Yes, I watch children's shows. I'm a babysitter. Get over it.
By the book. It's an odd phrase. It means following instructions, or doing things the way they were mean to be done. It's not a very common phrase. So when I heard it the other day, it caught my attention.
I was watching some children and a nearby television was on, tuned to a children's show channel. A show called “Wow Wow Wubzy” was on and at the end of the episode a “moral of the story” song started. It was called, “By the Book”.
“It's good to do things,
The proper way.
But if things go wrong,
That's okay.
If it's not right,
Don't be uptight.
It doesn't have to be by the book.”
The song bothered me slightly at the time. At first, it seems like an alright message to teach children. But then, if you think about it, it applies to a lot more than the song implies. Yeah, a tea party may go wrong, or you have to invent a new kind of game with the pieces you have. But there are other rules out there. And not all of them are flexible.
Further along in the song, it says:
“If the recipe calls for juddleberry
jam,
But all you have is polka-dot ham,
It's not a waste,
Enjoy the taste,
Cause it doesn't have to be by the book.”
The cartoon that goes along with it then shows the characters eating a lovely cake. But I work in the kitchen and I happen to know that you can't make cake with ham. Not just that it won't taste good, it simply, physically, won't work.
Well, so what. By the time the kids can work in the kitchen, they know better.
But, as I said before, the song can be applied to life in general.
There's only one way to cross the street, and that's by the book.
Amusingly, a couple of days after I saw this song, on the same channel, I saw another song for a different show. The show is called LazyTown and the phrase “by the book” caught my attention again.
“It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
If the way is hazy,
You gotta do the cooking by the book.
You know you can't be lazy.
Never use a messy recipe,
The cake will end up crazy.
If you do the cooking by the book.
Then you'll have a cake.”
Using the same phrase, and the same illustration, LazyTown is teaching an exactly opposite moral.
Perhaps the reason for this is that the creator of LazyTown is a gymnastics champion. He would know that you don't win medals by doing things your own way. Also, when it comes to back-flips and aerials, do it your own way and possibly kill yourself.
I found the contrast amusing and it got me thinking. It made me realize that it is important to teach children to do things by the book.
Especially the Book.
Cause if the way is hazy, there's always Proverbs 3:1, 2
“My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.”
It’s amusing that two children’s shows on possibly the same network teach exactly oposite things, to be sure. *lol* What are the poor kids supposed to draw from that? No wonder people grow up so backward…
Wow.
Submitted by Leela on Fri, 2008/07/18 - 3:04pm.
That's a cool observation, Aisling.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Call 1-800-555-1234 for questions, comments, or snotty remarks.