How firm are you with age ratings on films/games?

[BowieFan]

DS1 and DS2 are both 14 (15 in two weeks) and I've pretty much let them watch anything up to a 15 since they were about 11, as they were both sensible kids and most of the time they were watching the films with us anyway.

18 rated films are kind of an approval basis. DS1 is a horror nut and I have no issue with him seeing things like The Exorcist or Friday the 13th. Anything like 50 Shades of Grey, they'd have to come to me first to have a discussion on why it's not a healthy relationship and all that, and if they understood it I'd probably let them watch.

Games don't come up that often but I've pretty much let them have GTA and CoD since they were 12 as me and DP are both gamers and understand what they're playing. We wouldn't let them have horror games until this year though because we're aware they affect you differently to horror films.

How firm are you on age rating things?

We applied a general rule that they could watch / play something 2 years before the rating, So a 12 film at 10. A 16 game at 14 etc. It was a compromise and stopped any arguments.

I found 13 to be the trickiest age as they weren't always ready for the content of some 15 rated films. So discretion played a part too.

My eldest is now almost 17, but there are some 18 games that I refuse to have in the house, but I know he plays them at his friends house.

So you think that you know better than the people who rate films for a living?
It takes a special kind of a jobsworth to stick an "18" rating on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

Nataleejah I think there is a real problem with older films which were rated when they came out and haven't been reviewed since. Films that got an 18 in 1985 would for the most part not be rated 18 now. That makes a lot of the ratings useless. The idea that they are somehow based on enormous knowledge and expertise does make me laugh.

For the rest of it, what you decide really depends on what bothers you. Rating tends to be for sex, violence and swearing - out of those, only the violence bothers me much. I don't much like watching explicit sex of the GoT kind, but as long as it isn't violent or exploitative, I will not mind my DDs watching it. In GoT it obviously is both quite often so no, they won't be watching that. In Deadpool on the other hand the one major sex scene in there does not come off as exploitative at all.

Swearing does not bother me in the least. It bothers DH a lot more, so he agreed that DDs could watch Deadpool, but they would watch it with me, not him, because he would have been cringing. Despite enjoying it when he watched it himself;. It's a minefield.

"It's a minefield"

Shame you're not an English teacher!

I saw the film Girl on a Train last week. It's a 15 cert. Both DH and I were quite surprised at the violence sex and language. I think it would have been an18 cert 30 years ago.

We are strict and it really bothers me when I meet parents with young children that are watching inappropriate films and games. My nephew was allowed to watch all the scary films growing up. My sister and family thought it wasn't a problem because he seemed to like it. When he was 21, he started having huge panic attacks. It took a while but it turned out that he was absolutely terrified of the films and that wide eyed look was not excitement but fear. I always remember this.

My other concern is that kids that watch these films are often the ones acting out at school and bringing the language with them. It has got to the point that I have spoken to 5 year olds who are using bad language and turns out they are repeating lines from not age appropriate films.

Parents are always saying how their children are growing up so fast and everyone else is doing it. I have to say that not everyone is doing it and it is not always okay.

Strict here, never allow my DC to watch anything that's rated over than their age. But lately I've started to doubt the certificate. A 15 now includes so much violence and sex, more than I'd like my DD of 15 to see. But, I don't feel I can stope her as that would be too controlling.

stop

flippin' sticky keyboard!!! rated older than their age

ds(12) has seen 15/16 films/TV, but I check content online or watch first, especially older films. Never even considered an 18 for him.

He's had one 15 game (Halo) which I have checked first, but I would never give him 18 games (CoD, GTA etc) as they are imo inappropriate until they are at least 16 at the very earliest. Firstly the graphic violence/sex/context is unsuitable, but also their intensity is way too much for young minds.

Kids don't need to see 18 rated stuff, there are plenty of film/games out there that are appropriate. Parents who allow their young kids access to 18 rated stuff are trying too hard to be the cool parent while overlooking and minimising the consequences.

Watching 12's at around age 10 e.g Avengers, Star Wars etc and may let ds, age 13, watch a 15 if I watch it first. But certainly no 18 rating computer games etc allowed.

Itsmine

All three of those films would now be rated as a 15 or lower. Alien in particular has no graphic violence at all, other than the chestburster scene. The Exorcist has no graphic violence or sex, it's an 18 purely because of swearing and the general themes.

They're not "disturbing" - they're excellent films. The Exorcist in particular has great moral and religious subtext to it.

jwpetal

My kids don't swear, have never been in trouble at school. They've never been in trouble at school and their results are excellent, please don't tar them with the brush of being "troublemakers" due to what they watch.

As for the panic attacks thing, it's an isolated incident that probably had nothing to do with the films. I grew up watching them and I've turned out fine. My kids tell me when they're not liking something, so we turn it off. It's not rocket science.

We don't adhere to ratings. Our children range from adult to preteen, so have always been able to see things out of their own age bracket. We do allow youngest (11) to play games that are an 18. It's FIFA that causes all the shouting, frustration and distress here. It's the only game I have to tell everyone to calm down when playing it and that's rated as a 3+.

I am flexible IF I have watched the film or played the game. If I haven't, I go with the rating. That said, I really don't understand why society is so worried about sex scenes and so careless with violent ones. I've watched some 12 and 15 rated films that shocked me completely because of the blood and gore allowed (very graphic violence), yet a film can get the same rating because there's a love scene in it where somebody shows her boobs? I really don't get it. Not talking about 50SoG, though, I don't think it can be representative of a love scene anyway.

I am more comfortable with my 11 year old playing CoD than I am with my 15 year old watching the crappy reality shows she does.

Bertrand, what's wrong with 'It's a minefield'?

Nothing wrong with "it's a minefield". It is. Unless you're an English teacher.

We've always used discretion when allowing DS to watch films or play games, but GTA is banned because the whole 'let's kill prostitutes' thing offends me. He's 17 now, and has enough respect for my feelings to accept he can't have or play it at home.

That's not controlling or abusive - that's teaching someone to be a decent human being.

We tend to watch the films first before letting ds watch anything over a pg. Just in case. Some of the older tv programmes are quite racist in their language and they're rated pg so we've learnt to check first!

Nine year olds watching Game of Thrones? Seriously?

This is why my daughter gets bullied by children in her class for actually playing with toys and enjoying "babyish" cartoons.

There are loads of fantastic books, films and games made for children. Why the hell do they need stuff rated 15 plus when they aren't even out of primary school.

There's an undertone of "Well my child is so mature and intelligent, and we're so right on, age ratings don't apply to our family!"

I'm not some almighty prude,but we aren't talking a 14 year old watching an 18 here. Ffs.

Yes ok. I'm abusive and disgusting for not letting another adult (one without children or any responsibilities at all come to think if it) undermine me and the way I raise my children. Fuck that. There's a lot of stuff I don't plan in letting my children do under my roof once they become adults and are still living here at no cost to themselves. Not playing a misogynistic and extremely violent video game will barely register.

0urKid

Hopefully they'll realise they don't want to live with someone who controls what another adult is doing. If a woman posted that her husband was controlling what media she consumed, he'd rightly be called abusive.

Sparkyduchess

So anyone who plays GTA isn't a decent human being? Wow.

I completely agree ourkid

Maybe I am old fashioned, but there are certain things I am not comfortable with having in my home, and as the adult who pays the bills, DC will have to adhere to that.

Bowie. Calm the fuck down. Also stop overusing the word "Abusive". You're the one letting little kids play extremely violent games and then having the gall to call other parents out on the choices they make for their kids. You utter numbskull.