When sweet, wholesome Hannah Montana becomes Miley Cyrus, what's a mother to do?
If you've been anywhere near a TV or your computer, you couldn't escape seeing shots of Miley Cyrus' performance at the MTV awards show. By all reports it was the opposite of sweet and wholesome.
For years hordes of young girls adored squeaky clean Hannah Montana and so did their moms. So when squealing girls clamored for Hannah Montana lunch boxes and T shirts and all manner of clothing items and accessories moms and dads gladly shelled out hard-earned cash.
What happened, anyway?
First, Miley Cyrus is not the first Hollywood type to disappoint and I'm pretty sure she won't be the last. She craved attention and she got it.
Second, actors act, remember? Hannah Montana was a character created by script writers and carefully maintained by the "Hannah Montana Industry."
Since we can't ignore this, why not seize upon it?
Instead of panic, why not use this for good?
- Assume your kids have seen Miley's MTV performance, or at least bits of it, even if they haven't mentioned it.
- Remind them that most of what we watch on-screen is acting, or at least, people reading from a script using a teleprompter.
- Anyone who ever watched a filming knows contestants are instructed to be entertaining that is, loud. Even audience members clap and cheer when told to.
- From now on your kids will be less gullible viewers of TV and movies. That's a good thing.
Researchers frequently interview teenagers and college students, asking who in their lives has been their greatest and most lasting influence.
Results never vary. By an overwhelming majority young people name their mothers and/or their fathers.
Let this sink in deep: You are your children's role model. For life.
Even if they argue with you. Even when they seem to reject everything you say to them. Even though they tell you they can't wait to leave home.
Sometimes that's hard to remember when our child wanders off on a tangent that may last awhile. Then we remind ourselves the end of their story has not yet been written and keep praying.
Every day we leave footprints on tomorrow
Always, what our kids see us do and hear us say matters more than our careful instructions on how to live and act. (That's true even when our children are grown.)
If we're looking for how-tos, the Apostle Paul always gives good advice. Here's a snippet from Ephesians 4:29 and 32 (NIV.)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen . . . Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
That's not a bad model for you and me within our own family, is it?
Each family will live it their way and that's okay. God creates one-of-a-kinds, remember?
Learning, too,
Lenore