Diary of a Wimpy Mother. Maybe.

I'm not very uptight.  

Maybe a better way of putting it is that I tend to be fairly relaxed about a lot of stuff (except, of course, for the things I'm not at all relaxed about). 

I wonder about this when it comes to certain things, though.  Like movies.  This weekend I took the kids (ages 7 1/2 and 4 1/2) to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid.   Greta has been reading the first book of this series - often out loud to Finn - and both of them were clamoring to see the movie.   I had seen the trailers, read some of the book, and had a vague idea of what the movie was about.     It is rated PG, which according to filmratings.com means: 

PARENTS ARE URGED TO USE "PARENTAL GUIDANCE", AS THE MOTION PICTURE MAY CONTAIN SOME MATERIAL PARENTS MIGHT NOT LIKE FOR THEIR YOUNGER CHILDREN TO VIEW.

Not particularly helpful, really.   There is a lot of stuff I "might not like" for them to see, of course.   You can look up specific movies, and it says Diary of a Wimpy Kid contains "rude humor and language".     Hmmmm.     If you consider word like "moron" and "booger" rude, then yes, it does.     I don't want my kids thinking it is okay to go around calling people morons, any more than I want them to think it's okay to run after people with a booger on your finger (both of which happen in the movie).   

But where is the line?   How much do I have to censor them from what is happening all around them in real life anyway?   A good percentage of Greta's classmates will see this movie (we saw three of them at the theater, in fact) and they'll be running around saying 'moron', so she is going to hear it.   

The movie's plot (the book's plot, actually) is centered on popularity, or lack thereof.    Greg is trying to find a way to increase his social status, and differentiate himself from Rowley, his best friend, who he perceives as dragging him down.     Do I want Greta thinking about this stuff now?   No.   But she is thinking about it.    She has been for the past two years.

I would rather be proactive than reactive when it comes to this type of thing.    The movie was cute, and funny, and chock full of bodily function humor.     There was one scene that involved Greg and Rowley finding a girly magazine under the big brother's bed - the girl on the cover is clad in a bikini and sitting on a motorcycle.    I flinched.    Then Rowley says, "I didn't know your brother was into motorcycles!"   Neither Greta nor Finn had any clue about the adult undertones of this scene.

It is such a balancing act, figuring out appropriateness.    Finn is already much more worldly than Greta, because he's a second child, and he doesn't seem any worse for wear.   He may be growing up a little faster than I would prefer (he thought Dora was a "baby show" when he was barely three - Greta didn't even know the term "baby show" until she got to Pre-Kindergarten) but he seems to roll with it, for the most part.

I never know what is going to impact them negatively, and I can't seem to guess well, either.   I thought the first Harry Potter movie would be scary to them.   Wrong.    But an innocent scene that involved fire in a cartoon aimed at 4 and 5 year olds kept them up for three nights straight.

When we sat down in the theater, I cast my eyes around desperately, hoping to see other younger kids there, seeking that acceptance that I wasn't the only Mom who would bring a 4 1/2 year old to a PG movie.   I wasn't the only one, not by a long shot.    But another friend wouldn't bring her 7 year old to a PG movie, no matter what the topic.     It's confusing.

We used the movie to have an interesting discussion about popularity at the dinner table that night.   And I, of course, had to go into Lecture Mode about why we don't chase people with boogers or call people morons.   I was especially clear with Finn - I don't need him showing up at preschool calling another kid a moron and thinking it's okay because I let him watch it in a movie.   He rolled his eyes at me, and said "It's just a movie, Mom.   I'm a nice kid.  I wouldn't call anyone a bad name." 

At 4 1/2, Finn completely understands that the things he sees in movies aren't real.   When something scares him, or upsets him, we talk about it.     He has a good sense of self; he doesn't think that just because he sees something on TV or in the movies that it is a green light to go out into the world and do those things.   I like that he is figuring this out now.   I like that we have platforms to discuss certain topics.    I feel like if I simply tell them they "aren't old enough" to see a movie like Diary of a Wimpy Kid it will create a mystique around it that would simply make it more compelling and alluring.   

But, like I said, I tend to be more relaxed about things like this.  I have no idea if it will come back to bite me, or not.   

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, too.   I think.