I'm no longer the mother to little, little kids. At 5, 7, and 9, my kids certainly aren't grown up, but they're also not teeny, tiny children anymore.
Last weekend, I purged the house of the big plastic Dora playhouse, the set of Baby Einstein videos, and all of the other movies and TV shows my kids now deem babyish. Unlike when I box up their sweet baby clothes or Halloween costumes, there was nothing bittersweet about saying goodbye to entertainment geared towards the under 5 community. Hallelujah was all I could think as the Purple Heart truck drove all of the well loved disks away.
But it's even better than I thought it would be: Not only can I tolerate the movies my kids want to watch now, some of them? I adore. Turns out the movies I loved as a kid, my kids now love. And there's nothing better than reliving your own childhood with your children.
Some of our favorites …
1. Flight of the Navigator. What better way to inspire your children to treat each other well than to expose them to the story of bickering brothers, one of whom is abducted by an alien spaceship for eight years? Behave, boys, or it might happen to you!
2. Adventures in Babysitting. I couldn't get enough of this one as a kid and I still can't as a grown up. And I still want to be Elisabeth Shue.
3. The Princess Bride. Leaving this off the list? Inconceivable.
4. Troop Beverly Hills. Not only did Lily love this one, but it convinced her not to join Girl Scouts. Double win.
5. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Because the remake just isn't the same.
6. Big. A great reminder for them not to wish time away. (Just distract them a tad during the second base sleepover scene.)
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. This one takes the cake and Lily LOVES it. You just can't beat old school SJP and Shannen Doherty. It's delicious.
8. Can't Buy Me Love. Because money can't buy love. And Cindy Mancini had to foresight to recognize a McDreamy when she saw one.
9. E.T. In all honesty, they got a little bored during this one, but someday they'll love it. They better.
10. The Neverending Story. Because how better to instill a love of reading in your children than through a movie?
Did I miss any of your favorites?
