I'm a Kid at Heart

I am so excited!!! I found out today that the Disney movie "The Fox and the Hound" is being rereleased on October 10th. This is my favorite kid movie, and one of my favorite movies of all time. Its such a sad, sentimental story; it warms my heart. If I watched it right now in my pregnant state, I'd likely cry. For those of you who don't know, its the story of a friendship between a coon dog puppy named Cooper and a wild fox pup named Todd. Despite the fact that Cooper should want to hunt Todd, they are best buds. However, their relationship becomes complicated as they get older. I'll leave it at that so I don't spoil it. I highly recommend it. And, I just found out on Internet Movie Database (IMDB) that the voice of little Cooper was done by Corey Feldman - yes, the same Corey Feldman of Gremlins, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Stand By Me, and License to Drive (can you tell I'm a child of the 80's?). The Fox and the Hound came out in 1981 when I was only 4 and before Corey became a movie star.

Speaking of Gremlins, some of you who are reading Scott's blog might already know that my father-in-law has nicknamed Baby H. "Gizmo" from the Gremlins to keep the baby's gender secret. Anyway, Gizmo will not be viewing this movie or others, if we can help it, until she/he is a few years old. Don't get me started on the new TV channel that's being marketed toward infants or the movies and video games either. Toddlerhood is early enough for this stuff and the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. Back in 1999 they issued a policy statement saying,

"Pediatricians should urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years. Although certain television programs may be promoted to this age group, research on early brain development shows that babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant caregivers (eg, child care providers) for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Therefore, exposing such young children to television programs should be discouraged."

Click here for a link to their full statement. I know it will be quite difficult to keep Gizmo completely away from this stuff but we will make our best effort. After all, Gizmo will have the rest of its life to rot its brain by staring at the tele.