Scary Stories

Have you heard of Common Sense Media? It's an organization that reviews every film, every show, every sliver of media and ranks them as appropriate or inappropriate for children.  It's a noble goal, but I've noticed about the execution is that CSM really does not want children to watch movies in which good-guys die -- too scary.

I disagree.  I think it's really important for kids to read stories and watch movies in which good guys die and life is sometimes scary.  The implicit message in a steady diet of only-bad-guys-die media is that death is a terrible punishment brought justly upon terrible people.  In real life, everybody dies.  Good guys, bad guys, and all of us in-between.  How is death-as-cosmic-justice going to help the kid whose grandmother or -- god forbid -- mother dies? 

I am one of those moms who really values adversity in a plot, even when it's scary.  Even when it's hard.  Half because it's important to introduce the theme of mortality in the safe space of fiction, and half because, without tension, there is no plot.  Stories without hardship are like a diet of candy for your soul.

Which is great, because Elsie, as soon she turned three, decided that she only wanted to listen to stories that don't even include bad-guys!  Stories in which everything is happy, all of the time.  Elsie's current favorite is Dora and The Unicorn King, a book in which a unicorn is elected -- yes, ELECTED -- King of the enchanted forest because he's so strong, brave, and kind.  Unfortunately, he's also modest, so Dora and her monkey have to prove to Unicornio that he is, in fact, brave, strong, and kind.  It's not just a bad book, it's THE WORST book.  I'm sure.  I've read it 1000 times.

Meanwhile, my big book of fairy tales sits banished on the bookshelf.

When I took Elsie to see Frozen, we had to leave the theater three times.

When she went on a class field-trip to see a stage production of Alice in Wonderland, Elsie sat out the entire final half of the play.

And when I let Elsie listen in on my Harry Potter audio book in the car yesterday, she made me turn it off just as the book was coming to its climax.  I've read this book before, years ago, so I was able to reassure Elsie that everybody important is ok in the end, but she didn't want to listen because she was afraid.

I was on the edge of my seat, so I kept turning it back on.  When we got home, it was such a cliffhanger that I asked Elsie,

"Should we bring it inside and finish it?" 

She nodded, wide-eyed.

We put the CD in the computer and snuggled up together to listen.  Elsie made it through to the end.  She was so proud of herself.  I am so proud of her!  Better, still, she slept like a log last night.  Sweet dreams for my brave lady.

Now the girl won't stop talking about basilisks.