Go, Speed Racer (or maybe just put on the brakes a bit)

We are finding ourselves at a very interesting point in our parenting adventure, with our kids growing up and leaving behind the phase of complete dependency. Our kids -- and Aidan in particular -- are daily developing their little personalities, their likes and dislikes, their desires and distastes. In toddlerhood, it's not so bad -- "I want this!" or "I want that!" can fairly easily be taken care of, as far as parenting goes. You want juice? OK, here's your cup. You want a cookie before dinner? Nope, sorry, you can cry fake tears all you want but I won't give in to that one.

Things are starting to change now in our household, now that Aidan is approaching the age of 6. His maturity is growing and expanding, he's learning new things, he's trying new things. He exerts his independence on a daily basis, sometimes to my joy at his blossoming -- like when he beautifully handled a situation at school with another student, all on his own -- and other times to my utter exasperation at his whiny childishness and blatant, jaw-dropping disobedience. None of this is a surprise, of course -- it's all part of the parenting game. But what's changing are the subtleties to it all, that begin to make our parenting decisions a little trickier.

Aidan loves Hot Wheels and race cars of all sorts, so you can imagine his exhilaration when he saw the first commercial for the new Speed Racer movie hitting our theaters within the next day or so. For the past several weeks he would screech with delight as the bright colors and loud zooms would appear on our TV screen -- "Oh, man, look! Look at that! It's Speed Racer! Cool!" It's fun seeing your child so excited, it really is. And perhaps it's due to being raised with three brothers, but I actually really like cars, having had my own collection of Matchboxes and daily play dates with our city made of blocks and boards where our cars could maneuver. It's fun for me to share this with my boy, because I get it. Speed Racer does look pretty cool, and after having watched the old cartoons in my childhood I wouldn't mind seeing it myself.

But here's where I feel my foot starting to push down on the parenting brakes. Aidan informed me that Speed Racer will be hitting the theaters on May 9. "That's tomorrow, Mommy! Talk to Daddy and find a time when we can go see it."

Whoa, whoa, whoa ... what's this? It's one thing to watch a commercial on TV, or play with a Hot Wheels version of the super-cool car, or play a Speed Racer game on the computer. But what about actually taking our boy to see the movie itself?

He has seen a few movies in the theater before -- The Incredibles, Ice Age, Cars and Ratatouille. Those are all cartoons, and even though they were rated PG we still felt comfortable taking our young son to see them. Well, I say "we" but it was really a Daddy-Son event, with my two boys enjoying their special outing together.

So why am I surprised that Aidan is asking (no, try begging and pleading) to see Speed Racer? No, I'm not surprised ... but I am wondering about my hesitation this time around, and what to do about it. Is it because it's not quite a cartoon, with real actors involved? No, that shouldn't be such a problem -- he likes the movie Babe, which has no cartoon elements at all but real actors and animals. Is it because there's kissing? Well, no -- he doesn't care so much about that. I believe there's a villain in the movie -- perhaps I'm afraid it might be a bit too violent? Is there a difference, though, between violence between real humans and a slug-fest between Mr. Incredible and Syndrome? Is there a bit of a trust issue here? I know what to expect, somewhat, with Pixar movies and I'm OK with them. I trust them, in a sense, and admittedly I enjoy watching them myself. So what's holding me back from giving my blessing to another Daddy-Son movie event? What is making me feel that Speed Racer falls into another category?

I'm not sure. Perhaps I want someone else with kids to see it first, and then report back to me. Then I can at least make an informed decision, what's "safe" for my boy and what's not. But ultimately that's my decision, isn't it -- I should know what's "right" for him without external input. This morning Aidan asked once again if he could see the movie, and tried to explain my hesitation to him. His response was cute: "Don't worry, Mommy. I'll be brave!"

Cuteness aside, it's more than bravery on his part. It's about responsible parenting on mine. Every parent wants their child to be happy, but kids don't make the decisions. They can have their say, of course, but ultimately the verdict is mine. And this one a little tricky for me. This is new territory for me -- an unknown path that we'll be exploring in many ways, shapes, and forms from now on.

So, parents, would you let your almost-six-year-old child see Speed Racer? Why, or why not?