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Children in the real world

Some one made the comment today that they thought I was "sheltering my children from the real-world" in response to a comment of mine where I said the only TV I let my children watch is cartoons on Fridays.

The comment got me thinking about what the "real world" was, and then I realised that in the commenter's mind, TV was the "real-world". How strange. Since when did mostly scripted shows for entertainment become the real world?

On Saturday when we visited Craters of the Moon and Orakei Karaki to observe natural geothermal activity I thought we were right in the real world. Likewise on Sunday when we visited the Army Museum in Waiouru and moved through the exhibits showing the history of the wars NZ soldiers were involved in.

Here are my kids at the museum all dressed up in army gear with wooden guns:


I don't let my children watch much TV, but I do also expose them to poems such as the following, which my 10 year old son is currently memorising. We've also talked about the history of the poem.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Tennyson.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
My children are being given the important parts of the real world to grow up in and think about. I'm not going to dump them in the world without guidance - if I did so I wouldn't be much of a parent. I prefer to protect them until they can fend for themselves, and part of that protection is limiting their exposure to harmful influences, such as TV.

Comments

  1. and what of adults who refuse to watch the 6o'clock news, coro st., and shorters?

    I submit that more organised, goal orientated people don't waste too much time on telly. I don't think Grant Dalton, Helen, or Hillary sit around getting the 'real world' through TV news and soaps.

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  2. Well surmised Lucyna. What plonker thinks that not watching TV deprives one of the real world? So sad. My parents made a conscious decision not to have a TV in the home when I was growing up. That was the 80's and the other kids thought we must have been poor not to have a TV!! Well looking back I don't think I missed much...the Smurfs? The Munch Bunch? Olly Olsen? Oh dear. Instead, there was heaps of backyard cricket in the summer, backyard soccer in the winter and heaps of family activities which included extended family and/or friends. In fact all activities involved other people, which can only be healthy for a child growing up in a real world...unlike TV which aside from oneself, only involves a box.

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  3. I was going to write a long comment about the effects of television viewing on kids. (and a lot of adults) but it's not necessary.
    Garbage in=garbage out is enough.

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  4. I like what you've said Lucyna, but in defense of the young guy who made the comment - I don't think it's necessarily a right assumption to conclude that he was only referring to television... though he may have been.

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  5. Servant,

    Yeah, it's possible he meant everything I'm doing in general. However, I've had this comment made to me a number of times when I mention my restriction on TV, so this post is more against all those people who think TV is the real world or reflects the real world. That's why I didn't link to the source of the comment, as you are right, he may not have been referring to TV.

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  6. I'm with you on the TV thing.

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  7. another great post, made me smile, the irony is phenomenal... although the guy is only 18 so you have to cut him a bit of slack...

    remember that debate you had with the rationalists about who cared more about culture - Christians or humanists? This is a similar moment...

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  8. AJ, that's not the guy that I told to be grateful for his sheltered upbringing, is it? Was his name Matt? Maybe it was. Well, that's putting his comment into context then. I think I really annoyed him.

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  9. his name was matt but u didnt say anything about being thankful for a sheltered upbringing, from what i can tell...

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  10. AJ, I'm referring to a couple of weeks ago. I can't even remember what the post was about, so I can't look it up. Well, I could, I suppose. It would just take me a while.

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  11. it was actually frank's second-to-last post, jst the other day...

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  12. Two different guys. Jesse was the guy who had the sheltered upbringing. That post was a while ago. Matt was the TV guy.

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  13. Thanks Servant. I got confused as both were 18 and had a similar point of view, ie sheltering children bad. Strange how it's coming from the 18 year olds.

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