Are you familiar with Babar? He’s a little elephant who leaves his family in the jungle, ventures into the city, and then brings what he learned about civilization back to his community for the greater good. Babar has been teaching important lessons and entertaining families since 1931!
Recently, two DVDs were released so that Babar would continue to be part of the lives of yet another generation of children. School Days is especially appropriate at this time of year, when many of our children are back in school environments. All 4 episodes on the disc focus on school, with lessons of acceptance, honesty and patience.
The second DVD is called Best Friends Forever. As I watched this disc with Darah I was reminded of a very important lesson: ALWAYS watch what you show to your children, and never assume that the lessons being taught don’t need any further explanation or discussion with a grown-up. There is one episode on this DVD, City Ways, that I found to be too violent for small children (a gun is shown, a grown up dies at the hands of violence, although you do not see the death). Additionally, as a city-dweller, I don’t appreciate the negative portrayal of life in the city, which I believe the episode offers. Keep in mind that these stories are very old, and such views of city life were much more common many decades ago. Still, we will be skipping that episode from here on out, and if Darah ever does want to watch it in the future, I need to be there with her to talk about what she is seeing, and to help her think critically about it.
Of the entire two disc series, that is the only episode that gave me any concern. Darah also seems quite interested in Babar and asks to “watch the elephant” on a regular basis. The DVDs run 90 minutes each and retail for $14.98. Amazon has them on sale right now for $9.99! If you were a fan of Babar growing up, this is a great way to share a cherished character with your little one. It’s fun to get to experience Babar’s adventures all over again!
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the School Days and Best Friends Forever! Yay! New to Rafflecopter? Check out my tutorial before you get started.
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