To let 13 year old DS watch Game of Thrones?

[kitnkaboodle]

We are 4-5 years behind the rest of the world, obv .. I gave DS DVD of the first series in his Xmas stocking. It had a 15 cert on the box, which I gauge to be ok for DS. However, disks inside are variously labelled 15 and 18. From what I can tell, though, the sex scenes seem to be 1960s soft porn-y (yet quite frequent - and gratuitous!) Not sure .. I think I'm probably ok with it. He's quite chilled. Any thoughts? Any shockers to come??

Dh has read all the books and watched the TVs shows, its never interested me as I find rape scenes triggering (I know it's an overused word but that's exactly how I feel when a rape scene is shown, my heart pounds like fuck and I feel very panicky).

He read the books first and thinks that they are better, he said that dd is absolutely not to read them or watch the shows, no matter how sensible and mature she is at her age.

She also watches the news and discusses politics with an understanding way behind her years, but I do feel there's a big difference between learning about rape for eg via news items on tv is a world away from cuddling and watching very graphic rape with your child for entertainment with a discussion as a secondary thing.

He said that books are better as in he liked them better, not that they are better as in less violence.

He said books and to show are equally unsuitable, with the books being a bit more explicit and graphic in his opinion.

9 years old and watching True Blood? wow.

Another voice who would never allow a child to watch GOT. I don't think I'd even be comfortable with a 16/17 year old watching it. I couldn't get into it myself, wasn't entertained by any of the themes and found it just 'too much'. (Not that my last sentence is really relevant to the thread)

Some 13 year olds are still very young, some of us at 13 have witnessed childbirth and horror for real and are completely au fait with it. And every type of 13 year old in between.
I don't think mine is special, just extremely sensible for her age.
From a personal POV I find people who find it 'too much' pretty strange because it just doesn't make me feel that way, because people are different. And that includes young people.

Game of Thrones is an excellent series but I don't think it is suitable for a 13 year old. Even a mature one. There are plenty of things a child of that age can be watching that are just as good and thought provoking and that don't involve on screen rape, drawn out torture, murder, burning alive, people having their heads crushed, and animal cruelty.

And I doubt very much that parents in the 60's/70's would have let their 13 year olds watch soft porn.

My ds (aged 16 and 18 at the time) watched GoT. I quite like fantasy stuff like Lots so said I might watch it at some point. They described the first episode to me and I realised I absolutely didn't want to watch it. It sounds vile, and I'm quite upset that they enjoyed it although DS2 said that Poldark was much better than GoT.

From what my DS said, there's no way I'd let a 13 year old watch it. I am not prudish, but I do think the ratings are there for a reason.

When they were younger, if either of my ds asked to watch something that was rated older than their age, I would either watch it first or at least watch it with them.

When ds2 was 13, a friend gave him a dvd of Gladiator for his birthday. I had seen the film and felt it wasn't at all appropriate for him as I knew he'd be upset by some of the scenes, so I removed the dvd. He waited til I was out one day, then got the dvd out and watched it. He was really disturbed by it and had nightmares for weeks, but at least he then understood why I had removed it and that sometimes parents do know best!

When ds2 was 13, a friend gave him a dvd of Gladiator for his birthday. I had seen the film and felt it wasn't at all appropriate for him as I knew he'd be upset by some of the scenes, so I removed the dvd. He waited til I was out one day, then got the dvd out and watched it. He was really disturbed by it and had nightmares for weeks, but at least he then understood why I had removed it and that sometimes parents do know best!

If a teenager has long-lasting nightmares after a fairly mild film -- i assume they understand its just a film, then you have much bigger issues

As for 13yo's being fairly independent -- they don't exactly check with parents every time they turn on a tv or put on a dvd.

The box set on Amazon is rated 18.

I agree with augustbody

If a teenager has long-lasting nightmares after a fairly mild film -- i assume they understand its just a film, then you have much bigger issues

If you have an imaginative child (or you are imaginative yourself) then films and books can have a profound effect on you.

I think what I don't understand is, what is the gain for letting children (or young teenagers/young adults, whatever you want to call them) watch these kinds of programmes so young? The 'talking points' can be found elsewhere. And just because other children of that age have been subject to all sorts of horrors doesn't mean that our children have to watch even fictionalised versions.Surely our job is to guide them, not throw them in at the deep end, so to speak?

Why can't they wait till 16 (when if they can marry, join the forces, become a parent it is a little odd to be controlling their viewing habits) if 18 is too far?

That's a pirate copy btw. The actual one is a massive box and an 18 certificate.

That's the only season we have due to that fact that I didn't get past episode 2 and I'm 36 and love fantasy stuff.

Take the Red Wedding ... the show actually cencored it as in the book once they have killed Robb Stark they find his Dire Wolf, Grey Wind, and decapitate both, before sewing the dire wolf's head to Robb's body, putting a crown on it's head, to parade it through the streets in a mockery of the King of the North ...

That wasn't censored in the show - it happens in the TV series as well. Arya witnesses it when she arrives at the Freys' castle in the hope of being reunited with her family. It's how she finds out they've been murdered.

I find it just as odd that people let their children read the books - Dany is sold to Drogo at 13. The children in the book are younger than the tv portrayal.

And children/young teens aren't missing out on anything - when they are old enough to read/watch then they can, it's not like there's a deadline by which to watch it!