9yo watched JAWS on sleepover

[VikingBlonde]

I've just picked up my DD from a sleepover, she's just 9 and a gentle, fairly sensitive sort. First thing she says to me is "I really didn't like Jaws mummy!" And the dad is like "oh yeah that might not have been the best choice of movie ..."

I'm fewwwmin! Jaws is a horror film. I watched it recently and jumped out of my skin a few times. And I'm not bloody well 9. There's a shed load of claret and kids being eaten alive and realistic limbs being severed and we are - to cap it all off - going on our ONLY holiday of the whole year (cos we are skint) camping at the beach tomorrow. She's already told me she won't be getting in the water when she normally loves bodyboarding. CHEERS FOR THAT!!!

The kid who's house the sleepover happened at is a child who can't have sleepovers at anyone else's cos she gets anxious and stressed if she's away from her own home so how the effing chuff have they managed to show MY kid a horror movie while she's there!!!??? Grrrrrrrr

We have had a talk about there NOT being great whites around the UK and that the film is just pretend but she just recounted the part about the little boy getting eaten and burst into tears.


What would you do?

[montenuit]

no YANBU i'd be annoyed too. My dd wouldn't have watched it and would have gone to another room.

what's wrong with
Mary poppins, Annie, High School Musical etc etc...

[tillytoodles1]

PatrolThat , fewwwmin ia a Liverpool phrase that people use instead of fuming (being very angry) I use it a lot.

[theliverpoolone]

It's PG, they've done nothing wrong. Well actually they have, in that they didn't check with the actual parents of the child - Parental Guidance is exactly that. This is why most primary schools seek parental consent before showing a PG at school. Individual parents are the ones who should make that decision on behalf of their own child, given how children differ so much regarding what may or may not upset them, not some random other adults. If I was the OP I wouldn't be happy about it either.

[Growingboys]

My DC watched Jaws at home when the littlest was eight. Maybe seven.

I was fine with that.

[Aquamarine1029]

I think you should take a deep breath and calm down. There's a documentary on how the movie was made available on YouTube. Perhaps if you watch it with your daughter it will calm you both down a bit.

[PatrolThat]

tillytoodles1 thanks :)

[User12879923378]

Oh God, I couldn't watch it now because it scared me so much when it first came out. It is quite likely that it will have aged badly though. The bit where Dreyfus swims under the boat and finds the corpse gave me screaming nightmares. Having said that, OP, your daughter is very much at the age where she'll start to see scary films with friends and at the end of the day I have seen worse stuff than that on the supposedly family friendly DM website.

[Vitalogy]

I wouldn't worry about that. I'm not sure what theme park it was in Orlando but there was a Jaws ride, lots of kids on it. The flippin thing comes right out of the water at you, now that's frightening. I think I watched American Werewolf in London at that age, yes I was very scared but I survived. That was at a friends house with parents there too.

[CombineBananaFister]

I don't think UABU tbh. Yes, some 8 yrs will be ok with and so will some 6yr olds. Equally some 11yr olds or even adults will be shit scared of it (like me )
I think that's why most sensible parents would check with other parents about playing it at the sleepover as you just don't know the kids well enough.
I remember it being a really horrible feeling watching films at sleepovers when I was younger that I was too scared of but too embarassed to speak up.
If it scared her no amount of everyone saying how cool their kids were about it will change that, she's entitled to feel that way.
Off subject but there seems to be a bit of a competitive trend among some acquaintances of how scary a film their child can cope with, like it's a badge of honour or something. I just find it weird and a bit sad.
Hope she still enjoys her hols!

[PatrolThat]

User12879923378 It hasn't aged badly at all. We watch it every couple of years, minus the kids though as they are still little.

[AtlantaGinandTonic]

If it makes you feel better, a babysitter once let us watch 'Pet Sematary'. I was 8, my DB and DS were much younger. They had nightmares for ages. It got me into Stephen King's work and I've not looked back.

[CharDeeMacDennis]

It bugs me a bit when people say "just tell them it isn't real" or "my DC weren't scared, they know it isn't real." Because by that rationale, we can show kids anything and they won't be upset or scared, because it isn't real, so let's bash on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Ring or Saw!

I mean, the film industry knows what it's doing when it makes horror or suspense films. If they didn't affect people who know it's not real, they might as well shut up shop and go home, because that's all of us. Jaws is a very well-made film, which is why it's a classic.

I saw it aged about 8-9 and was VERY scared. I knew the shark was fake and the actors were acting and the blood was fake blood. But I had an imagination and couldn't stop thinking about the horror of being eaten alive - it was that scene with the guy that gets eaten from the feet up, so he's awake and aware he's being eaten.

I had a similar reaction to Robocop, which I didn't even SEE, but just overheard from the next room .

So while I wouldn't be fuming at this happening on a sleepover, I would be annoyed. That said, I am sure your DD will get over it, I did (and got massively into films as a teenager and grew to love Jaws and Robocop!)

[SheGotBetteDavisEyes]

If it scared her no amount of everyone saying how cool their kids were about it will change that, she's entitled to feel that way

Exactly. There is a fair bit of judgemental, patronizing crap on this thread, designed to make the OP feel as though she's somehow in the wrong. The OP's DD cried afterwards - it really upset her.

YADNBU OP, I would have been pissed off in the same situation.

[theredjellybean]

I would also be fuming.
It is not age appropriate
I saw it aged 10 and didn't go in the sea again until I was 40.
Recent thread on the new film the meg was full of adults with serious water phobias.. All of us had seen Jaws as a child.
Honestly I don't think there is much you can do now.

[lessthanBeau]

Took my 2 yr old on the jaws ride at universal, she loved it, now 9 she's seen jaws and was a bit scared but not traumatised, we were discussing with another 9 yr old friend the other day who totally freaked out and got anxious about it and that was only a discussion however said child not at all bothered about the scary stuff in the harry Potter films which my dd would be frightened of, it all depends on the child and how they perceive things, I m happy to scare my own child shitless with monster movies (currently trying to entice her to watch tremors with no luck so far) but I would be more careful about what other kids watch when at our house.

[NutElla5x]

did you sleep in an aquarium?
No I was just very very stupid.I also remember being scared to sit on the loo,and as for flushing it EEEK!

[ShatnersWig]

To all those saying Jaws is a PG... actually, for its re-release in 2012 it was upgraded to a 12A and the currently available blu ray is also rated 12

I still saw it on TV at home on my own when I was 7 and never did me any harm. I've only got four bodies under my patio.

[Itsatravesty]

My ds watched it aged 9 and thought it was hilariously bad. Said he felt sorry for me that special effects were so rubbish when I was a kid. He's very much a realist though and never been easily scared. I also saw it around that age and managed not to develop a phobia of the sea. Saying all that I would ask the parents first where someone else's child is concerned.

[PatrolThat]

Oooo we watched Robocop, the new one recently. Excellent. We then watched the original and really enjoyed it.
Some films just stand the test of time.

[Twistella]

travesty he's clearly never going to make a film critic! It's genius in places.

[Kingkiller]

YANBU OP. Yes sure, it's not as bad as lots of films, but it is intended to be scary and would really frighten plenty of 9 year-olds (and not all kids like to be frightened by films, though some do). It is frankly an idiotic choice for a 9 year-old's sleepover unless you really know your audience very well and are sure they wouldn't be freaked out.

[BelfastBloke]

IT'S NOT A PG.

It was a PG when the classification '12' and '12A' did not exist. Since 2012, Jaws has been re-classified as a '12A'.

"And then there’s news of a new UK classification (rating) for Jaws. It has long been classified PG, but has now been bumped up to the very slightly more restrictive 12A (children 12 and under admitted only with an adult) certificate."

[Melamin]

My DC watched Jurassic Park at a friend's house - up until then they had only really seen Disney type stuff. They were The little ones were up in the night and I thought and we tried to explain it was just a film etc.

Then they wanted to do it again, and again. . Totally hooked on scary stuff

[SnowyAlps]

I was 4 when I first watched it, and it’s remained my favourite film. Both my kids I tried introducing it too and they think
It’s boring and the shark doesn’t look realistic! Thanks CGI

[Doghorsechicken]

I’d just tell her that coconuts falling out of trees kill more people per year than sharks. (Which is true)

Or that the beach has a shark net up (probably not true)