Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lies my daughter told me

My daughter is quite a character.  She can be so funny, dramatic, clever, and, well, downright manipulative when she wants - or more correctly needs to be.  Taylor and I are very liberal when it comes to the shows we let her watch, the music we let her listen to, the games we let her play, etc.  But we do draw the line.  There are just some hip hop artists who sing about nothing but garbage.  Sex, drugs, violence, you name it.  These are things that I do not want my 7 year old daughter to hear about before she has to.  There is a local radio station that plays nothing but this garbage - and of course, that is the most desirable station for my daughter to listen to.  I even try to get some hip hop music that I approve of, that talks about the power of women, that women don't need to men, that feelings are okay, etc.  But this apparently does not satisfy her lust. 

We don't listen to the radio as a general rule anyway.  We mostly listen to my ipod in the car, and Chloe listens to CDs in her room.  CDs that I have made or given her with songs that she has requested! 
It was her birthday, and she had decided that she wanted to go and get some ice cream.  So after a long day of going from here to there, we are walking into Baskin Robbins.  I notice that they are playing one of the hip hop stations, but I think nothing of it.  Certainly a short exposure to it wouldn't hurt her.  After all, it was just Justin Timberlake rocking Sexyback, and we jam out to that in the car.  Well, after we get our ice cream and sit down, another song comes on.  Darling daughter starts singing it.  I've never heard this song before.  I figure she just heard it from television.  Well, when the third song comes on and she knows that one too, I know something is up.  I begin my inquiry.

"Chloe, how do you know all these songs?"
"My nonna lets me listen to them on the radio through the headphones in our van."
"Your NONNA lets you listen to KISSFM in her CAR?"
"Yeah, she lets Shey listen too."
At this point I am so befuddled.  Donna is so right wing it airs on the side of fanatic at times.  I decide promptly that I will call her when we get home.

Well, I actually emailed her.  And I get a phone call within 30 minutes of sending the email.
Immediately upon answering the phone I hear: "You mean you don't let her listen to that radio station?" said Donna
I reply, a little shocked: "Uh, no.  That stuff is all garbage.  The only radio stations we listen to are KZ106 and 88.1; and with KZ106 it's dependent on the song" (classic rock and classical music stations)
"That little fart!  She told me that I should let her listen to that station because her Mommy and Taylor let her listen to it in the car and in her room at home!"
"Oh no she didnt!!  That rat!  I would never!  I am super picky about the songs we listen to on KZ106, not to mention she only gets about 1/4 of whats on my ipod!"

So, we had a lengthy discussion about what was allowed, what wasn't allowed, and that as Chloe gets older we are going to have to quit listening to her and start listening to each other.  Needless to say, chloe was grounded for a day from television.  This about killed she and I both.  All day she kept asking me "Can I watch TV?" and I would reply with "No, you lied to your Nonna and to me about the radio station." and she would retort with "I didn't lie, you never told me I couldn't listen to kissfm."

Dear lord, my child is 7 going on 13. 

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