Comments for Beth Greenfield

Comment on I’m With Cynthia (Nixon, That Is) by Star

Star — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:13:47 +0000

I’m with both of you. Thanks Beth. All the qualifying and hairsplitting and box putting is so tired making. It’s really heartbreaking watching people divide after of the lifetimes and so many years of not wanting to be separate/unequal. Sadly, the judgement of others for the “right” or the “wrong”seems to be the common ground we all walk on.
This is a big topic.

Comment on Scary Stuff in Kids’ Movies: Why? by Beth

Beth — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:12:48 +0000

Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Raina! i totally forgot about Caliliou, that is really sweet. BAM film fest, great idea. hope you are all doing well!!

Comment on Scary Stuff in Kids’ Movies: Why? by Raina Elsner

Raina Elsner — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:02:01 +0000

Hi Beth! I liked your post. We had the same dilemma with my 6 year old son, Noah when he was younger. I wish I could give you a list of good movies for Lula but unfortunately, we never found any. I just wanted to give you some support about the situation and share with you how we dealt with it and continue to deal with it. I imagine it is an on-going process as a parent- (movies, tv shows, video games, etc.). We pretty much held off on feature-length films until Noah was older. I think he started at around 5. One of the first was Ponyo which we all loved. Like Lula, Noah is sensitive emotionally as most children are and you’re right- movies are just full of all sorts of devastating, violent, scary, ridiculous & unnecessary things. We found some really cute, happy short videos on occasion, (the Pingu shorts are great! and Calliou was sweet- nothing scary there) and we would take him to the BAM kids film festivals which were great and age appropriate. But really I cannot recommend one good movie for Lula’s age group. It’s a bummer- infuriating really. You want your kid to have a fun experience and suddenly they are being emotionally tormented! I would just say be patient for now and prescreening helps. I think your outlook on it and your instinct is healthy. Why expose kids to fear unnecessarily? It’s disturbing and stressful. As Noah said to me, “it gets in my head and I can’t get it out”. Kids imaginary worlds are soooo real to them. Good luck in your search and let folks know if you find any gems!! I’ll definitely let you know if I remember any good flicks for Lula’s age. Peace!

Comment on Adults Only, Please! by Beth

Beth — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:02:51 +0000

I’m sure you’re right—and cannot wait to see Quinn!

Comment on Scary Stuff in Kids’ Movies: Why? by Beth

Beth — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:02:09 +0000

Thank you, Melissa! Nice advice. I will check out the CD for sure.

Comment on Adults Only, Please! by jenni

jenni — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:32:52 +0000

Quinn’s a great place to start as you’ll see next week And it’s actually truly adorable to see them play with other kids, and you’ll actually have more conversations with adults as a result! But I know where you’re coming from when it comes to those birthday parties, aaargh!

Comment on Scary Stuff in Kids’ Movies: Why? by Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:08:27 +0000

So true! A bit unrelated, but your article made me think of this anyway: check out Winnie the pooh done by the BBC and read by Allen Bennett (audio cd, not a movie). Honestly, I never “got” Winnie the Pooh until I heard him read them. I never liked the stories; now I see the humour! So funny! xo

Comment on Adults Only, Please! by Beth

Beth — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:02:34 +0000

Thank you, Nissan! Thinking about how your treasures have turned out, despite the world, makes me that much less worried. xoxo

Comment on Adults Only, Please! by Nissan

Nissan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:52:32 +0000

We always dreaded how “other kids” might be bad influences upon our little girl treasures; how they would get sick, learn to grab, get hit (or worse, learn to hit), and how socialization would be the bursting of the first bubble of their innocence. It would be the place where our kids would learn about hierarchies, about schedules not tailored to the needs, about the very unfairness of life itself. Oh, such angst about pre-school. I love your protectiveness, dear Bethie.

Comment on Censorship: Alive and Well in Our Home by Star

Star — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:07:26 +0000

so far so good. love this piece Beth.
xxoo