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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

David Attenborough

121 replies

felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:14

To be find his nature programmes too distressing to watch and children should be spared from watching them?

Ok so little flamingo with salt stuck to legs so couldn't keep up with his/her peers in search of water? DS still asking did he make it? Penguin being bopped around like a volleyball and his little face in the killer whales jaw. Luckily DS didn't watch this episode and probably won't watch the rest of the series.

I get this is life but surely they could skip the gruesome bits? We know animals eat other animals but I don't want to see the inside of an abattoir for entertainment either?

OP posts:
Caroncanta · 15/10/2020 14:44

Maybe it's not really for small children. My older kids are fine with it. I don't think these things should be sanitised.

Caroncanta · 15/10/2020 14:45

Probably PG would be better. Not all younger kids are freaked out by it.

Original poster
felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:47

My DS is 8 and it was too much.

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 15/10/2020 14:49

@felineflutter

Perhaps it could be a 12 rating not a U then?
Why does it need to be a 12? I don't think 8yo is too young to watch things like that, as a general rule.

If you're worried, maybe watch things alone first and then decide whether you think he'll cope?

squashyhat · 15/10/2020 14:50

Utterly ridiculous. Nature is not all fluffy wuffy Disney bunnies you know.

goisey · 15/10/2020 14:51

I don't watch DA programs anymore, I hate the whole narrative/anthropology thing they all have to have.

Original poster
felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:51

But why does DA focus on the hunt?

OP posts:
ClementineWoolysocks · 15/10/2020 14:52

It's up to you to police what your children are watching, it's not up to DA to sugar coat reality.

Caroncanta · 15/10/2020 14:52

But why does DA focus on the hunt?

Because it's aimed at people who actually want to learn more.

babygroups · 15/10/2020 14:54

My DS is 8 and it was too much.

I mean this kindly but if you make up lies about the 'other flamingos pecking it off' etc then he'll know you're lying. Children become distressed when they're not just told the truth in an age appropriate way

For example; my dad died in December, we knew he was dying and I told my son in advance. He had questions of course and I told him that grandad was very sick. When he died I told my son he was dead, we of course cried together. He's 4 and still misses his grandad and asks about him. I answer all of his questions honestly, he wasn't dwelling on it, he accepted that it was sad and he could talk about grandad whenever he liked.
Until my mother in law thought she was being helpful by telling him that he wasn't dead, he was only somewhere else and was still 'looking over him' etc.
This really confused and distressed my son, it was 2 months ago and he still asks very confused questions about it and is upset that he was told something that didn't make sense.

Original poster
felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:54

Erm ok Hmm

OP posts:
Original poster
felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:55

Aimed at PP

OP posts:
NotOfThisWorld · 15/10/2020 14:55

My DS is eight and watched it with interest. I probably wouldn't put it on for his friends though unless the parents said it was OK and I knew the child wasn't likely to be especially upset.

There are plenty of nature shows aimed at children on Netflix and elsewhere. I wouldn't say they're as informative as DA because you can't have reality without it being potentially upsetting.

Original poster
felineflutter · 15/10/2020 14:56

I don't know whether the flamingo died? I actually said I didn't know!

OP posts:
babygroups · 15/10/2020 14:58

I don't know whether the flamingo died? I actually said I didn't know!

I know but you obviously know the other flamingos didn't rescue him! Just say, you're not 100% sure but he probably died as he was stuck. Or ask your son what he thinks happened.

Goosefoot · 15/10/2020 14:58

@felineflutter

But why does DA focus on the hunt?
What do you think wild animals do? Find food, eat it, screw, raise young, die - almost always through violence, starvation/exposure, or disease.
Alexandernevermind · 15/10/2020 15:01

All kids are different though aren't they? My two are farm children so wouldn't bat an eyelid at DA.

picklemewalnuts · 15/10/2020 15:01

I don't think you should make up different scenarios- we need to be aware of how devastating human actions are to animal populations. So hungry polar bears, starving chicks and trussed up turtles need to be shown.

You do get to choose how much they see, how you prepare them, and teach them how to handle the sadness.

You can explain that the killer whale has babies to feed, that a big body like that needs a lot of energy to fuel it, that there are lots of penguins and though it's really sad for that one, it's ok in the end. That the world needs big creatures and tiny creatures and everything in between. That we shouldn't use fly spray because the birds go hungry etc.

Ohalrightthen · 15/10/2020 15:03

@felineflutter

But why does DA focus on the hunt?
Because there's not much to discuss when it comes to their interior design skills?
1forAll74 · 15/10/2020 15:03

Just don't watch any nature programmes on TV, if you are very sensitve and get upset about all the real life aspects of animals in the wild.

The films don't purposely show what you may class as the gory scenes, they are showing all natural animal behaviour, whether it's good, or unpleasant. Children can learn a lot from nature films, and mostly are fascinated by things as such.

ClementineWoolysocks · 15/10/2020 15:03

What do you think wild animals do?

Erm, you mean they aren't using Uber Eats, throwing cocktail parties and bobbing to Primark?

Soubriquet · 15/10/2020 15:03

I like these shows even if it’s brutal

I wouldn’t let my dc watch just yet though as they are sensitive

They know a lion has to eat a deer to survive, but it doesn’t mean they need to see it just yet

I once saw a cheetah bring down a deer (Kenyan safari). Once she brought it down, 4 babies came out of the bush!

EmpressSuiko · 15/10/2020 15:04

My children are 7 and 9 and have watched all his shows since they were tiny, they get sad sometimes but understand it’s how the food chain works.
My children have never been bothered by a bit blood though and don’t scare easy so I think it’s down to the parents to decide if their children can handle it or not.

PlanetSlattern · 15/10/2020 15:04

I think I'm much soppier about this sort of thing now I'm a mother and feel more plugged into the natural world.

My fairly young children find them interesting; and yes, probably sad at times. But actually I think it's really important for children to have an awareness of light and shade. I probably wouldn't sit a toddler down in front of a nature programme (mainly because they are usually so long), but I wouldn't censor them either.

DA doesn't focus on the hunt. What else is there, other than life, death and sex?

HunterHearstHelmsley · 15/10/2020 15:05

I agree, OP. A lot of the time it is glorified hunting and he seems to enjoy it a bit too much. No David Attenborough in my house!