Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be disapointed my son watched Frozen in reception class yesterday?

208 replies

Jude76 · 09/10/2014 11:52

I hate to moan but we don't do Disney in our house. Not yet anyway. But yesterday my reception aged child came home singing Frozen after apparently watching it in class as a treat. I just don't feel comfortable with it. Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
Enjoyingmycoffee1981 · 09/10/2014 12:49

Of all the things to be stressed about, of all the things OP, you choose Disney.

You are setting such a crappy example to your children about focussing on the small shit in life.

ReallyTired · 09/10/2014 12:50

Frozen is PG and should not be shown to children without parental permission. I don't think the scene where Elsa is nearly execuated is suitable for some four year olds. I fail to see what place Frozen has in the foundation stage and feel you have grounds to complain.

ToysRLuv · 09/10/2014 12:52

Disagree with whoever said that Frozen was a playtime currency without which a child could feel "adrift". DS (5) has no interest in films like that (thank feck!), but that has never been a problem.

Agree that it is lazy and disappointing what the school have done only weeks into the term.

kilogramlady · 09/10/2014 12:55

I'm with you OP, I would be a bit cross to find out my kids were watching Disney films at school. I have watched Frozen, with the kids, and I don't think there is much to commend it. But I can't think of any film that I'd be pleased for the school to be showing. To me, it just seems unhealthy to have them in front of a screen for that long in school hours.

motherinferior · 09/10/2014 12:55

I'm just saying I bloody hated being so out of it as a child. Everyone else knew about popular culture and I didn't. And if everyone else is singing That Song really loudly and you don't know what the hell they're on about it, one feels a little...out of it. With good reason.

Nanny0gg · 09/10/2014 12:58

I started school in the fifties.

I remember watching Bambi in the school hall. I sobbed. I recovered and I love Disney.

Watching stuff is not new.

PatriciaHolm · 09/10/2014 12:59

Given it was a leaving party, I would be surprised if they watched more than about 20 minutes - probably just the key songs, I would imagine the vast majority of them have seen it already anyway. In a reception child's eyes, 20 minutes/4 songs could easily be "we watched ALL AFTERNOON Mummy!"

Yes, if they sat them down and they watched the whole thing, that's not great, not least because as others have said it's a PG and guidelines are normally not to show PGs without explicit permission from parents. However, I very much doubt that is what happened.

googoodolly · 09/10/2014 13:01

PG doesn't mean permission, it means parental guidance. The teachers in this situation are acting as guardians and are perfectly capable of deciding whether it's suitable for reception children or not.

Please don't let your son be left out of all the fun kids have by not letting him watch Disney movies - they're such a massive part of childhood. It won't matter in a year's time that he watched some of Frozen in school, so don't let it bother you - it's not worth getting upset over.

nicename · 09/10/2014 13:01

You cant avoid Disney for ever.... We haven't seen all that many as DS seems to prefer Pixar offerings.

Its lowest common denominator though isn't it, with a classroom of kids?

You really don't want to be the teacher saying "Due so some complaints from parents, we aren't going to watch [insert popular Disney film] but instead will be viewing this years winning cartoon from the Czech Illustrated Film Awards, 1972', yaaaayyyyyy!"

Waitingonasunnyday · 09/10/2014 13:02

I agree that kids like to know and feel part of the latest craze. I still remember not being allowed in the My Little Pony Playground Club Sad until my friends took pity and made an exception for me Grin and that was 30 years ago!!

wigornian · 09/10/2014 13:05

My DC love it - but two issues for me, whilst it may be excusable at the end of term to show a fun film, this early on in the term, I think they should be doing something else.

Also - it is a PG film....though pretty tame of course for that age, but still, as a principle I don't think schools should show PGs at that age.

wigornian · 09/10/2014 13:07

x-posted many times now I see, apologies.

odyssey2001 · 09/10/2014 13:09

There are three issues here:

  1. Is it wrong to show children a film to either give them some downtime or during wet play? No
  2. Is our wrong to show children Disney films? Definitely not.
  3. Is our wrong to show any child a PG without parental consent? Absolutely yes - this is a matter which the teacher should possibly be disciplined for.
puds11isNAUGHTYnotNAICE · 09/10/2014 13:10

Don't want the film watching to detract from all the important colouring that needs to be done Hmm

theonlygothinthevillage · 09/10/2014 13:11

When I saw the title of this thread I assumed you were annoyed because the reception staff were so lazy that they stuck a DVD on for the kids to watch.

Aside from that concern, I wouldn't mind my kids watching Frozen (they've seen it a zillion times and love it) - but I would go nuts if they were shown one of the more politically dodgy films with their vile gender stereotypes. (I hate my kids watching Cars, for example.)

Isetan · 09/10/2014 13:17

Your child will come home saying all kinds of stuff, if you take it all as gospel then you will be one confused/angry mum. Find out the circumstances (he probably didn't watch the whole film, I didn't) and if you still object, tell the school that you don't want you child 'doing' Disney.

I've never bought into all that gender related roles, colour, toy crap but DD regularly comes out with stuff that ConfusedHmmSad me. There is a world beyond your front door and they are going to be exposed to stuff that don't comply totally with your beliefs. Get ahead of the game and start coming up with age appropriate arguments that challenge societal stereotypes that are depressingly ever present.

TrisisFour · 09/10/2014 13:18

You miserable old boot. Wink I would have loved to have watched something like that when I was at school. I got to watch Dirty Dancing instead Sad the day before we broke up for Xmas when I was 14.

ToysRLuv · 09/10/2014 13:22

Doing a lot of colouring etc is essential to ds, as he has rather underdeveloped fine motor coordination. He often can't be persuaded to do it at home, as it's hard for him, but will have a go at school. So, yes, important colouring.

dixiechick1975 · 09/10/2014 13:22

Suspect it will have been wet play for a dvd.

DD's reception teacher used to put come outside with auntie mabel and pippin the dog as a treat when they were exhausted - they loved it.

squoosh · 09/10/2014 13:24

Lucky kids watching cartoons.

The only video I remember watching in school were ones about the Virgin Mary appearing at Lourdes and Fatima and the devout children who saw her.

What a snooze.

ToysRLuv · 09/10/2014 13:24

Come outside is at least educational, and as unscary as can be..

waithorse · 09/10/2014 13:28

Your poor dc. Don't do Disney. Disney is magical for small children and big one's.

YANBU about them watching a film in school though. Ok as an end of term treat but not on the rest of the year.

Gruntfuttock · 09/10/2014 13:28

I've never seen Frozen, as I'm old and my daughter is grown up, but why has it got a PG rating? I thought it was for young children.

MiaowTheCat · 09/10/2014 13:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WipsGlitter · 09/10/2014 13:29

We don't know what was going on in class that day - they might have been working really hard and needed a treat, or some chill time, or whatever.

DS1 (6) told me they were watching Tom and Jerry last week as a treat!