Because I love the finer things - not necessarily expensive, but worthwhile and enjoyable - I have a fairly high standard regarding what I allow in my home. My way might not be the best, and I'm not trying to put anyone with differing opinions down. But if you want to elevate your home life and your children's childhood along with it, I've got some ideas for you.
Charlotte Mason had great guidelines regarding children's books. I believe we can translate that for our modern lives to television shows as well. She warned against "twaddle" - those things children might enjoy, but are doing nothing to help their mind or heart focus on greater things. For example, I don't think she would approve of books based on popular characters, such as Ninja Turtles books or Paw Patrol books. Those types of things may not be negative, but they're not exactly rich literature either. Likewise, any television show that has some sort of catchy jingle that gets stuck in your head would likely fall under the category of "twaddle".
So what types of books, music, television shows, and movies should we allow for our children? Glad you asked. Keep in mind I am not an expert. I'm merely a mom who wants to expose her son to excellence rather than settling for ordinary.
I prefer to listen to mostly classical music with baby. We definitely listen to other genres, as well, but overall we steer clear of "kid music" because we want him to rise to the bar we set, not remain stagnant and demand things at or below his developmental level.
On our weekly library trips, I allow him to choose one or two books that I will then let him read during our daily quiet times. Beyond that, I choose what he reads for school (lately it's been Beatrix Potter) and what we read for our read aloud time (most recently, Heidi). Think of classics and you'll probably be safe. He's also read the Madeleine books, for example.
I searched high and low to find a few television shows to allow for his leisure screen time. Little House on the Prarie, Andy Griffith, Roy Rogers, and the like are mostly found on Amazon Prime for free or little cost. He genuinely enjoys these shows - and I don't have the Wonder Pets theme song stuck in my head until kingdom come. We occasionally watch documentaries for history or science lessons. He loves learning about inventors! You never know what could spark their interest if you never expose them to anything other than animation.
Similarly, with movies, I prefer to show him classics. Sometimes this means 90s movies Jake and I grew up loving, or sometimes it's older movies, or remakes of older movies. Honestly I just find that most movies today that are directed toward kids contain subjects we just aren't comfortable exposing him to yet.
Beyond the general Charlotte Mason guideline, there's a biblical one I haven't mentioned but which does hold more weight for Christians: that of thinking on only things which are good, true, excellent, or praiseworthy. Taken to the extreme, this could mean never exposing our children to fiction. I don't take it this far...but I can see why it might be a good idea. For myself, I tend to be stricter about this point. However, it's good to compare the media our children are exposed to, to this standard. Are cartoons on Nick Jr. good, true, excellent, or praiseworthy? They might be not bad but they're also not winning any Academy Awards. On the flip side, are all award-winning shows true, or praiseworthy? Remember the youth pastor's standby: Would you watch/read/listen to this if Jesus were in the room with you? Because He is.
I hope I haven't come across too harshly. I intended only to share ideas for elevating your children's media intake. If you have any guidelines you follow, please share them in the comments below. Have you given much thought to what your kids watch/read/listen to? As parents, is this something we should be concerned with? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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