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Original poster

AIBU to be surprised that a 6 year old has watched Squid Games?

71 replies

mumof2exhausted · 15/01/2022 18:16

Had a play date today and towards the end the kids were getting hungry and tired so we all sat down to have a snack and my son’s friend asked if we could watch TV and one said “can we watch squid games on Netflix?”. Now I have older siblings so my 6 year old has watched some technically older rated stuff like Harry Potter films but squid games?! I laughed and said “don’t be silly you don’t watch squid games and he said he’d seen it”. That’s weird isn’t it - I’m not being overly precious am I ? He has an older brother who is 8 (same as my eldest and my 8 year old certainly hasnt watched nor would have a clue what squid games is).

OP posts:
WinnersDinner · 15/01/2022 19:46

YABU

The kid is most likely chatting shit, and your follow on posts saying you didn't believe him - why post with this title if that's the case?

The context of your post is 100% not one that aligns with someone who knew the child was most likely not telling the truth.

TheOriginalEmu · 15/01/2022 19:48

@HelloFrostyMorning

Blimey, no-one under 17/18 should be watching that tbh.
My teen who is 14 has seen it. They are completely unphased. 17/18 is ridiculous.
MiddleAgedKick · 15/01/2022 19:48

I do think young kids claim they've seen these things when they haven't. Dd says her 6yo school friend has seen IT, which I struggle to believe tbh.

TheOriginalEmu · 15/01/2022 19:50

My children have always been good at self-censoring anything they don’t want to watch. They have been more scared by childrens films than many so called adult ones. Everyone is different.

ponkydonkey · 15/01/2022 19:50

Mine haven't but I do know some who have 😱 and they were 7

Just why?

AllKnowingGerbil · 15/01/2022 19:53

My 7yo talks about it, but has never seen it. His fave youtube star played "squid game", but it was the actual playground games - not the gore and death.

YouTube seems to lead to a lot of horror based themes - huggy wuggy etc.

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/01/2022 19:56

I believe he could have watched it. I had a child in my class who got Grand Theft Auto for his 5th birthday. Another 4 year old told me she was scared of the films she watched with her brother. I talked to her mum who said it was impossible but the next day the child told me her brother wasn't allowed to watch those films any more.

KNain · 15/01/2022 20:01

Not that point I know, but my 6yo DS has been playing red light/green light in football sessions for years. The coach uses red and green cones as the 'light' and the kids have to dribble a ball instead of just running.
DS's never heard of Squid Games though.

We did have some children dressed in Squid Games costumes trick or treating on Halloween. I thought it was a bit odd as either they've watched an inappropriate programme, or they're wearing costumes from a show they've never seen. But now reading about Roblox here, hopefully that explains it.

womaninatightspot · 15/01/2022 20:08

A lot of youtubers (the child friendly kind that do mostly minecraft) reference it. So despite never seeing it my kids could talk about it.

sHREDDIES19 · 15/01/2022 20:48

I have a nearly six year old who has seen some of it with us and her older siblings. Now to give some context we are a family of horror/gore enthusiasts and our kids know that there are cameras and fake blood, actors, scripts etc. Very interested in films and the process involved. As a child I also loved nothing more than sitting with my gran and watching horror ‘B movies’ as we called them! It’s not for everyone but each to their own. I think classifications are there as a guide for the average child/person but some are advanced in being able to process information for what it actually is I.e make believe story. None of my kids have nightmares, nothing is thrust upon them, we all just genuinely love this stuff! Admittedly my littlest watched a bit but wasn’t that interested. This is how our family works, many others are similar I would imagine. Probably not palatable for mn but it works for us and our kids are lovely and well adjusted.

Darbs76 · 15/01/2022 20:50

@Bringmeadog - at 14 I don’t police everything my daughter does. I was watching horror films at that age and I haven’t turned into a serial killer.

Darbs76 · 15/01/2022 20:53

@TheOriginalEmu - same for my 14yr old DD. Must admit I was very surprised she watched it as she’s never seen a horror film, she’s not into that kind of thing. But she said she wasn’t phased by it. I haven’t seen it but her dad said it’s quite gruesome and he did watch some with her. At 14 I think she can decide for herself if she wants to watch it as i know my friends and I were watching 18 films from much much younger. She’s such a good kid, far worse things she could be doing

MorganKitten · 15/01/2022 20:56

I work in a school you’d be surprised how many kids have seen it.

Bringmeadog · 15/01/2022 21:12

@Darbs76 no, I quite agree - 14 year olds are known for sensible and considered decision making and as such, parents should just let them get on with it……. 🙄

Alternatively, pull your finger out and take parenting seriously…… at 14 teenagers need protection and guidance, even if they won’t appreciate your efforts.

Sometimeswinning · 15/01/2022 21:14

My teen who is 14 has seen it. They are completely unphased. 17/18 is ridiculous.

My 12 year old has. She was more upset about the true life film she watched (About a dog). Squid game isn't real so she was OK.

RedCandyApple · 15/01/2022 21:15

All my kids talk about it and play red light green light ive never watched it myself let alone them and I hate that people might hear us and judge me as even my 4 year old talks about it, they picked it up at school

Roosk · 15/01/2022 21:21

@womaninatightspot

A lot of youtubers (the child friendly kind that do mostly minecraft) reference it. So despite never seeing it my kids could talk about it.
Exactly. DS is 9, and despite not having seen it, was familiar with the basic plot and some of the games from playground talk and Youtubers referencing it — we saw two different pantomimes this Christmas and both had references to SG, and a lot of quite young children were laughing and clearly got the jokes, I’m assuming mostly via the same route.
TremendouslyJolly · 15/01/2022 21:34

I know a 6 year old who has seen it. His parents are feckless morons that actively show him horror films etc because “he’s fine with it”. Actually he’s a little shithead who I half expect to be killing cats for fun in a few years’ time.

GrandTheftWalrus · 15/01/2022 21:57

I remember watching terminator and predator etc at 5 with my dad. Then nightmare on elm Street from a young age. But I wouldn't let my dd watch them.

mycatistrans · 15/01/2022 23:12

My child is 7 and no way would I let her watch a horror movie or Squid Games. Wtf are pants doing letting children watch these things? Plenty of time when they're older.

mycatistrans · 15/01/2022 23:12

Parents Grin

AlphabetStew · 15/01/2022 23:26

I'd be surprised if many younger kids really have watched it though. The first episode is quite slow-paced and surely boring for kids. The Squid Game violence starts very near the end of that episode iirc.

Karenity · 15/01/2022 23:31

It's certificate 15 so I wouldn't be worried about a 14 yo watching it. I wouldn't be worried about a 14 yo watching anything much they can get through the main platforms really. A lot of horrors especially the old slasher type films are made for teens tbh. I mean, they may not be billed as such but that's the implicit target market.

EishetChayil · 15/01/2022 23:34

IT'S "SQUID GAME", FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.

Game.

blyn · 15/01/2022 23:37

I've never even heard of squid games and am now intrigued.