treppenwitz: Not realizing which team he's on

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Not realizing which team he's on

The other day Zahava came up from her studio late in the afternoon to find all three kids camped out in front of the TV, watching something that was highly inappropriatefor the youngest member of the group (Yonah, age 5).

After giving Ariella and Gilad the the requisite lecture about what kind of shows are appropriate for a five year old to watch, Zahava gave them the stink eye (something only mothers know how to give properly) and then went on about her business.

Fast forward to a tender moment on the couch in the living room. Zahava asks Yonah if he'd like to watch something on TV with her. Yonah considers her offer seriously for a moment and answers, "OK Imma, but make sure it's 'propriate for me".

I don't think he fully grasps that he and his parents are playing for opposing teams in this competition.

Posted by David Bogner on June 25, 2009 | Permalink

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This reminds me of when my then two-year old son came running over to me, clearly very upset. "Imma," he said innocently. "Someone moved the cookies up to a high shelf, and now I can't reach them!" It simply hadn't occurred to him that *I* was the one who had moved them, and that I had specifically done so because of his penchant for helping himself...
:-)

P.S. A [belated] happy birthday!

Posted by: Mrs. S. | Jun 25, 2009 3:32:35 PM

Depending on what he'd been watching, it could be he really does want Zahava to protect him. One of my nephews was quite grateful at that age when my sister nixed a show for being too scary. At 5, Yona might prefer to be sheltered from fear or confusion - and isn't old enough yet to pretend his feelings aren't cool.

Posted by: Sarah B. | Jun 25, 2009 4:33:10 PM

Posted by: Sarah B. | Jun 25, 2009 4:33:46 PM

I always wonder if young child actors on TV who are given lines to say that are, shall we say, adult in nature, understand what they're saying or are merely parroting what they've been told to say because it's in the script.So it's very possible that what we see as definitely inappropriate for a 5 year old is really going over his/her young head to begin with. Then again, you never know what's going to scare a child. But you know your child. And yes, I would suggest not letting him view any movie that starts with the word Godfather, Terminator or Halloween, followed by a number...

Posted by: Marsha in Englewood | Jun 25, 2009 6:22:20 PM

Really encouraging to hear that there are still some parents who censor what their kids watch. As for the Terminator films, I was so terrified by the trailer at our local cinema, I hid behind my husband.

Posted by: Noa | Jun 25, 2009 10:41:52 PM

Very cute. I think Yona felt what team he'd better be on at that precise moment.

Posted by: Ilana-Davita | Jun 26, 2009 1:31:41 AM

Zahava gave them the stink eye (something only mothers know how to give properly)

I recently asked my 8 yr. old if she wants to help clear the table. She said "No, but I will because otherwise you will make scary eyes at me".

Posted by: Chedva | Jun 26, 2009 2:01:54 AM

Actually my kids talk about how abba's angry face. In fact when my son was around Yonah's age he warned a guy at the store not to make me angry or I'd make an angry face at him.

Posted by: Jack | Jun 26, 2009 2:09:31 AM

I'm curious if you've checked out how Yona defines the term.

People tend to use terms they don't fully understand.

Posted by: Batya | Jun 26, 2009 12:33:23 PM

My experience - My kids watched whatever they liked. Oldest son watched Oedipus Rex at age 3 when we were in US. He explained to us what it was about pretty well, and added that it was not nice at all. All three kids watched lots of "good stuff" of all kinds - Incredible Hulk, Action movies - Stephen Segal, Mel Gibson, Texas Ranger, Pamela Anderson, lots of cleavage stuff, explicit homosexual series that made my stomach turn. Played Dungeons and Dragons too.

I would like to report that they are all homicidal, thieving, devil worshiping, drug addicted sex maniacs locked away in Maasiyahu prison with Hirschson and Benizri and Katsav and other degenerate miscreants to prove the theories of the censorship advocates. But the boys are grad students in chemistry and engineering and the girl is finishing the army. Maybe Katsav didn't get to watch enough junk on TV when he was a kid. That is what comes of a deprived childhood.

As for me, when I was a kid in U.S.A. they didn't have "inappropriate" stuff on TV or if they did, I was too dumb to know about it. The closest we could get was Sheena Queen of the Jungle. We watched "Father Knows Best" and "The Nelsons" which were probably a lot worse for developing psyches than Oedipus Rex.

If there is less sin defined, perhaps there is less sinning. If no fruit are forbidden, perhaps we eat the ones that taste best and we develop a taste for what is right.

Yonah will learn soon enough what "propriate" means and he might not be happy at having had his trusting nature imposed upon.

I guess I'll turn this into a blog post somehow - probably worth it.

Ami Isseroff

Posted by: Zionation | Jun 26, 2009 1:12:06 PM

when we were growing up there were only three things I was forbidden to watch - Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (okay, I was 6 or 7), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (but not the other ones), and the nuclear war miniseries The Day After.

I finally saw The Day After about 5 years ago on cable (well into my thirties) - and am still haunted. Boy were they right.

I still haven't seen the other two. I've learned my lesson.

Posted by: Michal | Jun 26, 2009 11:38:30 PM

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