The Question

Today I received a question which I have asked myself a lot of times.

"What type of cartoon/movies do you allow your children to view?"

Just before I logged in I was telling the kids I don't want them watching too much Disney movies anymore. I have been somewhat lax lately when they were checking out video tapes from the library.

Themes such as romantic love is a common one in Disney movies and even seemingly innocent cartoons such as Minarik's Little Bear. The kids were watching the Fox and The Hound when a scene depicting a developing romance between a fox and foxette came up. I immediately told the kids about the inappropriateness of the topic for them.

"So what can we watch?" asked H, who's always on my tail now.

"Magic School Bus," I said.

"That's bo-wwing," he retorted.

Funny that such a smart mind still speaks in baby tongue.

That set me off on the evils of movie makers in general. How important it is to protect our hearts, watching ourselves and making sure we don't get too comfortable in the world of the kuffar, and always remembering that Shaytaan is always at the grindstone 24/7 became the contents of my repertoire of verbal workout.

A lot of issues about parenting has been bugging me lately. The older they grow, the more worries fall from the sky onto my lap. I grew up reading Enid Blyton. I don't want the kids growing up reading too much kuffar materials, but since their reading level is sky high, I can no longer put these restrictions on them due to the lack of Islamic materials in the market. That is another issue altogether, which merits its own post, and the main reason why I plunged headlong into this writing endeavor.

Just today, after we listened to Anwar Awlaki's Life of Muhammad in Makkah, I told them to write a story of what they learned, while at the same time churning out my own. It was a total first draft, but I read it to them anyway.

Writing takes time. More Muslims need to master the art of writing in the English language as it's the universal language as of now. We need to churn out these books as fast as our kids devour those kuffar books with kuffar values on the shelves.

I'm tired. Yet this is the struggle I have been fated with. I have to take it by the reins as do other parents. Allah, bestow on us pious and righteous children to benefit us in the hereafter. Ameen.