{"id":599,"date":"2012-04-27T17:39:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T21:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/?p=599"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:07:54","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:07:54","slug":"the-hunger-games-helping-your-child-discern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/the-hunger-games-helping-your-child-discern\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hunger Games: Helping Your Child Discern"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t heard of the new Hunger Games movie, you\u2019ve probably been on a desert island for the last few weeks. It\u2019s the latest Hollywood hit; the newest junior-high buzz; and parents\u2019 most recent hurdle.\u00a0 Considering the theme of the movie\u2014a sort of giant, teenage gladiatorial battle\u2014it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that even non-Christian parents are raising a cry of concern on the web.<\/span><\/p>\n

What IS surprising to me is the large number of elementary students that I\u2019m running into who have not only seen the movie, but love it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What troubles me is when I ask elementary students WHY they like the movie.\u00a0 Their responses without exception show that they have not biblically filtered what they have seen on the screen. \u00a0At best, they haven\u2019t thought through the possible messages of the movie\u2014good or bad (and I do think there may be some good ones).\u00a0 At worst, they have swallowed a bad message.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most frightening answer that I received recently was, \u201cI liked it because of the final kill in the movie.\u201d\u00a0 My sources tell me that the final kill in this movie is a \u201cmercy killing,\u201d when one of the worst characters is being torn apart by wolves, and another teenager kills him quickly\u2014mercifully?\u2014with an arrow.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

There are so many possible messages in a scene like this.\u00a0 How does a 5th-grade boy process these messages without help? \u00a0SHOULD a 5th-grade boy have to process these messages?<\/span><\/p>\n

Help\u00a0with Discernment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A few months ago in 3rd-5th grade children\u2019s church, we talked through some principles for godly discernment when watching movies.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow<\/em>the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Children and parents need to think through, \u201cWhat is this movie trying to do to my heart?\u201d Beyond that, \u201cIs my child skilled enough at protecting his\/her heart that wrong messages in this movie will not affect him\/her?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, what is your child excited about when he\/she walks out of the movie theater? Is he excited about violence? Does she begin to talk or want to dress in ways that show she is making ungodly actresses her standard of living?<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”\u00a0 Philippians 4:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that this means you can never watch a movie in which someone does something evil. If that were the case, you wouldn\u2019t be able to read the Bible!<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe the question is, \u201cWhat does the movie cause you to dwell on?\u201d What message is exalted? What images stick with your child from the movie?<\/span><\/p>\n

What parts of the movie does your child talk about most afterward? It does no good to say that good triumphed over evil in the movie if all your child remembers is the \u201ccool\u201d villain. So maybe the villain WAS killed at the end, but if he lives on in your child\u2019s mind as the protagonist of the movie, so what?<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a side note here: boys and girls study and retain different parts of movies. I\u2019m no expert, but from countless interactions with children over the years, I\u2019ve noticed that boys tend to absorb and retain violent scenes or actions, while girls are much more likely to absorb subtle patterns of speech or attitudes. A boy is much more likely to relive blood and gore. A girl will mentally replay the way a certain actress talks, moves, and dresses.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this\u2014not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother\u2019s way.”\u00a0 Romans 14:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019ve decided that it\u2019s fine for your child to see The Hunger Games or some other \u201ciffy\u201d movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remind your child that not everyone\u2019s parents think the movie\u2019s okay. Realize that just as your child can be affected by peer pressure, he\/she can also BECOME peer pressure. Make sure that he\/she is careful when speaking to friends about the movie so as not to cause their brother or sister to stumble and want to disobey mom or dad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Media discernment will always be a challenge, but my hope is that these biblical principles will help you talk with your kids and discern what they are ready for.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t heard of the new Hunger Games movie, you\u2019ve probably been on a desert island for the last few weeks. It\u2019s the latest Hollywood hit; the newest junior-high buzz; and parents\u2019 most recent hurdle. Considering the theme of the movie\u2014a sort of giant, teenage gladiatorial battle\u2014it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that even non-Christian parents are raising a cry of concern on the web. Help your child develop discernment in making entertainment choices and in responding to the choices of others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[26,4921,41,33],"tags":[9694,9693,38,5310,5311,43],"yoast_head":"\nThe Hunger Games: Helping Your Child Discern - Faith Kids Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/the-hunger-games-helping-your-child-discern\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hunger Games: Helping Your Child Discern - Faith Kids Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you haven\u2019t heard of the new Hunger Games movie, you\u2019ve probably been on a desert island for the last few weeks. 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