Regarding choosing the right reading materials for one’s own young, considering everything, including but not limited to: age-appropriateness, how the material is attention getting enough, etc., etc., etc., translated…
Recently, my best friend became Hamlet, under the persuasions of the children’s magazine salesperson, “to subscribe or not to subscribe”, she’d, struggled to this very day. She’d, frowned hard, and, I’d, pulled up a chair opposite of her, and started, telling the stories.
Many years ago, I’d, received a call, from a salesperson of a certain animal magazine. But because I was on a tight budget, I’d, said no without a single thought, and yet, the individual pressed me hard, “this is worth every cent, to invest in your own young.’, and after a few rounds, seeing how I wasn’t moved, she’d, stated the words, “You need to be responsible as a parent!”
As a responsible mom, I’d, hung up on her immediately, at the same time, I’d severed off ALL of my attachment from that particular magazine. And, in truth, as my child got older, we’d gotten the secondhand magazines from our relatives and friends, and, there are, more useful ones, other than this, “must-have”; and yet, in the process of reading along, I’d found, that the primary problem of this particular magazine wasn’t the mythical self-confidence that the salesperson had of it, but, how rigid the beliefs in the magazine was.
The magazine focused on teaching children to “behave well”, but, this behaving well, it’d often showed, how pompous the adults are, and as it get out of the mouths of the characters in the magazine, telling children what constitutes as, “right”, I’d had to say, all I saw, where the lacking in tolerance in what was, “wrong”.
And, if a kid doesn’t fit into that slot, s/he would be, a bad child?
And, if a kid is bad, then, s/he doesn’t deserve to be, loved at all?
The children are forced to accept just one system, used those boundaries, to bound themselves, and others too, couldn’t understand, that there’s, the middle grounds between the dyadic, that they’d needed to, see beyond the surfaces, to hear what the hearts are, saying, to show tolerance for each other, and understanding too.
Not to mention, how a ton of parents always stressed, when that large cat said something, it’d, weighed more than what the parents are, saying to the young, but the children will eventually grow older, if by only using the authoritarian ways, and not get the children to find the motivations internally, they will, eventually, refuse to keep going forward. And, there’s, always that reason, why kids are, throwing their, tantrums, and, as the adults managed, to solve the “symptoms’, instead of, working through to find the cause, then, we will, NEVER be able to, get closer to our young’s, hearts.
And yet, these characters, are innocent dyadic creatures, there are, a ton of information worth the children’s learning, but, it can be good, or it can, be bad, the key is still in the parents’, attitudes, like how fish are, nutritious, but we need to, be careful of the bones, and, if the parents are willing to read-along, that would, make a, whole lot of, difference too, and, it’s, a great opportunity for a discussion with one’s own young.
The education of the children, shouldn’t be left to someone else. And, how to raise a well-rounded child with a kind heart, good moral standards, can think independently, with empathy, and tolerance of others, that, is the real responsibilities of the parents, and it can’t be replaced, by any volumes of children’s magazines.
And so, I’m sure, that this parent felt offended by the salesperson’s way of selling the magazines to her, and, that’s just it, those working in sales only cared about the dollars and cents they’re making, they don’t give a CRAP what they’re selling is actually, beneficial to others, and, in choosing these, literature for the younger generations, we must be, very careful, because those information we’d, etched into their minds, will stay with them throughout their, whole lives.
Life, the Obstacle Course 