Frozen, Children, and Magic

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DanielJT

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Sine the Disney movie “Frozen” came out my daughter (now almost four) has been running around playing like she has “magic.” I do not see a problem with it because I believe in encouraging her imagination and she knows that nothing actually happens when she uses her magic. We play pretend like there is a castle growing around her and talk about how big and beautiful it is.

The problem I came into is when my nephew (now six) came to me and started to lecture me about the evils of magic. I know that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have some pretty skewed views of the Bible. They are Moravian, which I am not sure what it is or where it came from, and neither are they apparently from what they have told me.

So my question is, how do I finesse this situation with the in-laws and their son? Are there some solid articles regarding child’s play and what is permissible as a Christian?

Or am I wrong? Maybe my little one shouldn’t pretend she has magic? If I need correction, I’ll take it.

This has just become incredibly awkward and I could use some insight. Thank you.
 
I think you simply need to set boundaries.

Six year olds do not lecture adults. Your parenting decisions are not theirs.
 
1ke said:
I think you simply need to set boundaries.

Six year olds do not lecture adults. Your parenting decisions are not theirs.
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^^^This.

Especially when dealing with children the age of your daughter, I see nothing wrong with a little make-believe, as long as they KNOW it’s make-believe, and it doesn’t start crossing the borders into every-day life. We taught our two boys early that what they saw on TV was make-believe, not reality.

Now if you daughter succeeds in turning you nephew into a toad, you may have a problem 😛
 
Little kids pretending they can do good magic is fine as long as they understand that it’s just pretend. I would be more concerned if little ones were pretending to do dark magic.

Also, I would be most concerned about a 6 year old lecturing adults
 
DanielJT said:
Sine the Disney movie “Frozen” came out my daughter (now almost four) has been running around playing like she has “magic.” I do not see a problem with it because I believe in encouraging her imagination and she knows that nothing actually happens when she uses her magic. We play pretend like there is a castle growing around her and talk about how big and beautiful it is.

The problem I came into is when my nephew (now six) came to me and started to lecture me about the evils of magic. I know that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have some pretty skewed views of the Bible. They are Moravian, which I am not sure what it is or where it came from, and neither are they apparently from what they have told me.
So my question is, how do I finesse this situation with the in-laws and their son? Are there some solid articles regarding child’s play and what is permissible as a Christian?

Or am I wrong? Maybe my little one shouldn’t pretend she has magic? If I need correction, I’ll take it.

This has just become incredibly awkward and I could use some insight. Thank you.
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I was raised among Moravians in Bethlehem, Pa, and this attitude seems quite outside my experience with them. They always impressed me as rather moderate, not bent on extremes of any particular type, focused on Christ, and service to the community.

ISTM that “pretend” is how children grow. They use it to extend their current limited boundaries, and yet usually know it is not reality. Magic, like Frozen or Harry Potter, properly framed, is not bad. When I was young we pretended to play war, using characters from the old TV series, Combat, and toy guns and helmets from the local toy store.

Guide the play, where needed, but I see nothing wrong with it. And promptly put the six year old in his place.

Jon
 
phil19034 said:
Little kids pretending they can do good magic is fine as long as they understand that it’s just pretend. I would be more concerned if little ones were pretending to do dark magic.

Also, I would be most concerned about a 6 year old lecturing adults
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Yeah, I’m a LOT more concerned about that, than about a little girl pretending to do magic. I wouldn’t worry one little bit about “finessing” this with the in-laws. If they bring it up, tell them you don’t take child-rearing advice from six-year-olds. 🙂
 
1ke said:
I think you simply need to set boundaries.

Six year olds do not lecture adults. Your parenting decisions are not theirs.
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Agree with the above. This is about respecting (although not necessarily agreeing with) different parenting styles. I would suggest gently reminding your nephew of who is in charge and if he has a problem, it is something he should talk to his parents about.

I found a website to the Moravians (moravian.org/the-moravian-church/what-moravians-believe/the-ground-of-the-unity.html). I only glanced at it, but, I found it all very confusing and in some ways contradictory. They started out as (or are) the Unity of the Brethren and have been going for 500 years. Generically speaking, it appears the differences are very much the same as between many other protestant churches and the Catholic Church.

I hasten to add, that I am ready to be corrected
 
agnes_therese said:
Yeah, I’m a LOT more concerned about that, than about a little girl pretending to do magic. I wouldn’t worry one little bit about “finessing” this with the in-laws. If they bring it up, tell them you don’t take child-rearing advice from six-year-olds. 🙂
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I see no need to finesse the situation. Just be honest. She’s playing a game and it’s make believe.

Not to mention Frozen is an AWESOME movie 🙂
 
DanielJT said:
Sine the Disney movie “Frozen” came out my daughter (now almost four) has been running around playing like she has “magic.” I do not see a problem with it because I believe in encouraging her imagination and she knows that nothing actually happens when she uses her magic. We play pretend like there is a castle growing around her and talk about how big and beautiful it is.

The problem I came into is when my nephew (now six) came to me and started to lecture me about the evils of magic. I know that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have some pretty skewed views of the Bible. They are Moravian, which I am not sure what it is or where it came from, and neither are they apparently from what they have told me.

So my question is, how do I finesse this situation with the in-laws and their son? Are there some solid articles regarding child’s play and what is permissible as a Christian?

Or am I wrong? Maybe my little one shouldn’t pretend she has magic? If I need correction, I’ll take it.

This has just become incredibly awkward and I could use some insight. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Maybe chapters 104-106 of third book of “Summa Contra Gentiles” (dhspriory.org/thomas/ContraGentiles3b.htm#104) could help…? It explains how do we know that “works of magicians” are evil. Then you could discuss if the “magic” you were talking about has anything to do with those “works of magicians”. If it works, It might be an introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas - and on a matter where he mostly confirms what the parents tell your nephew. The downside is that reading those writings might not be what a six year old would consider “fun”… 🙂
 
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