How Should We Explain “Magic” in Movies to Our Kids? (The Patrick Madrid Show)

Описание: Omar from Ceres, California, called The Patrick Madrid Show with a concern many parents have. His 5-year-old daughter had watched a Disney movie featuring a “magician,” and he wasn’t sure to what extent he should let her indulge in movies that featured magic or spells.


Patrick first helped Omar sort out an important distinction. Not all “magic” is the same. A stage performer doing card tricks or “pulling a rabbit out of a hat” is one thing. But if a show is presenting spell-casting, conjuring, or seeking forbidden power as something exciting or harmless, that’s a different story. Depending on the way the magic is presented, that can be a serious red flag for families.


Without having seen the exact movie, Patrick encouraged Omar to do his due diligence, while also acknowledging why parents feel wary. He noted Disney’s “bad track record” in pushing ideologies to children and even said plainly, “If you were to ask my opinion, I wouldn’t even pay for Disney. I wouldn’t have it in the house.”


Then Omar asked a follow-up question: How do you explain the fantasy of magic and the reality of Jesus to a kid?


Patrick suggested keeping it simple, concrete, and centered on Jesus. Show her a crucifix. Ask who Jesus is. Then explain that Jesus teaches us not to try to “contact spirits or cast spells” or “conjure things,” because that’s what witchcraft seeks. Instead, “We are followers of Jesus… We are to ask God for the things that we need.”


Omar thanked Patrick and asked for prayers that he and his wife might be blessed with more children. Patrick responded warmly: “May God grant you many happy years together and many happy, healthy children, please God.”


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