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AIBU?

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Original poster

... to think that 'Child's Play' cert 18 is not suitable for the council run club for 5 - 12 year-olds?

48 replies

AlcoPop · 06/08/2011 00:33

DS : I saw a film with Chucky in it.

DW : From the Rugrats?

DS : no the film where the doll comes alive.

me : really, where ?

DS: activator camp

me and DW: [gasp!] Shock

DW had wanted to remove DS from the club earlier in the week due to ragamuffinry from other urchins at camp.

After chiding her for being a bit of a snob as council camp didn't have enough 'Antigones' and 'Chrispins' at it, I am now feeling a little sheepish. Blush

Perhaps they just read the title...

Oh well, that camp's over. Drama next week. Time for a strongly worded letter Angry and a debrief for DS...

Any suggestions for the letter?
In the old days a signed-for letter on a Saturday to the CEO's house was a useful route to the top of the in-tray.
I just need a suitably barbed missive to deliver...

come on ladies, the vitriol committee is hereby called to order.

OP posts:
BalloonSlayer · 06/08/2011 08:02

D'you know what I suspect it was Pinocchio, and one of the staff referred to him as Chucky as a joke.

Seriously, a playscheme worker would KNOW they would lose their job if they showed a film like that, and that parents would find out about it as kids would be scared.

Unless another child in the playscheme brought it in and put it in the machine for 5 mins before it was removed by staff . . . but that's another reason to ask first.

Original poster
AlcoPop · 06/08/2011 08:25

DS is 7 going on 8 and so some corroboration is required. phone clips of pinnochio :-)

I'm glad that it wasn't just us in bubble of snobbery. ;-)

Whilst I'm here, are the certificates binding on the dvd owners or just the original sellers and cinemas?

As I recall the certs are important at sale but merely recommendations after that point.

OP posts:
SheCutOffTheirTails · 06/08/2011 08:29

:o @ Pinochhio being Chucky

That does make a certain sense Balloon

Next week - "I saw a scary film about a fish." Jaws or Finding Nemo?

Monsters breaking into children's rooms to terrify them - Nightmare on Elm Street or Monsters Inc?

Vampires - Dracula or The Count?

HoneyPablo · 06/08/2011 08:33

The holiday club should have a written policy on showing DVDs. As they have safeguarding responsibility for children the policy will probably state that only DVDs with a U classification will be shown at the club.
You will need to ask them about their policy. All policies should be available for parents to read.
If they don't have one, then you can complain about that.
But you do not to ascertain the facts first. You will look like a proper idiot if they have been watching Pinnochio and not Child's Play.

ProfessionallyOffendedGoblin · 06/08/2011 08:34

Duty of care by the playscheme people, in the same way that schools don't show anything other than U without parental permission.
Please check exactly what happened, having been on the receiving end of many a rant caused by the misunderstanding of the parent, who then goes to DEFCON1 in a heartbeat. Once they've stopped shrieking and flailing, they feel embarrassed and then stupid and sometimes take it out on the child.
Or the teacher.
So check your facts. If they have cocked up, you will have a lot more to throw at them.

Reality · 06/08/2011 08:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pippaandpolly · 06/08/2011 08:58

OP there are laws about what can be shown to children but I'm not sure exactly what they are-it would be worth checking. I know, for instance, that in schools we (teachers) are not allowed to show films that have an age rating higher than the class we're showing it to-and even if we have a class of 15 year olds with one 14 year old we can't show a 15 rated film. At least, this is the case at my current and previous schools so I presume it is the law. I don't know whether the same law would apply to a camp-obviously it doesn't apply to parents etc so it might be muddied waters...

Either way, if it's true that they were shown it then I would be complaining very swiftly about how inappropriate it is. Poor children-it would give me nightmares, let alone them!

Original poster
AlcoPop · 06/08/2011 09:02

ok.
A seven year old local boy has been helping me with my investigations...

During film time, the kids were allowed onto the computers. The child that was driving the pc that DS was viewing was showing 'YouTube' clips of Chuckie films. Definitely the Child's play films. Supervisors were busy with worse sites and films.

Judgy pants off to laundry.

OP posts:
BalloonSlayer · 06/08/2011 09:08

Ummm where is this playscheme held.

Local authority computers are usually very restricted. My sister works for a LA and can't even look at Tesco. Would be surprised if kids could get on t YouTube.

LineRunner · 06/08/2011 09:09

I still think you have grounds for Something Must Be Done.

HoneyPablo · 06/08/2011 09:11

Children should not be allowed unsupervised acces to the internet. That is appalling. You need to complain about that. Everything that was said about inappropriate viewing of the DVD still applies (and even more so, given the stuff that is available on the net).

sassyTHEFIRST · 06/08/2011 09:17

I veer between this is highly unlikely and THIS IS NOT TRUE.

Computers in use by children should have a very stringent filter on - e.g. if I use my laptop on the internet in the school where I work, it will prevent me watching the Animated Tales Macbeth on youtube due to 'violence'. Pupils can get round the filters and this may have happened but to be able to watch more than a few seconds of such material without being noticed, the supervision must have been zero.

If true, you have serious grounds for complant/media etc

But...Hmm

dahu · 06/08/2011 09:25

It may depend on the way the computers have been logged on. On an adults log-on they may be able to access you tube. It is amazing what can get through the filters, if you search for miley Cyrus it is not real miley videos that appear on you tube.

Some of the kids may know clips that don't specify it has film clips in it. Some of the lego clips on you tube look innocent but when you listen to the sound track it is very violent.

Original poster
AlcoPop · 06/08/2011 09:43

Yes. Confirmation of exact events required. DS is my only source at the moment.
There's a Difference between material supplied and found but Something Must Be Done if my boy saw clips of violent horror.
0930 and the sports centre reception will take calls.
deep breaths and no high horse.

this is the last symptom of a troubled week:

generally discipline was poor, foul language from the darlings was not punished ; DS noted that supervisors made empty threats to time out bad kids but didn't do anything in the end.

DS obviously prefers the rarified atmosphere of drama camp to the gritty nature of real kids. Though he seems to have got off lightly without damage to self or property.

OP posts:
IlikeJellyBeans · 06/08/2011 10:04

I saw Child?s Play when I was about 10 on tape. It creeped the holy hell out of me! Still to this day I have trouble going near Cabbage Patch Kids... Blush

I agree with previous posters and would just polity ask if they were shown the film. It could have been a kid with a iPod or something. (DP has loads of horror films on his iPod and laptop as I frankly cannot tolerate them.) Anyway, if they have nothing to hide they would just tell you. If they have got something to hide I'd make a formal complaint.

IlikeJellyBeans · 06/08/2011 10:12

Sorry, didn't read the 2nd page! Did he just see clips on Youtube or did he watch it part by part?

DP is telling me that the 1st one is least violent one of them all. Unfortunately it is still a creepy film... Was your DS particularly scared or frightened by it?

whackamole · 06/08/2011 10:29

Check first, then complain.

Child's Play is totally unsuitable and was banned on TV until recently wasn't it?

proudfoot · 06/08/2011 10:33

I really doubt this is true.

LineRunner · 06/08/2011 10:42

AlcoPop, my son swears that the computers they used during his last year at junior school (so when they were 10 going on 11) had such rubbish filters that some of the boys were able to access 'soft porn', i.e. naked women. [He claims he looked on aghast.....]

I know it's not a huge deal when the art tables were habitually covered with newspapers including the Sun page 3, but it does go to show that computer use by children does need to be properly monitored, even where filters are in place, and no-one should kid themselves otherwise. If a school or play scheme can't provide the staff to monitor computer use, then perhaps they should rediscover the joy of books and card games instead.

MyCatHasStaff · 06/08/2011 10:51

Were they in an area usually used by kids? If not, there may not have been filters in place, hence the headless chicken monitoring after they let the kids log on. I used to work in a school where the filters would stop us looking at Romeo and Juliet, but access spanish porn Shock, and an innocent search for Anne Frank took you straight to a gambling site Confused

GhoulLasher · 06/08/2011 11:26

ragamuffinry! Grin Love that.

"Enough of this ragamuffinry!"

Anyway...I would be FURIOUS....that's terrible. That film could disturb a child badly.

Is it possible that some older kids played the film?

Mandy2003 · 06/08/2011 11:51

Trip-trap-trip-trap-trip-trap Grin

CheerfulYank · 07/08/2011 23:06

Could have happened, and if so I'd be furious.

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