No, not that Mickey.
Maurice Sendak's In The Night Kitchen has become one of the kid's favorite books to read on our trips to the library. At first, I was worried that the kid might be traumatized by a story about a kid getting baked into a cake and stuffed into the oven.
But now I wonder if the real threat isn't Mickey's penis. See, before he falls into the cake batter, Mickey falls out of bed--and out of his pajamas. And as this letter to the editor of the Fallsbrook, CA Village News reports, the merest mention of a fictional character's penis is enough to shake a family to its bedrock:
She said, “Look, Daddy, a Barney movie!” I couldn’t see it, so she guided my eyes to the vulgar obscenity arranged there on the sign. “Look! Up there! Barney’s p***s!” I was shocked when I saw the words arranged on the sign. I quickly averted her eyes and escorted her into the store."My 6-year-old was traumatized" [thevillagenews.com via boingboing]Since then, she has not stopped mentioning Barney’s p***s. This has shaken the bedrock of our family. I made an emergency call to our church’s pastor about this bombshell in my daughter’s life and he is unsure how it will affect her future.
This man is a ninny. Hopefully his pastor, upon receiving an "emergency" call from him, quoted:
"He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. (Luke 6:48)"
If his daughter reading and repeating the word "p***s" (and I am assuming this means "penis" and not "palms" or "parts".) has "shaken the bedrock of our family", then what the "h**l" is he going to do about a REAL issue facing his child(ren), like drugs, or sex, or the cultural wasteland that is reality TV? Oh ye of little faith.
I hate to break this to him, but even Jesus had a "p***s".
Sounds like the father was more traumatized than the child!
"she has not stopped mentioning Barney’s p***s"
Why does that make me laugh so much?
I'm with JJ Daddy-O on this one. This parent's reaction is so totally overboard. Aparently this child was potty-trained in the dark? My toddler is currently fascinated with all the body parts, especially the ones that are usually covered up, and constantly points and asks. He also seems to be concerned that he can't tell where his stuffed animals' pee-pees are. It's cute, it's normal, and it's HEALTHY. Seriously, if the word penis is all it takes to traumatize his family...
I can't help thinking this letter might be a joke. I hope so, at least. Now, if it said "Barney's vagina" then we might have issues... no, probably not. How sad that people get so worked up over body parts when there's so much else to worry about in the world.
This probably will not affect her as much as being raised by members of the religious right. The pastor should have told him that some people have real problems, and never to call him again about cartoon penises. After all by high school church girls are always the wildest.
Some people are so up tight. Love yourself...unless you are naked.
I was ordered to diaper my 10-month-old son at the park last week where I allowed him play (rudey-nudey) in the lake. The park security person said it was vulgar...an infant happily playing au natural in the water. i just don't get it. and who the heck is looking at my infant in a sexual manner that would warrant his nudity as somehow being "vulgar"?
I'm just thankful that I now know the gender of said dinosuar... thank you daddytypes, and thank you village news reports.
as a UK DT reader with little experience of US culture I am traumatised to discover that Ned Flanders is not a caricature after all...
[now you know how we feel about that "Bitty" show -ed.]