"Facing FEAR as a kid is FUN!" classic blog re-post

[originally posted on LiveJournal; originally re-posted on Facebook August 13, 2009]

Facing FEAR as a kid is FUN!

I was reading a negative review of the Spiderwick Chronicles books on Amazon.com, in relation to them being too scary for younger kids. I started to write a response to that review but, of course, I ended up writing an essay. So, I decided to post my musings here instead. (If I could find a topic that keeps me writing for a looong extended period, I'd end up with my first novel in no time.)

One scene in the second of the Spiderwick Chronicles books features some "bad" faeries (don't know how they spell that in the book) killing a cat and putting it on a spit-roast! :-o Yeah, I know, I don't remember that from the movie either! :-)

Now, kids the age of which these books were meant for will not suddenly forget that those were "bad" faeries that did that to the cat. Actually, quite the opposite effect will usually happen. They'll remember that those faeries were "bad" because of what they did. And while the imagery may be dark and gruesome, I know I was fascinated by such imagery as a child.

And not fascinated in a "I want to go spit-roast Kitty; where's the BBQ sauce" way, but a "that's scary; but I want to keep reading; I want to know what the heroes face next and what they do about it" way.

There are a lot of scary things in the real world, on all sorts of levels. A lot of firsts. From buying your first ice-cream cone on your own, to asking someone to the movies. Then there's the transition into "adulthood". From leaving home and trying to "find yourself", to getting married and becoming a parent.

Then there's life in the much less personal and much more intimidating "outside world". From bad drivers and traffic accidents, to bad financial advice and a terrible economy. And the truly scary. From criminals of every variety, to terrorists, war, death and disease. :-o

If kids don't get some sort of introduction to danger and fear, how well will they deal with the real world when they "grow up". Parents who filter out danger in any form - books, television shows, video games, the news - don't do their kids any favors. Those are the kids that usually don't have a good grasp of reality; not the kids who play World of Warcraft with their friends or enjoy a scary book or movie.

Kids do grow, after all. And not just physically (or sexually). And as they grow, they become more and more adept at being able to tell the difference between what's real and what's "make-believe". More parents need to sit down with their kids and just "shoot the breeze". They may be surprised when "the breeze" turns into an intellectual discussion.

I remember the movies I watched as a kid in the 80s. (*sigh* So long ago...) They were fun adventures starring kids and teenagers, but they were always scary to some extent; they always had that aspect of fear. At least the good ones that we kids always wanted to see again and again. They were exciting!

I connected with the kids my age in those movies, and wanted to be the kids that were older. I wished I was there with them on those adventures, even though the adventures were dangerous and scary. Because, in the end, the kids would always band together and prove that, no matter what, they can accomplish anything. They can stand up to fear; stand up to the scary things.

Of course, as I got older I understood that, were I really in some of those movie situations, I might very well get badly hurt or worse. But that still didn't keep me from enjoying those types of films, and the even scarier films I could now see.

And as I would watch those scarier films, I still believed that I could survive; that I could be the hero. And that's what kids need to believe when they approach adulthood; that no matter what they face in the world, they have a real chance at surviving and prospering; and even a chance to be a hero.

Anyhoo...