I was watching Merryn, the 4 year old daughter of a friend the other day.
I had been watching Doctor Who
before she came in, and she didn’t want to switch it. I was much happier to
continue watching Doctor Who than I would have been watching Barbie, or other
things of that nature which Merryn usually likes to watch. But I was a little concerned
about giving her nightmares. When I asked her though, if it was too scary, she
pointed to the Doctor and informed me that he would save everyone. This was her
reason for not being scared. And apparently when was telling the truth, because
her Mom told me the next day that there were no nightmares. Because she
understood that somehow, the Doctor would make everything ok.
C.S. Lewis said, “Since it is likely
that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights
and heroic courage.”
I’ve always been impressed with
Merryn’s parents being cautious about how much “scary” stuff she’s allowed to
watch. But she’s at the age that she can understand things like good and bad
now.
If I have kids, they will learn
from a young age about knights and courage. Lewis’ Narnia books are a good
start for that. And Doctor Who. Stories that show that not everything will be
perfect, but everything will become right at some point.
Courage and fear are the two
options available to a child, and I would much sooner my children learn of
courage.
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