I grew up in a home where my dad didn't want us going out or visiting people. The only time you would see us out was either when they sent us on an errand or when we were going to school or church. We hardly interacted with other kids in our neighborhood, as we were always indoors.
In order for us not to get bored or think of going out of the house, my dad did all he could to keep us occupied while at home, and one of them was always buying the latest movie or music. If I am not mistaken, my dad usually comes home every other week with either movie cattle (Nigerian, American, or Chinese movies) or music cattle (which included the likes of King Sunny Ade, Shina Peter, TJ Bala), so I watched a lot of movies growing up.
My parents never restricted us from watching any movie, even though most of those movies were rated with parental guidance. I think we were allowed to watch all those movies then, probably because most of the movies then did not have nudity, adult scenes, or anything that would corrupt the mind of a child.
For instance, let us closely examine some Nigerian movies from back then. Whenever you see a poster with Pete Edochie, Sam Loco, John Okafor, Nkem Owoh, and Patience Ozokwor, just to mention a few, you already know what to expect in the movie, and there are always lessons to be learnt at the end of the movies.
Movies were likened to alternative schooling systems for us back then because it was in movies that we learned street sense. It was in movies that we learned the real-life application of the things we were taught or learned ourselves. It was in movies that we got exposed to certain things our parents did not teach us, either because they were scared of exposing us too early or because they got so engrossed in their career pursuits and trades.
Movies were an integral part of our informal education system, and we can't help but be grateful for all they taught us.
And as to whether I am going to set parental guidance for what my kids watch, the answer is emphatically Yes. Times have changed; we live in a crazy world now; things are no longer the way they used to be, and cartoons that were thought by parents to be safe and innocent are no longer what they once were. Now you can find nudity and absurd scenes in them, loosely.
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Some nursery rhymes are no longer safe for our kids to watch and listen to. Some time ago, I heard the lyrics of a song my daughter was listening to and was disappointed in some of them. This particular song was teaching kids how to lie.
Since that day, most of the time I or my husband listen to songs and watch cartoons with her in order to know which ones to download to her tab. Even though I had to set parental guidance on her tab, I still don't trust the content that has been released for them to watch.
Some months ago, I read about how a lady on the Internet caught her nine-year-old son watching porn and was shocked at how he got access to it since there was parental guidance setting on his tab. When she probed him, he said it was an advertisement displayed while watching his cartoon, and he clicked on it, which took him to this porn site.
So as a parent, I am not just going to set parental guidance or agree with movies rated with parental guidance, but I will go the extra mile to screen and scrutinize the movies my kids get to watch, for the days we live in are full of evil.
THANK YOU FOR READING TO THE END 🤗