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?

The age that the child is should be at or under the film cert. simple as that.

So if the version they saw was not the new(ish) 2012 cut it was still a PG. I wouldn't ring up to see if a nine year old could watch a PG!

If it was the 12A I wouldn't have shown it.

Love jaws first watched it when I was 3, love the sea and think sharks are amazing! I hope you explained the film demonises sharks and most of them actually pose v little danger (that’s really the only thing scarey about that film)

Find some videos on youtube about making films and about make-up for movies. Then you can watch them with her and chat about how they made the film. It will help to shift her from her emotional fear to a more rational approach.
My DS was terrified of zombies thanks parents who let their 8-yr-olds watch the Walking Dead I carefully selected a few make-up artist videos and we made some effects ourselves with food colouring, rice crispies, etc. It stopped him being scared.

I watched it years ago when quite young and found it upsetting and disturbing. For some reason the bit I remember most was the dog being attacked.

It isn't necessarily a case of how gory it is, or isn't. More of a shock as to what is happening to the people, even though the detail is limited. Also the idea that serious injury is "entertaining". Yes it's fiction but it's normal to suspend disbelief when absorbed in a film.

There are so many other films for children to watch, and decades ahead of them to watch horror if they do decide. Childhood isn't a competition to see who can put up with how much and become the most tough and hard.

I think that essentially this is what happens when you ask someone else to look after your kids / accept someone elses offer.... It means that their rules will be imposed on your child, and we are all different. I dont really "do" ratings as different things can affect different children .... so some children are scared of Spiderman and others find it great.

I would never show a child a film that wasnt age appropriate without checking with their parents even though I let my kids watch things - but as per the above - every body is different. So this one of the reasons why my kids dont have sleepovers - I dont really trust other people to make judgement calls on / for or about my kids.... It kind of needs to be your responsibility not theirs. So if DD has a sleepover and you are happy for her to go, you need to say - "I dont let DD eat icecream / watch films over a PG / sleep with the lights off - is that O for you and are you still happy for her to come?" Job done

Mirrivan - you clearly haven't watched ghostshark. A poor unsuspecting plumber is decapitated whilst unblocking a drain.

Or sharknado. Sharks, literally, everywhere.

I'm glad more people with empathy have turned up on this thread. The first few pages seemed to be full of "cool" parents whose toddlers happily watch horror films and are dismissive of "overprotective" parents with "snowflake" children.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with a 9 year old - or even a child much younger than 9 - watching Jaws. There is something wrong with an adult who would show it to a bunch of 9 year olds at a sleepover.

Different children are scared by different things and with pre-teens and younger it's best to stick to kids films, family films, musicals and comedies.
Save the scary/tense films to watch with your own children if and when you know they're ready for them.

I watched this recently and cracked up at the shit special effects!

Tell them that precious can't come over again because they watched Jaws. They probably need a good laugh.

The best & only scary bit when I saw it at 11was the girl skinny dipping at night, suddenly yanked under & no sign of the shark. The rest was too fake to be scary. (v 'rubbery' shark)! Don't dwell on it with her if she brings it up, repeat its just a story then distract/change subject.

"It isn't necessarily a case of how gory it is, or isn't."

I couldn't agree more with this. The films that have shit me up the most over my life, including when I was a child, have hardly any gore in them at all.

Hmmm....it regularly used to be on TV on a Sunday afternoon when I was a kid. Get a grip.

It’s a classic but it’s not exactly Saw or Hostel, right of passage for every kid surely!

I'm surprised it's a PG, I remember there being quite a lot of blood and injuries in it. Not really the smartest film to show a bunch of kids.

What about finding the making of Jaws, watch it, show her the shark is fake.

*Gerda Jaws was not recut. The film has no different scenes in 2012 to when first released. The BBFC uprated it feeling that a 12 was more appropriate.

*Vim For the last time, isn't a PG. It was, but hasn't been for 6 years despite what several on the thread have stated

My oldest loved it when he was 4 now he is 10 and won't watch it! His 4 year old brother wanted it on the other night and my oldest left the room 😂. I really wouldn't say it's a horror film.

The graphics in jaws are so dated and old fashioned now that I can't believe any modern children would even take it seriously never mind be scared!

When I was that age my friends and I would watch the scariest films we could find on sleep overs deliberately to scare ourselves stupid.. it was such good fun. Gremlins, Jaws, Freddy etc etc. I can't remember at all if our parents knew we were watching them.

Jaws being described as a gore fest

Think you must be very sheltered OP.

Oh for goodness sake. I'm pretty sure I was 8 or 9 when I saw it and our church schools youth pastor brought us the Nightmare on Elm St movies to watch when we were in 7th grade!
My daughter (8) got to watch Drop Dead Fred last night at her friends house. So many films that are 15s now were PG when they came out.

MirriVan

I am the total opposite, can't watch anything about ghosts, had to give up reading "woo"threads o mumsnet because I'm such a shite bag now, when I was younger I would watched loads of scary files to scare myself because I loved it. I lived at home with my mum and dad then right enough! 😂

It's my 9 year old daughter's favourite movie, 'cept she first saw it when she was 8.
YABU.

My kids saw it at 9/10 . She will be Ok.