I have two daughters who love to watch Hannah Montana and High School Musical. Yes, even Audrey. She sings along to all the songs, dancing in her car seat.
Lately, Ashley has been wanting to dress like Hannah Montana. But to her, dressing like Hannah Montana means wearing boots or putting her hair in a ponytail. There are no requests for short skirts or belly tops as that isn't what she wears on the show. I honestly think it's cute.
I read a blog posting on ParentDish (and no, I won't link it here, it does not deserve the traffic, but it was linked from
this great post) about the whole Miley Cyrus thing. This is the blogger's take on why the parents are to blame:
"It seems that too many parents these days are too tired or too busy to swim against the current. We want our kids to fit in. We'd rather not deal with the nagging, so we give in and buy the video game or doll or outfit without thinking it through. We defer to kids, instead of carefully evaluating products and programs to see if their messages actually reflect our values. Thus, we end up mindlessly encouraging and financing a disturbing trend."I am pretty sure that blogger just called me a pathetic, useless parent. And it pissed me off.
My kids don't watch Hannah Montana because I am lazy. They watch it because it puts a smile on their face. They watch it as it gives them 30 minutes of chill-out time on the couch after being at a tv-less school all day. They watch it because when Hannah Montana sings or the theme song comes on, they get up and dance. They watch it because they like it.
And don't talk to me about evaluating products. I read way too many reviews on kids' toys. I tear out pages in parenting magazines throughout the year about this toy or that toy that stimulates this or that. I browse the various parenting product blogs for the best advice. I evaluate the
hell out of what I purchase for my kids.
It's just my criteria may be a little different. Sometimes I just want a toy that Ashley will play with for
hours. Take her Polly Pockets. She loves them. She sometimes asks to go in her room and play. And yes, she will play for a few hours with them. Are they provocatively dressed? I am sure some Mom will say yes, and that they won't buy them for their kids.
And to a degree, yes, I would like my child to fit in. No, that does not mean if all the kids jumped off a bridge, there go Ashley and Audrey like little lemmings. A few months ago, all of her friends in her Pre-K class were talking about High School Musical, and Ashley asked if she could watch it too. Did I let her watch it so that she fit in with her friends? I guess so, but in the end, it's a cute movie. And if you ask Ashley if Gabriella and Troy kiss at the end of HSM2, she will tell you no. Because she just doesn't get some of the stuff in the movie. What she gets is the singing and dancing. Would my answer change if she was requesting to go bungee jumping because all the other kids were talking about it? Absolutely.
Bottom line, I want to raise kids that will come to me and ask to do something, or ask my opinion on something, or hell, just tell me about their day. I want all lines of communication to be open at all times. If they do this while dressed like Hannah Montana, more power to them.