Parents: Please Do Your Research! (2024)

So, so good! I didn’t know that about the Brick Bible. But it makes sense….I got it for my 14 year old and when we looked through it we were surprised at how little Bible is actually in it. I let him keep it, but it’s just used around here for ideas on ways to use Legos.

I have a post on my blog about how we choose movies for our kids. We never let them see anything we haven’t previewed first. That means if we want to see a movie I have to go see it by myself first (finding time and money for that) then take the kids (IF it’s OK to see) so I see it twice. If I don’t have time for that then we just don’t go see it. I am always shocked by parents that let their kids read or watch something they haven’t looked into thoroughly.

Thanks for this post….I’ll be sharing! Lisa~

seriously! This book was in the “kids section” of Barnes and Noble. My son didn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to get it. I told him just because of the title doesn’t mean that’s what’s inside. I had already heard of it – and saw some of the pages in question (naked legos on top of one another).

Totally inappropriate book for kids.

I really appreciate this! I know my parents/friends sometimes think I am nuts for what I won’t let my kids watch/do/read. But books that have kids disrespecting their parents, parenting seeing misbehavior as cute, or showing dads as dummies (Berenstein Bears!) are not read around here. I haven’t let my 5-year-old see Brave because I think there are just some inappropriate things that were completely unnecessary in it. For me, it’s part of letting a kid be a KID, not a mini-teenager! It’s OK to want to protect their innocence and have you be the one to introduce certain topics.

I also find OhAmanda will tell me the absolute truth and I know she has the highest discernment for movies and books, so I trust her reviews. It’s nice to have someone whom you can trust.

I’m so glad people agree with me about this Calliou (sp?) Character.. I can’t stand him!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, such an amazing point – and this ‘bible’ is pretty scary.

Amen, sister! I wish I would have read the reviews prior to my PURCHASE of the Brick Bible – yuck. It was as bad as you think. My kids never knew it existed. Thankfully I READ it before it got to them. Which I don’t always do with books….oops.

I, too, cannot STAND Calliou – whininess or voice. Yeah Glad I’m not alone there.

With us it’s superheroes. Our boys LOVE superheroes! No problem there, I enjoy them, too, and I enjoy the movies. I feel much pressure from my mom and other parents to let my boys watch these movies. Not necessarily outwardly but by them allowing their kids (or wanting my kids, in my mom’s case) to watch these movies. If the secular system says they are PG-13, then I can guarantee my kids aren’t watching it AT least until then. Superheroes are geared toward little kids but usually not made for them. I have let my boys watch the original Superman and they enjoyed it but it was watered down a lot because it’s older. 8

I JUST had an issue with this book earlier today. I gave it to my kids to read for the first time. They had seen it at the store several months ago and really wanted it. So I finally bought it and gave it to them without looking at it. Then I think the Holy Spirit nudges me into looking it up. I wish I had done that before I gave it to them. It’s not quite as horrible as some reviews make it out to be, but I did not think it was appropriate for my children. So I had to go take it back from them. My oldest son was very upset. We had a good gospel conversation as a result, but was still definitely very upset afterward. It is easy to google the specific problems with this book so that you can decide for yourself.

One example is the page that depicts circumcision. He is holding a knife over the baby. My 8 year old said, “It looks like he is going to kill him.”

There are other more subtle things, like the expression on Jacob’s face when he looks at Rachel (it just looks lustful and almost wicked, and maybe not appropriate for children). The depiction of Jesus in Revelation with red eyes. The bible says his eyes are like fire, but in the brick bible he just looks like a little demonic bad guy. There are other things like this that ultimately made me decide this book was not something I wanted my young kids reading over and over. Some images are warped, other inadequate. They make the Bible stories seem small and insignificant in ways that other story bibles do not.

I am not an overly restrictive parent (my older kids read Harry Potter, for example), but the brick bible bothered me, mostly because I know they woukd read it until it was worn out and because I have multiple young kids who still don’t know the Bible stories well enough to discern what is true and what is not. I also thought some of the imagery would disturb my younger kids. Hope this helps other moms.