Blissfully Unaware

Last night, my husband told me a story. While waiting at school for one of our daughter's Girl Scout meetings to end, he overheard a conversation between two mothers. They were discussing the skit that the troop was practicing for the upcoming Variety Show that another troop in town hosts every year.

This daughter's troop has rewritten the words to a popular kids' show on the cable channel Nick Jr. Instead of "Bubble Guppies," they are singing the "Bubble Brownies."

Cute, huh?

Not to these moms. They feel that the song is too juvenile for their children. Who are in 2nd grade. Really?

My girls love to sit down and watch an episode of Bubble Guppies, especially because it means they spend some time cuddling up to their littlest sister and baby brother. They think nothing of watching the show even when their little siblings aren't around. And more than one Saturday morning has found the 7 of us crowded onto the sofa in our living room watching the show together. Not to mention a host of other shows, including some from our own childhood.

We edit what our children watch, listen to, or play. We nix games on the iPad and Wii, videos on YouTube and shows on TV. They listen to radio stations we pick, and songs on our iPods.

All too often we make our girls put clothes we think are too mature for their elementary selves back on the rack at the store. We don't want them growing up any sooner than they will have to. We know that 14 when we were young is not the same 14 it is now. Unfortunately, it's also starting to appear that 7 is not the same 7 we used to know as well.

Are we blissfully unaware to the world that awaits our children, and perhaps they are not growing up fast enough to stay on top of what our society is now? Or are these moms blissfully unaware to how fast their children have grown up?