Just thought I’d pop in with a new thread concerning the development on my children’s lives. My youngest daughter goes to a babysitter who is a sister in my wife’s congregation. The reason being is because the child is an infant and regular daycare is much too expensive. We looked around at home based daycares and found this one most suitable. My oldest daughter (who starts Kindergarten next week) is staying at this babysitter this week because the summer camp program at her old daycare ended last week and it would be too expensive to put her in the summer camp program at the center that we normally use for before and after care. So she is staying with her little sister’s baby sitter for this week only.
Last night, as I was putting my children to bed, the oldest said something most strange. There is a kids program on PBS kids called Super Why and the characters use what the baby sitter sees as magic (Princess Presto with her magic wand and Super Why) and told my daughter that she does not like that program because God does not approve of magic. In my mind I was thinking, “Oh my God, here we go again,” for as you all probably know, my wife did not want my daughter watching The Princess and The Frog because of the Shadow Man and the ‘demons’ he associates with. It reminds me too much of my old Independent Fundamental Baptist days where just about any television program and movie could be demonized in some way and are suppose to be avoided.
Is it any wonder why I would prefer that my children NOT be in the care of a religious person? With the Jehovah’s Witnesses in particular, I can see the conversation easily going from TV programs to birthdays and holidays. In fact, my daughter has already said earlier this week that the baby sitter said that she did not like birthdays (but did not mention whether or not the baby sitter said why). I can only imagine that kids being exposed to this constantly do not have a healthy childhood.
Anyhow, in regards to the super readers of Super Why and their ‘magic’, I responded by explaining to my daughter some concepts about magic (though I doubt a five year old could understand them). I asked her how does the picture in the TV get there? Then I explained to her that a long long time ago, someone thought that it may be possible to send pictures through the air using some form of energy. That person was later accused of and condemned for practicing magic (well actually for sorcery but I left it at practicing magic for her benefit). However, today we take television for granted and see no magic in it at all. Then I explained that once we understand how something that appears to be magical works, it is no longer magic and that our world today would look like magic to the people who lived long long ago.
I don’t think she got it right now but hopefully one day she will.
Next week she will start kindergarten and will be in a center for before and after care and out from under the influence of that baby sitter.