Children, scary movies, and scary stories do not mingle well. This is a true story about a girl. She is 5. As she sat on a trampoline listening to an older child telling a story about a woman with bloody fingers. This little girl believed that this person with the bloody fingers existed. Told me all about this woman. Then she went to a sleepover at a friends house.
The next day her dad let her watch "The Willies." Now while to a grown person, this movie seems silly and most definitely unrealistic in every sense of the word, this 5 y/o girl could only handle about 25 minutes of the movie and turned it off in tears! I, of course, calm the girl (which if you haven't figured out yet, it's Kara). She is freaked out about bathrooms now.
Children and scary movies and stories do not go together. Their imaginations are too big and vast and creative at this age. They can see and hear anything and bring it to life. When I was putting Kara to bed, she told me that there wasn't monsters in her room or our house, they were in her head. So smart she is to understand that these things do not REALLY exist, but that they do in her head.
We had a talk about the power of her brain and thoughts. And that she has control over those scary thoughts. We prayed. I thought for sure she was going to pee her bed last night, seeing that her fear of the bathroom was overwhelming for her. Scary stories and movies have a deep impact on young children. As a mom, I feel responsible for what is being processed in their little minds. I feel a need to protect them, harness their innocence, and ensure their safety.
Safety involves things like what they think about. I'll be more cautious now, when I look outside to see a circle of children listening to a story. And my girl will not be watching ANY scary movies (even the ones deemed innocent enough) for a very long time.
Peace
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