girl and dad used to watch Disney's Little Mermaid all the time together. And in the movie all ends happy right? So when Dad died, the little girl didn't seem to grasp the concept of death, and kept saying he'd be back and all. Someone eventually sent her the REAL story to the little mermaid where the mermaid actually DIES. And this helped the little girl actually understand death and that Dad wouldn't be coming back any time soon. It's slightly off topic, but that story really stuck with me as a reminder that Disney likes to alter the stories because, what?, they think kids can't handle the real story? One of my favourite stories was the REAL Little Mermaid story.

But as to whether you should let your children actually WATCH Disney, I think that's up to you. I think that the majority of the stories are excellent, my favourite being the Disney version of "Robin Hood" I grew up watching that and LOVE IT! I think that there's nothing wrong with Disney. I mean you can read anything into anything now days. I personally think "Winnie the Pooh" is stupid and probably won't let my kids watch it. The same goes for "Peanuts". You can find something wrong in just about anything if you look hard enough. I go along the lines of "do what you think is appropriate, but don't judge me for having different ideas". :)

Good topic!
Lilu

[Danustouch]

I think this article was written tongue in cheek.

I do agree that Disney often twists the "True" stories of things...like Pocahontas. But for children, I think that it starts a QUEST For the TRUE stories.

Anyway..i'm not TOO worried about how disney affects the minds of children. These are movies that parents and children can watch together. And if I'm watching a disney movie with my child (if I have one)...and they depict something in the movie which isn't real, isn't accurate, or isn't moral..i'm perfectly capable of adressing that issue with my child.

I just thought it was a funny article to read....I still love disney though. I even loved pocahontas for all it's innacuracies (color of the wind was such a beautiful song). I LOVE winnie the pooh, and plan on doing my childs room (when and if I have one)..in all pooh decor. I even want to pain the 100 acre wood, on the wall for him/her :)

[Mariposa De La Luna]

I took this article with a grain of salt. Just shows what you can do with enough time on your hands.

I watch everything my kids watch, I think its a parent's responsability to a point and certain age.
We have so many Disney movies its pathetic, my daughter consistantly gets them as gifts and from us.
Even if they have taken "creative license" with the story line, it gives us an opportunity to find out more. I tell my daughter that those are just movie witches but she still doesn't quite get that there are real witches. She's getting it slowly because she's used to them only being in movies and "not real". So in that respect I think Disney has influenced her.
I'm just glad there hasn't been much merchandise that she wanted from the last two.