Would it bother you if school showed a movie with a rating above your child's age?

[Keremy]

DC1 ended up in school in a mixed year group due to an event just before Christmas.

The children involved were year 8 to 10 so 12 to 15. The teacher was aware of the kids ages.

Dc1 had been asking to watch a film and as it was three years above their age range I refused. They have seen 12s at 11 and stuff so I'm not a total fuddy duddy but I think it is entirely dependent on the film.

Anyway dc came home saying they had watched this film and I have just checked with another parent and it is true.

To me it wouldn't be about the age rating more of the content. I've let DS age 6 watch a few 12A's (fantastic beasts, star wars, guardians of the galaxy, jurrasic world etc). He knows there may be bad words but that doesn't deter from his enjoyment of the film.

In the school I teach at we cannot even show a PG without consent. On the day of Christmas break break up (23rd December, it was crowd control at that point) we watched Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. Toy Story 1 is a PG and therefore not allowed, which baffles me! Creepy men with dolls and nazi-esque stuffed bears and far scarier than the odd boy next door haha!

I know it's different because my son is only 7 but he's watched a couple of PG rated films at school and we've had letters home to let us know so that we can speak to the teacher if we have any concerns.

Bad Santa is very inappropriate!

As a general rule, it is very poor practice to show films rated above the age of the children. Parents certainly should have been given the option to refuse.

No way. I'd complain to the school.

Yes, it would. If I choose to allow my child to see a film with a rating higher than their age that's my choice. School should know better.

Fidelia
Actually....showing sex scenes to a 12 yr old is surely a child protection issue?

[squintslightlyandlookbemused]

No I'm not being deliberately stupid.

Teachers want it all ways...age inappropriate material is wrong... Unless of course we decide differently...screens are evil...unless it's the end of term treat/the children are tired/I have displays to take down.

It is not on to constantly tell parents and children one thing and then do another because they can suddenly justify it. Plus they often spout all this stuff without any relevant research on the opposite point of view (screen not age inappropriate material).

Ive let dd watch some films rated older than her age, I always watch them myself first though, same with a few games as sometimes, Terraria (Minecraft type game) is rated 12, but dd has been playing it for years, doesn't mean I'd be happy for the school the let her play COD.

Shes still 11 (as are many children in y7) and no way would I let her watch Bad Santa, while I think it's funny and love it, it's not a suitable movie for children.

If OP had said her DC had a sleepover and she'd popped Bad Santa on for them to watch and can't understand why some of the parents are annoyed with her, she'd be told she should never have put that film on for a bunch of 12 year olds, and if she said she didn't realise it was that bad, she'd have been told she should have googled it.

An age appropriate discussion on anal sex as part of sex education is one thing, but watching a woman being fucked in the arse by Santa clause in a changing room is not how I'd want my DC to learn about it tbh.

Theres a Bad Santa 2 as well, perhaps if this one has threesomes or whatever the school can show the 11 and 12 year olds that to educate them too.

Ok very boring update sorry!
Dcs school are running intervention sessions for gcses so are in later than normal so got a reply.

The very embarrassed teacher has said the case was for Bad Santa but the DVD was not! Apparently when asked to put the film they watched in the case he has thrown it in any empty case.

I have been assured that the film they watched was one were a boys Dad hurts Santa accidently and has to take his job as Santa.

Both mine and the other dc have some form of SN so neither realised

Sorry that should read the teachers dh three it in any empty case.

*threw

Sounds like the Santa Clause, perfectly fine film then.

I'd be livid. To be honest my feelings on watching films at school for "fun" , dress up days , school trips that are not for educational purposes etc have no place in schooling. (I Bet I sound like a right crusty cow bad Santa is really not appropriate to show in school regardless of age

Coloursthatweremyjoy

Yeah. Fuck teachers. Wankers the lot of 'em. Hypocritical arseholes who are only in the profession for the money. Bollocks to the lot of them!

Why is it I get the feeling you've had you childs 'screentime' brought up before and have an axe to grind?

Fidelia

"Oh, do you think it's ok for a 12 year old to see a scene with two people faking anal sex?"

I haven't considered it in detail although coincidentally, a mantra of mine though is "if in doubt, don't stick it in your bum". It's held me in good stead over the years and is quite applicable here.

SpartacusWoman

I spend the vast majority of my life watching what I say, express, suggest, hear and am otherwise party to. Thank fuck for MN where I can read things like your post and genuinely laugh out loud before going out to face the horrors of professional life.

anal sex as part of sex education is one thing, but watching a woman being fucked in the arse by Santa clause in a changing room is not how I'd want my DC to learn about it tbh.

Keremy

Hahahaha!

All's Well That Ends Well.

Your boys were still subjected to a rubbish film. Permissible on the last day of term as a treat IMO.

Depends on the film. My school showed the 15-rated Schindler's List when I was 13 as part of history. The same teacher showed us the 18-rated Predator when he couldn't be arsed to teach us. Our parents were consenting as to allowing us to see the former, we kept our mouths shut about the latter in the hope that he'd show us some more films of the same kind!

(Incidentally, he was an incredibly good history teacher who had an uncanny knack for guessing what the questions would be for history GCSEs every year - about 80% accurate - Christ knows how he did it. Certainly helped with the revision.)

Age ratings are a rather arbitrary guideline at best. Some 14-year-olds can watch some 18-rated films without suffering nightmares or lasting damage. Some 20-year-olds should probably be made to stick with a 12-rated film. Guidelines change and films are regularly re-rated. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life was an 18 when I grew up, now it's a 15. The film hasn't changed, society has. What would have been deemed unsuitable for a 17-year old a few years ago is perfectly acceptable for a 15-year-old now.

Schindler's List might make a harrowing impression on an underage child, but that is not necessarily a bad thing if it brings home something of the reality of the holocaust.

(Not that it really does bring home the "reality" - it's far too fluffy and "nice" to do that. It is a good attempt, but any filmmaker that tried to accurately portray this subject would be accused of trying to trivialise it by exploiting it for shock value. Think of A Serbian Film in its uncut hideousness, but worse, because it still wouldn't be honest enough.)

Actually no teacher has ever directly raised screen time with me. I have however been in a LOT of information evenings on everything from phonics to helping your child succeed at maths where it is unfailingly brought up! I mention it only to highlight so easy teacheers double standards.

But I do have an axe to grind it is true. It is about the way that teachers must always be seen as pillars of society who must be obeyed and believed no matter how ill inormed or blatantly wrong they are. The truth is that there are great teachers, average teachers and crap teachers. They make mistakes and bad decisions (monumentally bad in some cases), sometimes they lie to cover their own arses or are downright nasty. In other words just like people anywhere else.

Ah yes, haven't seen it but agree that had it been Bad Santa and Santa does indeed fuck someone up the arse in a changing room that would have pushed past even my slightly liberal standards! However, all's well that ends well & sounds like a fairly innocuous film after all!!

I think it depends on the film. For example i got shown Elizabeth and Gladiator in history class before i was actually old enough to watch them according to the ratings however they do have educational purposes and certainly got me more interested in the times periods! Especially Elizabeth that one really spiked my interest.

Coloursthatweremyjoy

It's uncanny how much you have revealed about yourself in such a small amount of text.

I hope you don't pass on your poor attitude (and grammar) to your children.

Teachers are by no means perfect but you're doing nothing more than showing why so many of them find parents the most draining aspect of the job.

Our school sent a letter out before Xmas film day and asked to complete the slip if we didn't want our child to watch above a pg rating. I can't remember if the age was 12 or 15 tbh but your school should have given you the same opportunity. My dd is in yr 3 but they were mixing some year groups for the films x

Relieved your child actually saw Santa Cluase (Tim Allen, great film) and not Bad Santa! Given in the film the dad accidentally kills santa (shown in totally none violent way, he falls off a roof and disappears leaving santas suit) He then has a difficult time becoming new santa and makes lots of mistakes, so in theory he was a "bad" santa so kids prob thought title on wrong box made sense.