Mommy Rant

Used to - my biggest Mommy Rant was the horrible choices for kids' clothes and television programs. And while that is still a big rant of mine, NOW, my biggest rant is other Mommies who rant about that, yet still put their kids in appalling clothing and let them watch appalling tv, and then rant some more about that. Yes, there are some heinous things out there in the 4-6x clothes. And yes, there are some age-inappropriate tv shows on Disney and Nick. But you know what, there are other options!

Let's look at clothes. I recently took Natalie shopping to let her choose an outfit for her 7th birthday photo shoot. She wanted to go to Kohl's. Oh my, there were some horrible things!!! I kept telling her, "You are SIX, not SIXTEEN!" Some things were too old looking, and some things were just flat out ugly! Can you believe this stuff is back in style?





MY EYES!

There were however, things that were very appropriate for a 6 year old CHILD. I don't understand the need for making our CHILDREN look like teenagers. They will be a teenager soon enough, why rush it?



Now, I know there are some kids who would not agree to wear some of the younger looking styles. Lucky for me, Natalie still likes to. But I know she won't forever. But there are some compromises out there. And guess what, they're usually cheaper too!



Now, let's look at TV. Turn on Disney Channel in the afternoon and you'll find shows like Hannah Montana, Suite Life on Deck, and Wizards of Waverly Place. I used to be under the assumption that "it's on Disney channel, it can't be too bad" and I let Natalie watch those shows. And granted, they are relatively wholesome. The kids on the show aren't out doing drugs or robbing banks. But if you will notice, the main characters of these shows, marketed to kids, are all teenagers. And they deal with teenage issues. I'm sorry, but I don't think my 4 and 6 year olds need to be watching shows about teenage issues. They don't need to be learning about french kissing or cheating boyfriends.

Some people may say, "Well, my kids have outgrown Sesame Street. And they have to watch SOMETHING. At least they're not watching Jersey Shore."

First of all, no they don't HAVE TO watch something. They could read a book, or play a game, or pretend to be a rocket scientist. But, I know, I know, sometimes it's nice for them to be able to sit down in front of the tv. Did you know that PBS has shows for older kids? Fetch with Ruff Ruffman and Wordgirl are favorites of my kids'. And the characters are KIDS who learn stuff! Imagine that! And my kids love to watch DVDs of their favorite movies. If you'd like God-centered shows, there is a cable channel called Smile of a Child that has great kids programming 24/7.

I'm not trying to say that the shows I mentioned are evil. Like I said, they are relatively wholesome. That just isn't good enough for me though.

So, the gist of my Mommy Rant is: if you don't like the clothes out there for kids to wear, then don't buy them. If you don't like the kid's programming, then don't watch it. There are alternatives. But if you do CHOOSE the clothes/shows, then don't complain about how bad they are.

Gee, I don't rant often, but that felt good to get off my chest. And I still love all of you, even if your 5 year old is wearing a neon Hannah Montana tube top to her first day of Kindergarten! :)