On age ratings...

Ratings are confusing to say the least.  When I was growing up, movie and game ratings were simple.
- Full frontal nudity or lots of blood: R
- A bit of blood, violence, and some backside nudity, maybe a drug reference or 15,000: PG-13
- Language and slight violence, maybe some teenage angst or alcohol references: PG
- Everything else: G
Today however, Lilo and Stitch can get a PG rating and Wall-E gets a G.  To me, these movies are nearly identical in age appropriateness with the exception that Lilo and Stitch has aliens (none of whom have any ill intentions to humans)  and Wall-E has robots (one is trying to control the entire human race).  For some reasons aliens are reason alone to make something rated PG.  It is situations like this that make these ratings mean nothing.

The same thing happens in game ratings, but worse.  Neglecting video game ratings (I know more about the games than the ratings would tell me anyway so I always ignore them), I am placed on an emotional roller coaster by the age appropriate ratings on board games and workbooks.  A matching game I got for Gab called "Spot it!" has an age rating of 7 to adult.  I liked the artwork so I got it anyway and when Gab was able to play it within 5 minutes of explaining the rules I was the proudest father ever!  My child is 4.5 years advanced!  Today we gave Gab a BrainQuest for shapes and colors with the rating of 2+ and she can't do anything past the first page.  I am ashamed.  Gab is just over 2.5 years old!  Did I do something wrong? Is she going to fail out of High School?  Then I remember the Spot it! game.  Then there is Candy Land, with a rating of 3+ that Gab has been able to play since 2 (with some hand holding).  And a matching game she has mastered that also has a rating of 3+.

I think it's only natural to want my child to progress and develop at the same pace, if not faster than, other children, making sure that my genes will become a valued part of the future world.  Sure that makes me a bit narcissistic, but what parent isn't?

I sometimes get a feeling that these ratings are actually designed to play with your emotions.  If it's a game that your child seems advanced with, you play it more, showing your child off and giving free advertising.  For educational materials, if your child seems behind, you will buy more to make sure your child will "catch up."  Ok, so maybe I sound crazy...crazy correct maybe!

Regardless of any conspiracy theory, this problem goes beyond commercial product ratings.  I have read research papers that say children are physically unable to share until they are 3 or 4, while Gab has been sharing since before she turned 1.  There are ads for programs to teach babies to read before they can speak, but there are reports that say teaching a child to read before 3 can be damaging to their development.  The bottom line is no one knows, you are all alone in parenting, and it's an endless trial and error experiment with horrible documentation.

So I'm going to go dance with my daughter, help her with some stickers, have her help me with cooking, and hope she can eventually draw a square that doesn't look like a circle.