It was the year 2003. Disney Pixar released an animated movie which was to become one of the most loved movies of all times. Yes, I am talking of Finding Nemo. A story about a Clownfish father-son duo in a vast ocean. With brilliant animation and a compelling story, it set out to break many records. The purpose of discussing Finding Nemo even after 17 years of its release today is the relevance it still holds for your child aged between 2-5 years in terms of lessons learnt visually. Yes, the movie indeed has a lot to learn from.
Today we bring to you 5 lessons that kids and parents can learn from Finding Nemo. So wear your swimsuits and dive into its world of magic!
- Being overprotective for kids is bad
When Marlin loses his wife and other kids to a shark attack, he buries a fear in his heart forever, a fear of losing his remaining family. In raising Nemo, he is a fearful and overprotective father who does not let his son taste little freedoms. In his curiosity and desire for freedom, Nemo gets caught by humans while proving his father wrong. Overprotecting parenting leads to anxiety, low self-esteem, people pleasing tendencies etc. in kids and is not recommended.
- We are special as we are
Be it Nemo’s ‘lucky fin’ or Dory’s short term memory loss, both the characters are lovable as they are. A small deformed fin never stops Nemo from being gutsy and neither does Dory’s poor memory stop her from setting on the hunt of finding Nemo. Hence, learn to embrace your imperfections. Kids need to build a strong sense of confidence from early years no matter their physical or mental differences with other kids of their age. This will encourage self-acceptance and acceptance for others.
- Move out of your comfort zone
Beyond the blue ocean where there were many creatures, there was a big world. Nemo’s comfort zone was the ocean but when he was caught, he learnt to survive outside it. Squirt and Crush are a great example of a good father-son relationship. Crush allows Squirt to “fly solo” and swim outside of the EAC (East Australian Current) and Marlin immediately gets worried. Squirt comes back into the current just fine. This teaches us that we shouldn’t be afraid to go outside our comfort zone, and that our parents shouldn’t be afraid to let us do so. Let your child move out of its comfort zone and learn to spread its wings.
- Optimism and never say die attitude wins battles
This is of the most significant lessons taught by Finding Nemo. Marlin and Dory face numerous challenges trying to find Nemo, but they never give up. By the end of the movie, they find Nemo. Dory and Marlin are almost complete opposites. A lot of the time they look at each situation differently. When they are stuck inside the whale’s mouth, Marlin is worried that his mouth is half empty with saliva. Dory teaches us to always be optimistic by saying “I’d say it’s half-full.” No matter how many challenges life throws at us, we must push through the way like Marlin and Dory did! Teach your kids to never give up even if the situation does not favour them. You never know what perseverance might give you!
- Just keep swimming!
A very cheesy lesson, but one that Finding Nemo teaches us is to keep going. Marlin and Dory’s entire journey across the ocean serves as a good metaphor for life in general: which is an ongoing process, full of ups and downs, and a journey in which you are bound to meet all kinds of creatures (people?), where the water will go above and below your head over and over (metaphorically). The key to success, however, is to keep going. Or like Dory says: “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!”
Does reading this make you nostalgic? Well, then go on, take your flippers and dive into watching this movie again with your little ones!