5 year old sensitivity... does this mean anything?

[cjt110]

My son has always been sensitive...

Cries at sad things on the TV.

But also things that are normal..

The Disney ad where a duckling would read the paper and then meet Donald duck had him diving behind the couch.

Fair enough he got sad at the Lion King but he wa hysterical at the scene where Mufasa died. Sp much so we had to leave.

Same in Toy Story 4 when 2 characters left.

Today he was hysterical at angry birds 2 when a character was squashed under a door. Even though you saw they were ok after. We had to leave.

Is this normal or something more?

Some kids just have better imaginations and more empathy than others. I never understood why some parents think it's a badge of honour that their children are so emotionally numb and lacking in imagination or understanding that no book or film scares or upsets or disturbs them!

DS1 is 9 and still very sensitive. It's just who he is. DS2 is nothing like it.

My brother used to get upset and cry because a film had ended. Not because anything sad had happened just because it was over. There would be hysterics if something actually sad happened. He was just sensitive, it's a good thing it shows empathy and understanding of the impact of an action (like getting squashed by a door). It was a phase he grew out of.

Not wanting to annoy you but watching scary things can easily affect sleep &/or willingness to be alone in a dark room. Honestly, I'd cut back on anything that might be vaguely scary. We had a long stretch sticking to stuff like my little pony series, absolute genius, barbapapa, and (some but not every) 0 rated movies. DD is 7 now and slightly more adventurous, but I certainly wouldn't let her watch all 6/7+ rated stuff as I know she'd have nightmares after.

There’s a huge variation in what children feel comfortable watching and what they find scary/sad at that age (and at any age really).

DD8 found cartoons easier to deal with until about a year ago. What helped her was explaining that something being scary or sad often provoked a good feeling (relief or joy) and that’s why story tellers do it in a movie, book or play. She’s a really logical kid, so the reasoning helped her to understand.