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Secret Life of Pets 2 – Discussion

Discussion Guide:

  1. Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why?
    This is a light question that helps the whole family learn more about each other. There is no need for every question about the movie to be deep and serious.
  2. Why do you think Max was so worried about Liam all the time?
    Although Max did seem to develop an anxiety, the initial reason for his concern for Liam was good. He loved Liam and wanted him to be protected and safe. This question can allow your family to talk about how people who love each other are concerned for each other’s safety. This is especially important for children who may not have had this modeled in their birth home.
  3. When Gidget lost Max’s ball called Busy Bee, why did she work so hard to get it back?
    Max and Gidget are good friends (possibly dating). It is good to discuss with our kids about what it looks like to follow through on promises. It is also good to talk about how we honor other people’s items because we are friends and respect the person the item belongs to.
  4. Snowball and Daisy saw the circus owner being mean to a white tiger and wanted to save the tiger. What could they have done so that their mission was more successful?
    This is simply a question to see how your child read the situation.
  5. You’re probably never going to have to save a white tiger but… What would you do if you saw a group of kids picking on another kid at school?
  6. What would you do if you saw another person in the house take money out of mom’s purse?
    We all have moments where we must make a decision on how we are going to react to an unjust situation. Creating hypothetical situations and discussing them help us to know how to handle similar situations in the future.
  7. What were some things that Max was scared of?
    This is simply a light discussion question to see what your child is thinking and helps to lead into the other questions.
  8. What were situations where it was okay for Max to be really scared? What were times that seemed silly for him to be scared?
    Being scared might be seen as a negative emotion. However, fear and concern are normal emotions that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. It is good to talk with children about times when it is perfectly normal to be concerned or scared. Once normalcy is discussed we can turn the conversation to when things are exaggerated or out of hand. Question #11 will focus on you and your child but for this question it is important to simply talk about the movie characters as this is a good way to begin the conversation in a nonthreatening way.
  9. What happened to Max because he was scared all the time? Could he have fun when he was scared?
    When our emotions become exaggerated or out of balance we may find that our life suffers. In the case of Max he was unable to enjoy his life all the time. At one point in the movie he even expressed wanting to stay inside the apartment all the time. It is good to talk about how our lives can suffer from out of balance emotions using the characters from the movie. As with any person, if we can see that there is an issue, it is easier to admit that we need to seek out help.
  10. On the farm what was Max scared of? How did Rooster help him?
    We have spent a few questions talking about the issue that Max has to work on and talking about why it is an issue. Now it is time to talk about solutions and discuss how other people can help us. No one should ever feel like they have to tackle an issue alone.
  11. What are some things that make you the “right amount” of scared? What might be some things that make your scared feeling “too high”?
    The next two questions are going to be a bit more sensitive as we aren’t talking about the fictional characters anymore and are searching for how the concepts we have seen apply to real life. Be attentive to your child’s needs during this question. If they do not want to talk about themselves, honor that. Simply let them know that you’re available to talk later. Also, some people need some time to think and reflect and some folks may not be dealing with anxiety or fear at the moment and not have anything to discuss. Again, the key is to be available and sensitive and not simply getting the question answered.
  12. Who are safe adults that can help you when you are “too scared”? Can you think of some ways they can help you be brave?
    If your child is brave enough to be able to talk about things that scare them, it is important to talk about the safe people they can talk to or who they can go to for help.

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Transfiguring Adoption is a nonprofit organization seeking to nurture growth in foster and adoptive families by giving a HOOT about their families. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its review to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.

Written by
Co-founder and President of Transfiguring Adoption. Darren is a graduate of Illinois State University where he studied fine art. He offers foster and adoptive parents over a decade of experience in parenting foster and adoptive children, as well as his introductory to counseling training. Darren is the author of the "A Guide to Magical Creatures Around Your Home," book series. [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfink Book series: www.magicalcreaturs.com

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