Paul was watching TV today and saw the house hippo commercial. He ate it right up and before the commercial got to the part where it tells people that they need to think about what they see on TV, he said “I didn’t know there were house hippos”. This was a nice validation of how closely we watch what he watches and the games that he plays. In addition to limiting his time we have to keep an eye on the content and the message it contains. He is learning what we will say no to so there haven’t been any arguments yet, but we do try to steer him towards games and shows that are geared for younger children.

I think that its an interesting situation to be in, as I grew up listening to “objectionable” music, playing violent games, and watching TV and movies that were definitely not age appropriate. I always thought that as long as I took the time to teach my kids the difference between reality and fantasy or right and wrong I wouldn’t grow up to be one of those parents that checks everything their kids do. Paul’s ability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy or to choose between right and wrong is questionable. He has often admitting to doing wrong even though he knew it was wrong “just because he wanted to”. This evidenced itself last week when he went to his sister’s choir cabaret. He kept putting paper on top of the candle on the table even after he was told that it would catch on fire. Our friend, who had gone along to help Jen with the kids because I was working nights, had to blow the candle out. She even had to take the candle away because he started pouring the wax on the table. She compared the experience to dealing with a baby, because it didn’t matter how many times she told him no the word just didn’t mean anything.

~Living with Paul