While my coming to 6 years old son K is not considered a TV fanatic, he does sit in front of the idiot box sometimes.
Two of his favorite programs are SpongeBob SquarePants (the yellow thing, you know?) and local production Upin & Ipin.
Sometimes I watch with him.
As I watch, I find SpongeBob is funny and the storyline is intriguing.
No wonder it’s so darn popular.
Once Bitten…
In one episode, SpongeBob’s pet snail was biting anyone he bumped into. Gary was a nice guy but that day he turned into someone that’s not him.
He became violent.
Based on his observations (which were always wrong), Patrick (SpongeBob’s neighbor and best friend) derived that Gary was responsible for causing a disease called Mad Snail Disease – which turned anyone into a zombie after being bitten by Gary.
The scary part was Mad Snail Disease was airborne.
The news spread like wild fire and sooner than you thought, the whole Bikini Bottom town was under high alert.
Everyone was very scared of getting the MSD.
But the funny thing was everyone seemed to take Patrick’s opinion as gospel.
They believed what he said.
Not one soul questioned if MSD made sense until…
A “snail expert” stepped out and dismissed that there’s no disease as Mad Snail Disease.
But why was Gary biting anyone he saw?
It was due to a sharp object that pierced into his body. The pain in the body caused him to bite.
That’s why.
It had nothing to do with the MSD.
Moral of the Story
Anyway, this brings to my point:
Do you simply take parenting advice from any “Patrick”? Without thinking about how true it is?
Do you just follow blindly what other parents are doing without considering whether they are good for your child?
Not all parenting tips are created equal. You have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Having the right perspective can make a big difference in your parenting journey.
I love to stick to the basics and something simple. Nothing fancy and overhyped.
And here’s the biggie: I always find myself going against the crowds. And it takes courage to stick to your guns.
P.S. I am going to launch a parenting book called “The Uncensored Guide to Parenting” soon.
You’ll never find any MSD kind of tips in my book except those that have been used by me.
To be notified when my Uncensored Guide to Parenting is available, hop on the notification list at:
