It's a Slow Fade...

Parents it is our job to help guard the gates of children's hearts and souls.

When kids, young children in particular, see violent or scary scenes on TV, they do not know it is not for real.  In fact, they think it IS REAL.  It is real t them!

My husband and I do not let any non-Christian movies into our home or onto our TV set.  The other night we as a family watched the movie Fireproof. One scene in the movie shows the firefighter saving a  girl from a burning house. My 6-year old daughter began crying because she thought the girl was really in that situation.  I knew it wasn't just her emotions (like girls crying at a movie) because she talked about it and asked me questions about it for days.  With the benefit of hindsight, I realize even though it was a Christian movie, it might have been better if she was a few years older when she saw it :) Now I'm not saying we are bad parents for letting them see this movie.  It was a good, clean movie.  
But sometimes children are allowed to watch things in schools, at their friends' houses, or maybe even in their own home that would be better avoided. 

I often think of the song by Casting Crowns, "Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear.  Be careful little feet where you go. People don't just stumble in a day... It's a slow fade when you give yourself away, it's a slow fade when black and white is turned to gray...." 

So let's protect who's important to us and help them to grow up into the men and women of God they are destined to be! Let's help them not have to deal with the hinderances we dealt with as adults, some of which probably a result of things we saw and heard as kids.