Should a Pre School ask parental permission before showing a PG movie?

[Mush123]

My four year old has just told me that she saw the PG rated movie Tangled in her Pre School yesterday. I'm a little annoyed that they didn't ask permission.

[Feenie]

By stabbing? At three?

[ArmchairFeminist]

Well, my lot know it's not real. It's just a film.

[DontCallMePeanut]

What, by being stabbed, in front of a 3 year old, whilst trying to rescue a girl from her "mother".

Or turning to dust and falling to death from a tower?

Nope. Don't think I've seen that before.

Death, in a kids film should, imo, be free from violence and with as little graphic detail as possible.

[DontCallMePeanut]

Have you taken them to Disneyland?

Pretty good proof that kids struggle to know the difference between reality and a film. 3/4 year old kids don't grasp reality the way adults do.

[RitaMorgan]

Armchair - sounds like maybe you have quite limited experience of children, and are assuming all other children are exactly like your own?

[DilysPrice]

There is not one category of "kids cartoons" which is universally appropriate for all children from birth niceguy. There is U, which should be suitable for any child aged over 4, and there is PG, which has stuff in it that may disturb young children, but should be appropriate for most children over 8.

Anyone showing a PG film to a 3/4 year old is running the risk of nightmares, which is your call to make if you're the one going to be woken at 3am, but not OK for someone else to do.

And my very robust Harry Potter and Doctor Who loving 8 year old was definitely freaked by the end of Tangled. Great film, but on the strong side.

[trixymalixy]

DS's pre school will only show U certificate films.

[ArmchairFeminist]

Rita - I have four children.

So, yeah, quite limited. You?

[Goblinchild]

I don't think it is unreasonable to ask parental permission about things like this that affect different children in different ways. Some cope, some don't and the parents is likely to know best, and be the one fielding the consequences at bedtime. It is a PITA to ask, best way is to send a letter home asking them to reply if they don't want their child to see the film. That way the lazy arses who can't be bothered to reply opt in by default.

As someone already pointed out, Jaws is a PG.

[OrangeHat]

Our preschool takes children from age 2.

Absolutely I would expect them to ask before showing a PG film. Having said that, they wouldn't , because a group of 2, 3 and 4 yo is too young to watch PG films which are aimed at older children.

[RitaMorgan]

Armchair - I've worked with hundreds of children, and while some would be completely oblivious to scary bits in films, some would find it exciting, and some would be very disturbed by a character being stabbed to death. A pre-school can't possibly know how every child in their care will react - not all react like your particular children by a longshot.

[4madboys]

i thought they HAD to ask permission to show anything other than a U?they do at my boys primary school!

the paddling is fine, underwear is fine, esp if it saves them from getting soggy clothes, if they are like my boys even if its only shallow water they WILL splash!

[DilysPrice]

My DD was shown PG DVDs at the end of term at primary school, they didn't feel the need to ask my permission but I thought that was completely reasonable, because she's 8, not 4 (see BBFC clarification above - it's reasonable to assume that most 8 year olds will be fine with a PG film).

[bringmesunshine2009]

My DS screams and crys and shouts "NNOOOOO! OHHH DEARRR" and hides behind me when spooky spoon comes on Numberjacks. He has a real fear of it. Weirdly, nothing else which I would consider to be far spookier.

Wouldn't get my knickers in a twist about a PG. Nothing I wouldn't expect my children to be exposed to through the news/street/home/pre watershed adult TV/other kids programmes in a PG. I would be impressed he sat still long enough to see a whole film! But each to their own.

[Feenie]

I am genuinely scared of the Numbertaker.

[MumToTheBoy]

I've worked in 5 different schools over the past 12 years, in 3 different counties, and I have never been allowed to show a PG without first getting written permission from parents, which is a pain and waste of time so have always just shown U's. We may be in loco parentis but at the end of the day they are not our children and we don't know who may have nightmares/ be affected/ have had a similar experience in their family eg death/ loss that cause distress. Even with all that in mind, I have had year 2 children cry watching a U!!

[Fairenuff]

Mt DS could not watch the Iron Giant until he was about 6.

And my DD was VERY scared of BFG at the beginning when he's walking through the town!

Sensitive souls they are

[IslandMooCow]

YANBU - I'd be very angry.

Our children watch very little TV, and I've just started introducing the oldest (4) to DVD film such as Lady and the Tramp. She still finds some of the Cbeebies programs (such as Octonauts) a bit scary. TV isn't a big thing in our life, in fact we only have a small portable!

Other households have the TV on a lot more, and if you introduce it and films at an earlier age, I think they become more understanding of it not being "real". Each to their own - I have no strong opinions on what is right or wrong, it is just different types of lifestyle.

However, the pre-school is not aware of each child's sensibilities or experiences so it is NOT up to them to show something potentially scary - which it must be or the film would have been rated a "U" rather than a "PG".

[SiamoFottuti]

There are some super-fragile children knocking around the UK.

[RitaMorgan]

I think it is ok for pre-schoolers to be a bit fragile, we're not going to be sending them off to war anytime soon.

[SiamoFottuti]

No, not sending them off to war. I'd be worried about 4 year olds traumatised by bloody Disney though! In my (quite extensive before you ask) experience, young children are generally very robust about these thing until and unless their parents make them frightened by banging on about how scary things are and banning them.

Childrens stories are designed to teach children about scary things in an amusing way. Where do you think tales of Snow White and Rapunzel come from in the first place?

[ArmchairFeminist]

Do you?

Hmm, nope, we don't do fragile here!

[megapixie]

I remember being in year 6 and our teacher refusing to let us watch a PG because he couldn't contact all our parents to ask. However, he let us watch 12's for 'educational purposes' I.e. loads of videos about the Beatles because he loved them!

[DontCallMePeanut]

Snow White and Rapunzel weren't initially aimed at children. They're derived from tales which were told amongst adults. Was only after the Grimms published them iin the 19th Century that parents started buying them, then put pressure on the Grimms to make them less scary.

And for gods sake. They're 4, not 14.

[ArmchairFeminist]

Is anyone else old enough to have had the old Ladybird fairytale books ? They were superb, I've still got some of mine.

The pictures were beautiful and very graphic - the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is fabulously scary! My little DD LOVES these and gets so excitedly scared when we read them!
Never has nightmares. Heck, lots of us in our forties were raised on those books which knock Tangled into a cocked hat for scary!

Yup, we are raising a bunch of lily livered wooses!!