Fab Five for Kids

When LilE was 11 months old, she had a nasty cold. As her doctor said referring to her breathing, "she is whistlin' Dixie in there." At that point we began breathing treatments 3 times a day to correct the wheezing. Three times a day for 30 minutes each time. Oh my. Eleven month old + sitting still for a long period of time=time to turn on the TV. That is how my child's love for movies began.

Here are some of our favorite things to watch while sitting in the beloved glider:

1. Praise Baby--Similar to Baby Einstein DVDs in format, but instead of classical music the scenes are shown to praise music. I love that I can sit and watch tv with my child and also teach her how to praise God! I also love that the children in the DVD are from all culture backgrounds, as well as children with special needs. God created ALL of us! And, one more thing I love about it is they have coordinating CDs for each DVD. Our favorite is God of Wonders.

2. BOZ the Bear--Created by the maker of Barney (don't let the deter you), BOZ is the big green bear who lives next door to the Baxley family. BOZ is an animated, faith based series. He teaches four year old twins Drew and Gracie all kinds of life lessons: helping others, sharing, being good friends as wells as things such as colors, shapes, ABCs, eating right, etc. Each episode also includes three songs by BOZ and the kids. One year we branched out and bought the Christmas episode. She still enjoys watching them at three years of age.

3. Cars--I know, Sandra already mentioned it, but I just love it too! And more importantly, LilE loves it! Bright colors, fast cars, great music, just all around good. The thing I love the most is there is not a "bad guy." This movie is more of a self evaluation where Lightening McQueen sees how selfish he really is and is transformed into a new car. And the shorts on the DVD are great too. LilE loves watching "Mater and the Ghostlight" and "the little girl" (aka One Man Band).

4. Tarzan--This is a sweet love story between a mother gorilla and her human son and his becoming a man of the jungle. The other day, after seeing this movie too many times to count, I still teared up watching and listening to Kala (the momma gorilla) sing to baby Tarzan, "You'll be in my heart always." I think it's the momma-love that I now have with a little one of my own. Like most animated Disney movies, this one also has many musical numbers, which I really love! Thank you, Phil. Yes, there are some scary parts involving the jungle animals (and Clayton, the poacher) and we fast forward through all of those parts to help protect the preschool mind.

5. Princess Movies--How could we leave out the princess movies? Her love is for Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Such a sweet love story. It teaches not to look at outward appearance, but to look at the heart. She also loves Cinderella, Aurora, and Ariel. I believe each has a great story to tell. Again, each of these has some scary parts with the evil characters in the story, but each parent can use his/her judgment about what to let your child watch that is age appropriate.



To help you discern what is appropriate for your child without taking the time to preview the entire movie, check out Plugged In Online for a Christian view.

As for sitting in the glider with the nebulizer on, fortunately, LilE has outgrown the wheezing for the most part. Praise the Lord for answering our prayers!

What movies do your kids love to watch? And which ones do you love to watch with your kids?

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