I am genuinely curious – why do so many elementary age children know the most intimate details of The Walking Dead?
While walking around my kids’ school on Mondays, I hear a number of kids murmuring to each other about Rick and Carl and Carol and Daryl, and who they hope they kill next. They say things that prove to me that the kids aren’t just passing by and catching glimpses of the show on television, but that they are actual fans who watch it religiously. I’ve even heard the graphic retelling of when Andrea curbsided that zombie with a rock and her boot, and how Michonne’s baby must have been eaten, and that’s why she’s so cold hearted now.
Now, the unruly geek in me wants to start high-fiving the kids, as I have when I’ve caught Dr. Who discussions going on, but the parent in me wants to transform into Kyle’s mom and start screaming “WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?!” in a bad, Jewish accent. Which is the proper response for the 21st Century modern parents who don’t believe in heavy censorship? I’m not sure that it’s my place to pass judgment on what someone elses kids should or shouldn’t watch, but that just seems like one of those shows that I would have been horrified of as a child. I mean, I remember my dad watching Child’s Play when I was four, and I was in tears and horrified for the next decade to where even my Ken dolls had to go in the garbage! I was about 10 when I could finally handle a movie like Aliens, but, still, compared to The Walking Dead, I don’t think Aliens can compare in terms of graphic violence (well, that part at the end when the queen rips Bishop in half always bothered me, but that was mostly due to the fact that him being a robot never sunk in).
The part of kids watching TWD that really dropped my jaw was when one of my favorite players came in for Pokemon. She’s eight-years-old, cute as a button, sweeter than sugar, and so unnervingly polite. I adore her and her upbeat attitude. But, when she started telling me what happened on last week’s Walking Dead, I was shocked. Even my sweetie is watching this, and she’s younger than my kid? Maybe I have to rethink my stance on this topic. After all, I don’t really have a big list of can’t read/watch for my oldest.
So, I decide to be the horrible parent, give in, and invite my 10 year old to watch The Walking Dead season 1 with me. I figured that, if I can at least supervise it, then I can stop it or fast forward if he gets freaked out. After all, I’m not completely stupid, I know if enough kids are talking about it then he will eventually sneak the DVDs into his room and watch them, like he has with other movies/games. I’m actually impressed at how fast he can switch the TV feed when he hears me coming so that I think he’s watching Adventure Time. If it wasn’t for the fact that he leaves the boxes sitting out I’d probably never catch him.
As for The Walking Dead, the first episode he liked alright, except for the horse getting swarmed. We found out that triggers his gag reflex, but he said he wanted to keep going. The second episode he made me skip the part where the survivors chop up the zombies to dress up in their innards. But, by the time they went back to save Meryl and found his hands, he threw his hands in the air and said “I’ve had enough of this gross crap!” and stormed out. That was several months ago with no nightmares or psychopathic, murdering tendencies to date, so, while my research is limited, it seems that kids today have much thicker skin than I did as a child. It makes me wonder what kind of crap my grandchildren will be telling me about in the future… 0.o
Trying to Mom 