From the start, the word on ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ has been that it’s different—really different. According to 2007 blog reports, an early screening of the film’s rough cut resulted in crying children and walkouts.
Why does Hollywood always think it has to redo a masterpiece? The 1963 children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak gave every child (including me) permission to make friends with the monsters lurking just under his/her bed.
There is a monster hiding in the shadows of every house with whom which your children should never be left alone to befriend.
This leads me to ask-
Which monster remains invisible to most parents in America today?
A. The new boyfriend/girlfriend of a single parent.
B. The television.
C. An unlocked medicine cabinet.
D. Your next door neighbor.
If you answered-
A. If you are a single parent, please remember your selection of a mate will influence your children’s lives forever (and their ability to be close to you). Thankfully, most single parents I know would never overlook this obvious fact.
B. Correct. Did you know that unrestricted and all too often unsupervised, viewing of TV is one of the greatest sources of danger—and even abuse—to your children? It can be the moster lurking in the shadows of your living room and in the dark corner of your little sweetheart’s bedroom.
The average American child:
Spends more time watching TV than in school.
Watches more TV than doing any other activity besides sleeping.
Sees tens of thousands of commercials each year (each designed to brainwash your child into mindless consumerism).
Absorbs 1-2,000 TV ads for alcohol each year.
Do you really want your child(ren) befriending this monster?
TV has been proven to have a negative effect on brain development.
Most children’s programming does not teach kids the values or ideals parents report they want their children to learn.
TV viewing is replacing activities that are important to a child’s physical, emotional and mental health like playing with friends, breathing in fresh air, reading, doing homework, completing chores, and spending time with the most important person in his/her life…you!
TV has been found to be directly connected to poor grades, sleep problems, behavior problems, childhood phobias, aggression, high-risk thrill-seeking behavior and childhood obesity.
Research shows that TV is a silent stalker:
Childrens programs are five to six times more violent than adult TV.
The average American child will see approximately 8,000 murders on TV before finishing grade school.
Most violent acts on TV go unpunished.
A 22-year-long study found that watching TV violence at age 8 was linked to more aggressive behavior at age 19 to 30.
Kids witness approximately 10,000 rapes a year.
Exposure to sexual issues before a child is developmentally ready is a form of trauma.
Even “family hour” now typically contains more than eight sexual incidents.
TV viewing is closely linked to dissatisfaction with maintaining virginity among teens.
Teens exposed to highly sexual TV rate STD’s, unprotected sex and sexual encounters less negatively than their peers.
Kids get most of their information about sex from television viewing.
C. Most parents of toddlers would never shirk their responsibility when it comes to the obvious danger of an unlocked medicine cabinet. This monster is an easy one to see.
D. In today’s world, all too many of us look at our next door neighbors with the sideway glance that denotes he/she may be the monster waiting to devour our children. This is a threat most parents in America today would never ignore.
Little Max, in the book “Where the Wild Things Are” found his best friend to be the monster in his bedroom. Have you let the light of your TV, like claws of an invisible monster, sink into the hearts and minds of your children? Is there a monster in your house?
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