Ask Your Mother

I may be the only paranoid parent around. I may be the only mom who edits fairy tales (only occasionally) to make sure they are morally sound--you know, that the brave little tailor eventually comes clean and admits that he LIED, before he is rewarded, The princess who treats the frog like crap ends up without him (he walks away of course!), and Hansel and Gretyl's father loses custody of his children after his obvious neglect (okay I made that one up, I really didn't do that, but it would only be fair). You get the picture.

It's true. I may be the only one who cringes when she reads the Magic Tree House books and Jack and Annie actually wander into the woods alone, and then GET IN A TREEHOUSE WITH A STRANGE WOMAN--after which they go on adventures WITHOUT TELLING THEIR MOTHER--and manage to be safe from volcanoes, sinking ships, dinosaurs etc. How dare they? Don't they know they are vulnerable children? I understand fueling the imagination. I get it. Really. But please, how do you expect children to learn common sense with this kind of encouragement? There are all sorts of children time travelers, explorers, and daring dragon fighters. I ask you, what sensible child would go with Peter Pan? Can't they tell he's not mentally stable?

Today, my faith in the world was restored. We were watching The Cat in the Hat, and the cat told the children to ASK THEIR MOTHER!!! Then with her permission, they shrunk themselves down and went exploring fleas and what not. Finally! A shred of common sense.

All I'm asking, is to be asked.