Just took Pokemon away from child. - Need guidance.

KevinJ. wrote: Hi, I'm new here. I came here looking for some help and guidance. Let me first say that my family and I are devout followers of Christ. We believe that the Lord put us on this planet for a reason, and we do not believe in evolution. It has recently been brought to my attention that Pokemon, the game my son loves to play, is a major proponent of the theory of evolution. I don't want his mind to be tainted by that sort of thing, so I took his game away. He has barely stopped crying since. I don't know what I should do. As a parent, I want the best for my child. I want him to be happy. As a Christian, I want him to follow the ways of our Lord. I love him so much, I'm not sure if I can keep the game from him for much longer, but I feel I should remain strong. What do you people think I should do? Any suggestions? Thanks for reading.

redplaydoh replied: IMO there are a lot of things out there that I don't believe in. I don't believe in "little green men" and Buzz Lightyear has lots of them, but my boys love him. I don't personally know Pokemon but I would let your child have it back but explain to him that you don't believe in evolution but that some people do, hold strong to your beliefs and values and he will believe what you do. I wouldn't take away the game unless you see that it is the direct cause of having a negative impact on him. Just to take it away, after you gave it to him to begin with, because you "fear" it will influence him is mean IMO. Let kids be kids but don't stray from your beliefs.

hawkshoe replied: No one can tell you what is right for you and your child. However, I am quite familiar with Pokemon and I highly doubt that a child would make the connection between the cartoon and Evolution. Yes, the characters (pokemon, not human) do evolve so to speak, but even I did not make the human connection to Evolution in all my years of seeing the show. To me, it is just like they transform or almost go through metomorphasis.

CantWait replied:
I completely agree. I never even made the connection between the two. Really they're just imaginary characters like the care bears or the smurfs.
Let him have it back and just reinforce your families beliefs.

redchief replied: How old is your son?
What makes you think he'll make a connection between a game and a scientific theory at this age?
What other options are there for his entertainment?

KevinJ. replied: I am just not sure that I'm comfortable with blatantly exposing my son to a theory that our religion so explicitly denies. I came into the kitchen this morning to see my son on a chair, trying to get the Pokemon game that I took away from him and put on top of the refrigerator. This really upset me, and I think things may have gotten out of hand. I punished him with a few spankings and sent him to his room, and that just made matters worse. Now he's started crying again and I feel like I cannot win. Whoever said parenting is easy is foolish.

moped replied: Nobody ever said it was easy.

You have to do what you feel right doing.

Personally if it doesn't hurt him or if he doesn't play with guns or things that swear etc I am ok with it!

But you need to do what you feel right in your heart doing.

Let us know

Boo&BugsMom replied: I can see both sides of the spectrum here. Kevin, I am also a Christian and I analyze convictions every day. However, I realize that not everyone has the same convictions. For example, many people do not let their children go trick or treating. We do because I feel it's just about dressing up and getting candy. But, I also realize and respect that other people have convictions that I do not, and visa versa. There are people in our church who do not even own a tv, then there are also people in our church who let their children watch whatever they want. Everyone's convictions are different.

Now, on this subject personally, we have a similar situation. My son is VERY into the show Ben10. It's about a boy who can turn into Alien's to save the world. We don't believe in aliens and there is also a character who is a semi-witch. I don't want to take it away from him because of how much he truly loves it and for the most part it is pretty tame, esp. compared to many other shows out there that he is NOT allowed to watch. Also, I know it's pretend, it's not like he's following things he sees in the show, and I also use it as a teaching moment. He understands that the things are not real. Actually, if you look into MANY tv shows you can find things that are not biblical or are not what God would deem as acceptable. But, I believe the most important thing to do is educate. Putting kids inside a bubble doesn't do anything, there needs to be education about what is seen, etc. How you educate is totally up to you, but don't feel like you are being a "bad Christian" because he is allowed to watch certain things that are not "real" or "true". Murdering is also a sin, but how many movies do we watch that contain that sort of content? See my point? Educating him in the process is far more rewarding than anything else.

I'm certainly not telling you what to do. If you have the conviction to do so, that it between you and God. Pray about it. And pray some more. But, what you need to remember is whatever your stand, education must come along with it. When I was a little girl I was facinated by vampires and witches. But I was always educated by my parents that they are fantasy and not real. It didn't turn me away from God. Actually, my faith in Christ is much more strong today than it ever has been in my entire life. It didn't ruin me, because my parents instilled the common sense in me to realize that fantasy and pretend are just that, and they always backed things up with a Biblical stand. If it's ruining his future relationship in Christ, that is one thing. But if it's not...........

boyohboyohboy replied: HI Kevin, welcome! my family are also christians, and we have to pick and chose our battles, but pokeman was one that we also felt was wrong, and we do not allow our 5 yr old son to play with it, it was difficult for a while because his best friend has it and talks of nothing else...so we made up our own card game, called bible warriors, and used it to learn about the bible, and he in turn started to use it with his friend,
but there were many nights of tears until he stopped thinking about it.
pokeman has more violence then we like, but as jennie said its something you and your family should pray about, and if you are not comfortable with it, then stick to your guns.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I should also add that we don't allow Pokemon either. To be honest, I really do not know why. Maybe I'm being hypocritical because we do allow him to watch Ben10. I've never really seen a full Pokemon episode to be honest, but for some reason never felt comfortable with it. For some reason I feel Ben10 is ok. Like I said, different convictions. We have a conviction to not allow Pokemon, but I don't feel that with Ben10. Don't know why, just do. Can't explain it so don't ask why. It is partially maybe Tanner's age...he's 4, almost 5. That's where praying comes into play. Pray, pray, pray, and pray some more.

redchief replied:
Still waiting for answers to my questions. If I have them I may be able to offer something intelligent.

Miranda1127 replied: i am not devoted to any particular religion. i was raised roman catholic and hold to most of their moral guidelines. that said religion is a way of life if you feel pokiemon (sp?) contradicts your believes than i would not give the game back (no matter how old your son is, a believe system begins at birth and the teachings should be taught and lived by from the beginning imo). there are stores that do trade ins they give a % of the value towards a different game. some here are game stop and eb games. if i were you i would explain to your son that you don't like the game (explain why if you feel he is old enough) and offer to take him to trade it in for a more suitable game.

good luck
and this of course is just my honest opinion

amynicole21 replied: My feeling is that you can't protect him from everything that goes against your religion. It's your job to teach him to recognize the things that don't conform to your beliefs and make the decision for himself. Forcing religion on someone never ends well (this from a person who hasn't stepped foot into a church since she was forced to get confirmed ) Still, I realize it's important to your family, so this is a good teaching opportunity for you. Good luck.

gr33n3y3z replied:
your not getting any answers lol