Friday, April 07, 2006

Age restriction

Yesterday baby took part in an inter-school cross-country 3km race. She did not make top 20, but I was proud of her. She finished the race, and even managed to have some fun, and that’s what’s important to me.

However, I was very disturbed by a minor incident on the way from the race. The child minder who took the kids to the race played a DVD movie for the girls, all under 10, on the portable TV.

“The man beat his wife then locked her in the cupboard,’ baby said. Her called her a lot of swear words, she said.

Baby says she told the lady that I would allow her to watch that kind of movie, but the lady said baby have to watch the movie if she didn’t want to.
“What’s the big deal?” the other kids asked her.

A number issues that concern me is that:
* An adult who is trusted with children played a movie for children that was clearly not intended for them
* She doesn’t see anything wrong in what she did, even when a child informs her that her parents would be against it
* She places a child into a situation where peer pressure is exerted on a child to conform even though her job is to protect a child from such situations.

My gut response was to complain to the school, but my concern is that the next time she plays DVD’s that are suitable for children, they may complain. She’s as likely as not to state that she has to do it because they will tell parents what she did and get her into trouble. One guess for who will get the blame for curbing the children’s entertainment!

Baby is new at her school and she really wants to fit in. So for now I’ve decided to not challenge the minder.

I also have to acknowledge that there will be many other things that baby is exposed to that I would not wish for her to be. I can’t restrain the world and its values. All I can do is do is give baby a compass that will help her make decisions, even when peer pressure is exerted.

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