Kids say the darnedest things.

They are so inquisitive, it’s just amazing – it’s like they’re little sponges trying to absorb everything in the world that surrounds them.

Last week we were in San Antonio and we had some time to kill so we walked over to a nearby movie theatre.

My daughter noticed the Superman poster right away.

She has not missed out on the media blitz letting everyone know about this movie.

She has seen the TV commercials, promotional items in stores and while on the road, she received Superman toys in her Happy Meals.

"Can we go see it?" she asked.

Her Mom and I looked at the poster and noticed the PG-13 rating.

We looked at each other.

PG-13?

We both would have expected G or PG for this movie.

"It looks like this movie’s not for little kids," we told her. "When you get bigger you can see it."

And then came the question that left me speechless.

"If Superman’s not for little kids, then why do they put Superman toys in with the Happy Meals?"

I didn’t have a good answer for that one, and after giving it more thought, I still don’t.

Why do fast food franchises include toys that promote movies made for older audiences with an item that is only ordered by little kids?

It reminds me of Joe Camel.

Joe Camel was a character created by Camel Cigarettes as a way to promote their product. Joe Camel came under fire because critics said the character was designed to get younger kids to start smoking. The negative publicity resulted in the company’s decision to make Joe Camel a thing of the past.

If a product is not appropriate for young children, is it appropriate to target little children in your advertising campaign?

I don’t think so.

If a movie is not appropriate for small children, is it appropriate to target these children in your advertising campaign.

I don’t think so.

There are lots of kid movies out there – why not include toys that correspond to movies that people of all ages can enjoy?

And if there aren’t enough G or PG rated movies out there to meet the ever constant demand for new kids toys, why not come up with some fun toys that don’t promote a movie every once in a while?

Maybe the fast food companies should re-think the deals they make with major motion picture studios.

All of this raises one more question.

Superman used to be for kids.

Before he was a movie star, he was a comic book character and kids of all ages read these books.

The first four Superman movies were PG.

But this one is PG-13.

Will the next one be rated R?

So here’s my question.

Why isn’t Superman for kids anymore?