No...it was not my idea to have E watch Cinderella. I knew she would be emotional. I knew someone would have to sit with her and talk her through the entire movie, explaining every action and making tense moments lighthearted.
When E was not quite 2, she saw a small clip of Winnie The Pooh for the first time. She was curious... she smiled. Unfortunately, it so happened to be the scene where either Pooh or Tigger fell out of a tree. She began screaming and crying instantaneously, pointing to the screen, and running to me. I tried to explain and show her that he was ok, but she was so upset and didn't want anything to do with the movie anymore. She spent the next few days asking if he was ok. Obviously, that event altered her world.
I decided she would not see movies any time soon, which was more than fine. We started watching little shows like Sesame Street, Barney, or Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. All shows I felt she could handle. Well, we still had episodes of grief or fright. Just a few examples are as follows: Baby Bear got caught in a net, Grover fell from the sky, Elmo fell off his bike, Baby Bop was sad and cried, a ball was thrown and broke a toy, Lady Elaine got lost, and a strong wind blew everyone around in the neighborhood. (As a side note, I love Mr. Rogers'. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this show with E. Yes, it was dated, but excellent programming for young children.)
So, when gathering with family and friends it can be somewhat difficult to avoid a movie being shown to the kids. Sometimes we can distract the little ones with something else, but other times...hmmm...it's tricky, especially if the adults are busy doing something and can't narrate the movie for E in order to avoid an emotional outburst and days of recalling the events that upset her.
So many people think I exaggerate the magnitude of E's sensitivity.
When we were visiting with family, Cinderella was the movie of choice. Was there anything in Cinderella that could upset her? I quickly scanned the movie in my head and thought that the stepmother could be frightening to her. So I decided against it. While I was playing a game, Cinderella started anyway and it was within minutes that we heard the wails from down the hall. Come to find out, the cat was chasing the mouse. You see people? I'm not exaggerating. Grandma was kind enough to sit with her for the entire movie, explaining everything. Thanks Grandma. There were no lasting effects from the movie and E wanted to watch it again the next day....with Grandma. I managed to get a few shots of her watching it a second time.
6 comments:
I don't think Cassidy has seen the beginning of Cinderella since the first time. She now thinks it starts with the making of Cinderella's ball gown. And Finding Nemo is one you probably want to avoid for a long time.
aww, sweet sensitive E. I imagine she will grow up to be a very caring person.
I agree that Finding Nemo is one to avoid at all costs. And maybe the beginning of Ratatouille. My girls don't show the same level of awareness as E, but they are still bothered by Nemo (won't watch it, in fact) and the beginning of Ratatouille. And those are the only two movies they've seen. You might try a little Thomas the Tank. It's a very calm show and the worst that usually happens is a train falls off a track or gets covered in mud. I don't know if that would be harder or easier to process for E...........We use Thomas as the motivator for filling up a potty chart with stickers. It will be so awesome to see how E grows up and has such amazing awareness for other people. I know it'll be great - as soon as this phase is over!
We will most definitely avoid most movies for quite awhile. Disney movies alone all have something she would be upset about. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Lady and the Tramp...They all have fighting, someone getting hurt, or a scary character. Thomas is a good idea, especially since she likes trains.
We got her Mary Poppins for Christmas and after watching it several times with her and making it funny, she's still uncomfortable (bank scene leading into the chimney sweep scene especially). So now all we do is play the music clips from the bonus features. She loves it.
She's so sweet, and yes, she already shows a very caring and nurturing side towards her friends and brothers. I hope that quality always stays with her.
If you get PBS, do you watch Caillou? It's a great little cartoon about a 4 year old boy and his family. Slow and calm and usually has a lesson attached. He's one of my favorites.
Hahaha... she is SO sweet! I can't believe how sensitive she is. I think it is cute. I remember when I was little being afraid of Alice in Wonderland, An American Tale, & Land Before Time. It can be frightening! I bet she will think it is so funny when you tell her how emotional she was when she gets older.
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