"Hananah Montananana"

Ainsley and I were driving in the car yesterday when we had this conversation.

Ainsley - "Mom, when I grow up I want to pick a different name."
Me - "You do huh? What would you like to change it to?"
Ainsley - "Anana Montananana."
Me - (After asking her to repeat herself about 5 times) "Are you saying Hannah Montana?"
Ainsley - "Yes, that girl. That is the girl that I mean, Hannah Montana. When I grow up I want to change my name to that and then I will go on the stage and talk."
Me - " Where did you hear about her?"
Ainsley - "I saw about her on the TV."

At first I was slightly amused by this little conversation. But the more I think about it the more it actually kind of bugs me. I try to limit my kids TV time. When they do watch I am pretty picky about it. I don't even like them to watch stuff like Sponge Bob. Don't get me wrong I have definitely enjoyed a good episode of the sponge in pants with my younger brother (who is a huge fan). The thing is, it's not meant for two and three year olds. It's funny and there's nothing bad in it, but it's for older kids. If they were say nine or ten I probably wouldn't mind. I feel the same way about the Hannah Montana thing.

The show, as well as the character (don't know anything about the real actress), is pretty wholesome from what I've seen. I, however do not want my three year old concerning herself with this stuff. At this point in her life I'd like it if she was more worried about what was going on in Mickey's Clubhouse or maybe on the Little Einstein's rocket:) I guess my point is that it scares me that I thought I was doing a good job of monitoring what she watches and it turns out that maybe I wasn't monitoring as closely as I thought I was. I don't want my kids to go through life being overly sheltered, but come on, they're still toddlers. I'm making it a point to be in control of pretty much everything they do and see at this point.

It really made me realize how challenging the balancing act is going to be as my kids get older. Let's face it, it's not always going to be such innocent stuff that they're exposed to. I just hope that we can keep an open dialogue about it. I definitely don't want them partaking in anything questionable as teenagers. On the other hand I don't want to be written off with an "our mom freaks out about everything". They're beyond listening to me by that point, or sharing what they're up to for that matter. Trust me I know:) I want to be open enough that they'll respect my opinion and feel comfortable talking to me about anything. So my big question is... how in the heck do I manage all that?

Wow, this parenting thing is ridiculously challenging!