This blog entry was originally posted by the very legitimate user "simonaannie" in January 2014. It was deleted, but unfortunately a copy was preserved by Crap Boy and his brick building team, Sharkboy and Lavagirl. It is now presented unedited, with the exception of a link removal.

---

Finding Nemo is a great family movie, both my son and I like it. My son even asked me to give him finding nemo plush dolls as presents and rewards. It brings us through the entire range of human emotion – it makes us laugh, cry, scared, excited, hopeful; and it gives us a real sense of adventure.

On top of this, there are several positive and important values in Finding Nemo that make great learning points for our children.

The first (and most obvious) is the value of obedience.

For many of us, it’s a consistent struggle to get our kids to obey rules. For Marlin and Nemo, it wasn’t any different. Marlin told his son repeatedly not to swim beyond a certain boundary in the ocean, warning him of the dangers. But in a show of “I can do it. I’m a big boy now,†Nemo swam toward a boat, ignoring his dad completely.

When we set rules and boundaries for our children, they get upset because they can’t have their way. But many of these rules and boundaries are necessary to keep our children safe.

Communicate to your child that some rules exist to keep them safe, and we set rules because we love them. Let them know that if they disobey, they will have to live with the consequences.

We all know what happens next. A diver caught Nemo and the next thing he knew, he was trapped in a fish tank. Marlin, devastated first by the loss of his wife at the start of the show along with most of his offspring, and now by the physical loss of his son, sets off to find him back.

You may choose to stop the movie at this point to ask your child a few questions, or do it after the show (at dinnertime, bedtime, or on the way to school).

The second lesson is friendship. Dory, a blue tang, comes alongside Marlin in his search for Nemo. Along the way, they get into some sticky situations such as being chased by a shark, getting stung by jellyfish, and swallowed by a whale. They also meet Crush, a sea turtle who helps them get to Sydney, where Nemo is held captive.

Good friends don’t come by easily, so we should cherish our friends. Friends who help when you are in need are friends worth keeping.

Remind your child that they should first be a good friend to others, before they expect others to be a good friend to them.

Finally, we can identify with the character of Marlin, courage and a sacrificial love. This once-timid clownfish overcame his own fears of the ocean and went through thick and thin to rescue his son.

Love is brave and courageous, even in the face of danger.

Let your child know that you will be there for them when they face difficult circumstances. Explain to them the concept of sacrifice - giving up something that is important to us. (This is probably a good time to express your love for your child.)

From a parent’s perspective, I also learnt that it’s important to know when to let go, and not be over-protective of our little ones. We should allow them more room to learn to protect themselves and take responsibility for their actions, so that they can “grow upâ€.

---

This concludes our blog post. Thank you for your time.