close
SM-Stamp-Join-1
  • Selfish Mother is the most brilliant blogging platform. Join here for free & you can post a blog within minutes. We don't edit or approve your words before they go live - it's up to you. And, with our cool new 'squares' design - you can share your blog to Instagram, too. What are you waiting for? Come join in! We can't wait to read what YOU have to say...

  • Your basic information

  • Your account information

View as: GRID LIST

Thank you, Bear Hunt

1
 

I was very excited to see that this year’s festive book adaptation was going to be Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. We didn’t manage to watch it when it aired, so one afternoon in the no-man’s-land between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, I fired up All 4 and settled down with my four-year-old to watch it.

First impressions were good; I lapped up that familiar, quaint, British style that has characterised these seasonal book adaptations for decades.  My son was enjoying it too. Feeling very pleased

SelfishMother.com
2
with my choice, I left the room to make some tea. On my return, I was surprised to see the little girl making friends with the flu-ridden bear, wrapping her scarf around his neck. I thought it was a nice addition to the story. I also thought it would be good for small boy – a lesson in not being afraid of the bogey-man.

However, as the plot unfolds, the jumpy siblings pull the girl away, back through the swishy-swashies and stumble-trips. The sadness that covers the rest of the narrative was quite a shock. And as the bear walks mournfully back to

SelfishMother.com
3
his cave, I felt tears forming in my eyes. Clever, I thought. Emotive music, beautiful animation of the pictures – it certainly made its mark.

But then I heard a deep sob and my just-turned-four-year-old clambered into my lap. He was inconsolable for a good five minutes, crying into my neck. I pulled him up to look at me, his face tear-ridden and hot.

“Are you sad because the bear is alone?”

“Ye-ye-yes.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure the little girl will visit him soon.”

“B-but they said they’re n-never g-going on a b-bear

SelfishMother.com
4
hunt a-gaaaain!”

Hmmm, yes. He’s right. After a few fruitless moments trying to convince him that other bears might live in other caves nearby, I said this to him: “Yes, it’s very sad. I feel sad too. Sometimes people (or animals) are lonely and it makes us feel sad. It doesn’t feel nice, but that can make us think about what we can do about it. Maybe in future, if you see someone in your class who looks lonely, you can remember the bear.” He stopped crying, and we threw ourselves into an episode of Octonauts to lighten our aching

SelfishMother.com
5
hearts.

I’ve read lots of complaints and comments about how inappropriate the sad ending was – children going to bed in tears on Christmas eve, how unnecessarily cruel these new embellishments were, and so on. All of these points are understandable – who wants their children upset? Especially at Christmas!

But I want to say thank you to makers of Bear Hunt. Yes, it was a little emotionally heavy if you were expecting half an hour of fuzzy Christmassy feel-good. But it brought something precious out in my boy. Compassion. His heart broke for

SelfishMother.com
6
someone other than himself. As much as I’d like to shield him from all the difficult things in the world, I can’t. And the sadness he felt on someone else’s behalf is a precious thing. I hope he can recall it when he needs it. When instinct tells him to protect himself and turn away, I hope he remembers the bear.

And I hope our conversation leaves him with a sense of hope, unlike the grandma’s response to her granddaughter’s sadness in the animation. She consoles the girl, telling her that sadness is there to remind us of happiness – a

SelfishMother.com
7
contrast that we can use to throw ourselves back into joy. I think we took something more helpful from the ending of the programme. Other’s sadness and loneliness can be shared, and it leaves us and our children with an open question about what we can do about it.
SelfishMother.com

By

This blog was originally posted on SelfishMother.com - why not sign up & share what's on your mind, too?

Why not write for Selfish Mother, too? You can sign up for free and post immediately.


We regularly share posts on @SelfishMother Instagram and Facebook :)

- 6 Jan 17

 

I was very excited to see that this year’s festive book adaptation was going to be Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. We didn’t manage to watch it when it aired, so one afternoon in the no-man’s-land between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, I fired up All 4 and settled down with my four-year-old to watch it.

First impressions were good; I lapped up that familiar, quaint, British style that has characterised these seasonal book adaptations for decades.  My son was enjoying it too. Feeling very pleased with my choice, I left the room to make some tea. On my return, I was surprised to see the little girl making friends with the flu-ridden bear, wrapping her scarf around his neck. I thought it was a nice addition to the story. I also thought it would be good for small boy – a lesson in not being afraid of the bogey-man.

However, as the plot unfolds, the jumpy siblings pull the girl away, back through the swishy-swashies and stumble-trips. The sadness that covers the rest of the narrative was quite a shock. And as the bear walks mournfully back to his cave, I felt tears forming in my eyes. Clever, I thought. Emotive music, beautiful animation of the pictures – it certainly made its mark.

But then I heard a deep sob and my just-turned-four-year-old clambered into my lap. He was inconsolable for a good five minutes, crying into my neck. I pulled him up to look at me, his face tear-ridden and hot.

“Are you sad because the bear is alone?”

“Ye-ye-yes.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure the little girl will visit him soon.”

“B-but they said they’re n-never g-going on a b-bear hunt a-gaaaain!”

Hmmm, yes. He’s right. After a few fruitless moments trying to convince him that other bears might live in other caves nearby, I said this to him: “Yes, it’s very sad. I feel sad too. Sometimes people (or animals) are lonely and it makes us feel sad. It doesn’t feel nice, but that can make us think about what we can do about it. Maybe in future, if you see someone in your class who looks lonely, you can remember the bear.” He stopped crying, and we threw ourselves into an episode of Octonauts to lighten our aching hearts.

I’ve read lots of complaints and comments about how inappropriate the sad ending was – children going to bed in tears on Christmas eve, how unnecessarily cruel these new embellishments were, and so on. All of these points are understandable – who wants their children upset? Especially at Christmas!

But I want to say thank you to makers of Bear Hunt. Yes, it was a little emotionally heavy if you were expecting half an hour of fuzzy Christmassy feel-good. But it brought something precious out in my boy. Compassion. His heart broke for someone other than himself. As much as I’d like to shield him from all the difficult things in the world, I can’t. And the sadness he felt on someone else’s behalf is a precious thing. I hope he can recall it when he needs it. When instinct tells him to protect himself and turn away, I hope he remembers the bear.

And I hope our conversation leaves him with a sense of hope, unlike the grandma’s response to her granddaughter’s sadness in the animation. She consoles the girl, telling her that sadness is there to remind us of happiness – a contrast that we can use to throw ourselves back into joy. I think we took something more helpful from the ending of the programme. Other’s sadness and loneliness can be shared, and it leaves us and our children with an open question about what we can do about it.

Did you enjoy this post? If so please support the writer: like, share and comment!


Why not join the SM CLUB, too? You can share posts & events immediately. It's free!

Mum of two lovely little humans.

Post Tags


Keep up to date with Selfish Mother — Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media