Carl would like to add tohis list of things he desperately needs RIGHT NOW:
- Any and all existing Pink Panther cartoon DVDs
- A toolbox with real tools (he is insanely jealous of Ruby's, but very vague about what he's going to do with said tools)
- Transformer toys
- A video game (handheld, maybe he means? He's not getting one)
- Even more little Lego guys
- A skateboard
Can you tell that Carl is driving me insane with demands for stuff? This morning, there was a long sobbing breakfast fit about wanting brownies. The sad thing is, after a few minutes I would have let him have brownies for breakfast if there had been any around. I am trying to be sympathetic yet tough in response to this new wave of tantrum, but well, it's hard, and even harder for Rod.
I thought maybe Carl was getting sick, or he's staying up too late, or he's having issues with being out of school or starting big kid school. And then I remembered, hey, he's turning four soon! There are whole books about how four year olds behave rotten! Last night a friend and I traded stories about epic tantrums our older kids threw at age four....
So I guess we have a trying year ahead.
Opinion poll time: How old should a child be before watching Star Wars and its relatives? Carl is desperate to see it, and many of his friends watch it all the time. Rod and I have been in basic agreement that it's too violent and too dramatic for our kids; it's PG for a reason and they're not ready. Some G rated films are still too intense for Ruby and Carl, although Ruby seems to have mastered the concept of "happy ending means you shouldn't get too frightened at what happens in the middle." I have a very strong personal aversion to violent movies; I'm fine with watching sex, and I don't mind bad language, but I shy away from blood/pain/death. I recall being scared by Star Wars when I first saw it in second grade. However, it has been a long time since I have watched Star Wars myself; maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
The parents who let their 3-4-5-6 year olds see Star Wars say that 1) plenty of kids are bored by all the talking and don't understand the story anyway, 2) it's just a bunch of comic book violence and nothing terribly bloody, so how is it worse than, say, Tom & Jerry?, and 3) all the other kids are watching and talking about it and so they eventually felt they had to give in.
So I am wavering. Maybe I have made too big of a deal out of saying no about it. Do you think so?
There are more and more of these "what's appropriate?" questions coming up and I am finding it really hard to formulate and then enforce our household policies in face of different rules at our friends'. i.e., how much computer time should my kids be permitted/encouraged to have? Webkinz? Libby Lu? Video games (arcade/handheld/various systems)? Bratz? Heelys? On the one hand, my kids are responsible, trustworthy, and brilliant freethinkers who should have plenty of opportunities to make their own decisions and mistakes, and I'm not a big fan of rules and bans and arbitrary limits. On the other hand, some things really offend me and I do have ideas about how they should be spending their time and money.
Not to sound too much like a whiner, but I am really sick today. My throat is so swollen it's constricting my breathing. It seems to be a cold, though, not strep, or I guess it could be both. Coughing hurts. Plus, I am deep in PMS territory. It is raining. I want my mommy.