My daughter is a member of the Children's Book of the Month Club. I got her Curious George, because I remember that I liked those books when I was a child. After it arrived and we sat down to read it, though, I discovered that it's a book about the Man in the Big Yellow Hat who
*steals* George from Africa and brings him to live in a *zoo*! I certainly hadn't remembered that part. My daughter loves the book; however, my husband and I, who are vegetarians and animal lovers, are horrified by this! Tonight when my daughter chose the book, she asked me why George was sad when he and the Man in the Big Yelloe Hat were being rowed to a big boat. I said it was because the MitBYH took him from his home. She asked me whether I thought that was ok, and I said no. We asked Daddy, and he said he didn't think it was ok either. Then I asked my daughter if she thought it was ok, and she said yes. I said, "Oh, ok," and kept reading the book. My husband wants to get rid of the book. I do, too, but I also think maybe we should keep it just so we can talk to our daughter about it and how we feel. My daughter is only 2 1/2, though, so I don't know how much she would understand of our concerns, and in the meantime I don't want her to think it's ok to go around stealing wild animals for our own personal pleasure. Oh, and btw, at one point in the book they throw George in jail, and they call him naughty several times, too!
What should we do?
Namaste!
Ps. We're adopting our son from Ethiopia, and I certainly don't want
*him* to think it's ok to steal things from Africa for Americans' gain. Or to think of himself as stolen from Africa! Am I overthinking this??
*steals* George from Africa and brings him to live in a *zoo*! I certainly hadn't remembered that part. My daughter loves the book; however, my husband and I, who are vegetarians and animal lovers, are horrified by this! Tonight when my daughter chose the book, she asked me why George was sad when he and the Man in the Big Yelloe Hat were being rowed to a big boat. I said it was because the MitBYH took him from his home. She asked me whether I thought that was ok, and I said no. We asked Daddy, and he said he didn't think it was ok either. Then I asked my daughter if she thought it was ok, and she said yes. I said, "Oh, ok," and kept reading the book. My husband wants to get rid of the book. I do, too, but I also think maybe we should keep it just so we can talk to our daughter about it and how we feel. My daughter is only 2 1/2, though, so I don't know how much she would understand of our concerns, and in the meantime I don't want her to think it's ok to go around stealing wild animals for our own personal pleasure. Oh, and btw, at one point in the book they throw George in jail, and they call him naughty several times, too!
What should we do?
Namaste!
Ps. We're adopting our son from Ethiopia, and I certainly don't want
*him* to think it's ok to steal things from Africa for Americans' gain. Or to think of himself as stolen from Africa! Am I overthinking this??
My 3.5 year old has no concept of what a spanking is, or why someone would want to hit another person, thankfully. I see no reason for her to be exposed to that yet. So, I'll exchange the word spanking for time out. This usually sparks a discussion she can understand about the moral of the story. As she gets older and understands more, I censor less.
