“The holiday TV classic “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” is seriously problematic.”

Thanks for that tweet Huff Post (cue my eye-roll) but my kids and I will continue to watch Rudolph every single year. You know why? Because there are MAJOR life lessons packed into that 47 minute animation.

If people are just NOW realizing that there is a whole lot of bullying in Rudolph…then I am sorry you are a tad late to the party.

As a little girl, I always cried watching Rudolph. Even as a 3-year-old it was obvious the other reindeer were so mean to him because of his shiny nose. They laughed and ridiculed him to the point he didn’t want to be around anyone.

One critic of the movie wants it pulled off the air because “we should not be promoting bullying.”

Look let’s get real – what happens at “reindeer practice” is no different than what happens with kids today in lunch rooms, on playgrounds or online.  We’re not showing them anything that they’re unfortunately not already exposed to.  Not talking about bullying doesn’t make it all go away.

Mean people are EVERYWHERE…at EVERY AGE. The sooner we take off our rose-colored glasses and accept that fully…the better our children will be.

Our children need to learn at a very young age how to REACT and RESPOND to mean people. Because newsflash: it’s going to happen. And as a parent, it will rip your heart out the first time your child comes home upset because somebody was picking on him. But if they don’t learn how to respond now…they’ll be lost as an adult…because mean kids grow up to be mean adults. True story.

The other night, the kids and I popped some popcorn and watched Rudolph.  My 7-year-old son was the first to shout, “UGH…they’re so rude!!” Before I could even say anything he said, “I would not even play with them. They don’t deserve to be friends with Rudolph.”

Ahhh. I gave myself a mental high-five. He “gets” it.

The critics have it all wrong, in my opinion.

Bullying is always painful to others.

People are bullied because they don’t look like everyone else…

People are bullied because they don’t dress like everyone else…

People are bullied because they don’t act like everyone else…

People are bullied because they don’t talk like everyone else…

People are bullied because somebody wants to feel powerful and in control.

But the moment we teach our children that other people’s words and opinions do not define them…the stronger and more resilient they will become.

The way people treat you is a statement of who they are as a human being. It is not a statement of about you. (If I let other people define me then I would be a — well, I am not even going to type the nasty things I have been called).

And just remember – what made Rudolph “weird” ended up saving Christmas.

xx