Bad Mommy! Bad!

I'm a horrible parent. Supposedly. Why? Because I don't really censor what my kid watches or listens to. I mean, I do have some limits, like I won't let him watch porn or anything too stupid (like Harold & Kumar). Beyond that, we've sat down to enjoy some pretty entertaining movies and music over his short lifespan.

Today we watched a couple of movies that would be questionable to a "normal" parent: The Evil Dead and Waxwork. Both schlocky 80s horror flicks with some minor nudity and a shit ton of violence. Do I think it will cause my child to become a serial killer? Hell to the no. I don't think him watching stuff like this screws him up in any way. We've sat through Friday the 13th, Snakes On A Plane, Kill Bill, Poltergeist, etc. He's normal. I don't believe it warps him in the long run because I've always stressed how this stuff is make believe and is just imagination at work.

As for music, eh. I let him listen to pretty much whatever he wants. His big thing for the past year has been The Beatles (you should have seen his face when I told him I was going to see McCartney back in July). I don't limit it to the mild stuff, though. He's free to listen to rap (I encourage Tupac) or R&B or Oldies or Jazz or Soul.....you get the point. I don't think music would influence him to be a deranged thug anymore than I think a movie would turn him into a wannabe zombie killer with the vocabulary of Samuel L. Jackson.

Lest you think I'm insane for doing this, I'll use myself as an example. My parents raised me the same way I'm raising my son (in regards to media, anyways). Growing up, my favorite movie was "Purple Rain" (I was in love with Prince). Madonna was my favorite singer, and I knew all the words to "Like A Virgin" (shut up). Twenty-seven years later, and I'm fairly normal. Yeah, I had my ups and downs, but it wasn't because of what I watched or listened to. My teenage years were filled with West Coast rap, but I didn't go out and shoot anyone, nor do I have any desire to do so right now.

I'm sure the "experts" will tell me that this is horrible for my child. Whatever. If he didn't want to watch it, he could tell me so. As it was, he was sitting here laughing his ass off at "Evil Dead" because it looks so FAKE.

I'm not sure why I wrote this all out. I think I was bored. But yes, I let my kid watch horrible shit and listen to rap, and he's as normal as can be.

Well, as normal as any kid of mine can be.