Beware of the 'G' rated movie

I have often wondered why children's shows have villains, bad guys, or evil doers of one kind or another. Why do we think it's acceptable to expose small children to evil? I am pretty aware of which shows on television have villains, and steer away from them. The best recent example of this is a PBS show called "Word Girl" which could be a wonderful show because it teaches kids how to put words together, and to eventually read. The only thing that keeps it off our viewing list is a character who carries a machine gun that shoots sausages. Does its lack of real ammunition make it any less of a weapon? Do 3 year olds know the difference? I really don't think my kids need exposure to weapons of any kind, even the type that shoots sausages. Tia saw this show once and said "Mommy, that guy's bein' naughty". She is absolutely right, and she doesn't need to watch it. I don't care if it is sponsored by a "No Child Left Behind, Ready to Learn Grant" from our government.

I met a woman at the gym once who told me she refused to let her kids watch "Caillou" because he was too wimpy and whiny. She told me she didn't want her boys exposed to that for fear they would turn out to be wimps themselves. I personally like Caillou because it is a nice wholesome show where there are no bad guys, and a lesson is learned in every episode.

Today I took the girls to the movies. It was Wallace and Gromit, rated G, for general audiences. I sat there wondering how the movies get their ratings. There was not only a bad guy in this movie, but he carried a gun. A real shot gun, which he was eager to use at any opportunity. Aside from the gun, there was quite a bit of yelling throughout the entire movie. I was sitting there wondering to myself "How does a gun make it into a G rated movie?". My task for today is to do an internet search to find out the criteria for rating a movie.

I am well aware that our kids are going to be exposed to real life bullies soon enough. I won't be surprised if the children of that woman from the gym are classified as bullies some day. It happens in schools every where and it is something we will have to deal with eventually. I just don't think it's my job as a responsible parent to teach a 3 year old how to be tough. They are only young and innocent once, I want to savor these moments. Maybe I am a bit overprotective, but I think babies should be allowed to be babies for a little while.