What about natural violence?

Wednesday June 17, 2009

We all know that it's no good for kids to watch violence on TV, but what about violence that occurs in nature? A wonderful new series, Nature's Most Amazing Events, has just been released this week on DVD and Blu-ray. The episodes in the series depict immense natural events that occur in different areas of the world and profoundly affect wildlife over the globe. The structure is brilliant, and the images are truly amazing. But, there are a few scenes that show animals hunting and eating other animals, and other animals fighting for dominance. Some blood and gore is shown.

We decided to watch the series with our 4 and 6-year-olds, and despite a few "Eeew gross!" or worried, "That's so sad!" moments, they absolutely loved it. I was afraid they might freak out over a couple of scenes (like when a baby elephant gets taken down and feasted upon by a pack of lions), but they accepted the realities and moved on.

The BBC programs related to Earth have always done a good job at showing both sides of the story, so it's hard to decide who to root for -- the starving predator or the vulnerable prey? The conundrum sets the foundation for a great family discussion. My daughters love seals, but they don't want the polar bears to die. We had to explain to them about food chains, life cycles, survival mechanisms and on and on. Not only that, but the incredible filming techniques and high-def images left us all in awe of nature, and of the film crew.