To think this cartoon is NOT appropriate for an 11-year-old!?

[CowboyJo]

So my eldest daughter is 11 and has started high school a few months ago. She's always been quite 'nerdy' in terms of her interests and has made a small group of friends into the same kind of things (Roblox, Pokemon, manga and drawing)

They sound nice enough girls from what she tells me (though slightly pampered) but ever since she's started at that school, the amount of times I had to tell her off for swearing recently was disgraceful.

Anyway while monitoring my daughter's iPad found she was really into this particular cartoon she loved. I don't know if its called Hazzun Hotel or Helluva Boss because its under both names(?) but I'm sure it's the same show. It looks like a child's show on the surface but I closely watched some of the episodes and it was absolutely shocking: loads of casual effing and blinding, crude jokes(like sex and bdsm, prostitutes).

When I found this out I talked to my daughter about it and told her it wasn't an appropriate thing for someone her age to be watching, but she argued back like "But all my friends watch it! We're not babies anymore!" etc. etc.

I spoke to DH about it and he thinks I was over the top to ban her from watching the cartoon completely because she loves it, just as long as she doesn't repeat the behaviours. But I'm not happy with that.

I'm not stupid I know she wouldn't of picked up the swearing from that show alone, but it really isn't content I'm happy to let her watch. The show has NOT FOR KIDS in each video so DD knows she shouldn't be watching it.

But am I being unreasonable to forbid her completely from watching it?

I have watched the show and I don’t feel it is suitable for an 11 year old. There are drug references, numerous sex references including prostitution, porn and at one point they mention pegging.

Trouble is she’s already seen it now, maybe this could be an opportunity to have a conversation about the themes on the show and why it is not appropriate for her age.

Just seen a bit of it on YouTube and the swearing is horrible. Nothing like Southpark or Ren and Stimpy. I wouldn’t be happy about an 11 year old watching it.

Actually now thinking about it there’s also a story arc of one the the characters hiring a hit man to murder her husband,

In one scene 2 characters are fighting and one of them says “harder daddy”.

A character is shown completing a transaction (to put it politely) with another character and then purchasing drugs.

Then there’s the BDSM element.

It’s a good show don’t get me wrong but it’s for adults, there’s a warning at the beginning of the episode stating this.

The language is also colourful for example

“F*k my a, don’t let him near any of your hles!”

No way on earth would I want an 11 year hearing that.

Echoing a previous poster that it is nothing like the simpsons, South Park or ren and stimpy. Not even close.

@Rosebean92liveson

I have watched the show and I don’t feel it is suitable for an 11 year old. There are drug references, numerous sex references including prostitution, porn and at one point they mention pegging.

Trouble is she’s already seen it now, maybe this could be an opportunity to have a conversation about the themes on the show and why it is not appropriate for her age.

Which show

The OP mentioned 2

One is rated 15 the other 12a

Both shows are made by the same creator and are based in the same universe, i see them as one show as they are similar to each other, have over lapping characters, in the same universe etc. Everything I have mentioned above happens across both shows. However I do feel hazbin hotel is slightly tamer than helluva boss but this may be because hazbin hotel only has one episode and helluva boss has 7 episodes so far more content and the story and character development has gone further.

Either way both have a warning stating for adults only.

I’m not sure how the ratings work when they are only published to YouTube, they aren’t shown on tv or in cinemas or anything like that, just YouTube.

I do believe Hazbin hotel has been picked up by a network and is in production though.

@Rosebean92liveson

Both shows are made by the same creator and are based in the same universe, i see them as one show as they are similar to each other, have over lapping characters, in the same universe etc. Everything I have mentioned above happens across both shows. However I do feel hazbin hotel is slightly tamer than helluva boss but this may be because hazbin hotel only has one episode and helluva boss has 7 episodes so far more content and the story and character development has gone further.

Either way both have a warning stating for adults only.

I’m not sure how the ratings work when they are only published to YouTube, they aren’t shown on tv or in cinemas or anything like that, just YouTube.

I do believe Hazbin hotel has been picked up by a network and is in production though.

They still have ratings like normal TV shows

go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=m.imdb.com/title/tt7216636/parentalguide/certificates

@aristotlesdeathray Please stop it.
It has not been age rated. Apparently hasn't even been televised it's an online cartoon.
www.bbfc.co.uk/search?q=hazbin%20hotel

@Rivermonsters

Anyway I doubt DD will understand the bdsm jokes

They aren’t jokes though there are actual scenes depicting it, between two characters, one had a ball gag and was tied up

I wouldn't like it for my kids.....

Also don't be fooled by what a show "looks like". Happy Tree Friends is the cutest most adorable thing ever!!! Until heads start rolling, literally........ you can google it but don't watch it.....

Thing is you can try to ban it but it won't work/she will just find something else.
Also do you not check group chats? They are all swearing and talking wildly inappropriate about all sorts of stuff in them. So even if you ban all the media in the world she will still be exposed to it at school/socially. Your problem is more she is repeating it when it

When it's not appropriate. That's the difference. Majority of these kids know to act sweet as pie around adults and not let on they know about this stuff. Your problem is her lack of respect for you. I was allowed to do watch and listen to what I wanted and I did but I wouldn't have dared in a million years swearing in front of adults.

Heres a breakdown of the language content for Helluva Boss. Not good for an 11 year old.

●Constant swearing throughout. Mostly the F (f*k) word and S (s*t) word.

●Characters call each other slut, dumb-ass, retarded, etc.

●There are some bleeped out anatomical words, mostly for comedic effect

●Loona gives Moxxie the middle finger.

●A character calls a women "prude"

●Lots of sexual profanity. Words like dck, cck pssy, whre, pegs, and many others.

●1 use of c*cksucker

If you're going to give her devicesand let her out of the house you're not going to stop her watching.

I tend to agree with you that it would be better if she didn't, but I'm a pragmatist, so better to try and create a situation where you can talk about the issues.

Unfortunately if all her friends are watching you probably won’t be able to stop her as they’ll have it in their phones etc when they’re together….

I think this speaks to a bigger issue that times have changed so much since we were that age - so how on earth do we prepare our kids for a world we didn’t experience?!

When we were pre-teens, there was no YouTube or smartphones. Shows like that would be broadcast after 10pm and many families only had 1 TV in the living room. Nowadays banning tv shows does nothing to limit kids exposure to adult material. It doesn’t protect them like it used to.

As many people have said, banning the show will encourage her to not come to you with issues that she sees on screen which disturb or upset her. But even worse - it blames her for her exposure to disturbing adult content. She is living in a world where she will be exposed to this stuff everywhere, including lots from peers, the internet, social media etc. We need a different way to protect kids now - which is about creating a space at home where they can make sense of this stuff and share the impact of it.

Wow. OP, YANBU.

My 11 year old would never, ever be allowed to watch this. My 11 year old still watches mainly CBBC (and a bit of CBeebies because of younger siblings).

I know my child had a few friends at school who are allowed to watch thing rated 15 and 18. They’re not friendships encouraged out of school and they aren’t allowed phones at school (my children don’t have phones anyway) so I know my child isn’t seeing anything inappropriate.

I’m fine with my child watching 12 and some 15 rated things with me - it depends why the rating is high. Anything with a WHIFF of misogyny is NOT OK and we talk about it and I explain why it’s not ok.

The parents who say “meh, they’ll watch it elsewhere if I ban in” - that’s just so defeatist. There are many more parents I know with children in years 6 and 7 who are really careful about what their children see than those who turn a blind eye.

11 is still a child. Yes they push boundaries, but as a pp said, talking to them and watching things together is the way forward.

Also, one thing I remind my children is that you can’t unsee/unhear things. They’ve seen horrible images before and been upset and they understand that when I say no you can’t watch Squid Games (which was a recent request because it was mentioned at school), they understand why. I told them what it’s about, was truthful about what happens in episode one (only one I’ve watched) and explained that I found the images hard to shake off and knew they'd also feel the same. They agreed.

At 11, I can confidently say that I do know 99% of what my children watch because they only have access to tv on the actual TV. They don’t have tablets and they only use laptops for homework (they live downstairs). They watch a range of things but my 11 year old is curtailed by having younger siblings - so can’t watch a 12A with me unless the younger ones are in bed for example.

Anyway. Just trust your instincts OP. Just because other people are ok with exposing children to this crap doesn’t mean it’s ok.

Just to add, my 11 year old knows what prostitution is from the news. They also know it’s horrible and that many women are trafficked (family member is a human rights lawyer). They’re not sheltered from real life but they learn about this with adult support and adults who they can ask questions to.

A few things (don't get offended), It's Hazbin Hotel, Have any of you people watched the show? if your kid is watching it they know what most if not all of the sexual implications, and swearing mean, I know I knew what a prostitute/sex worker was at that age. However, you can parent how you'd like thy're not my child. Helluva boss is the same situation, my younger sibling is 12 and I know he watches both Helluva boss and Hazbin Hotel it 100% says for mature audiences but in my opinion, if your child already understands what the show(s) are about then I'd say let them have at it. If they want to "End their precious childhood" so be it. sincerely, someone, you'll never meet~

This thread is a year old.

In other words, you would surrender the parental responsibility of providing guidance, or, heaven forbid, a veto. You would let your child normalise filth in her mind in the hope that she will trust you by confiding worse filth?
Little girls aged 11 should not be familiar with BDSM. Nor should they be allowed to swear. Of course she may do these things away from home but there will always be a little voice telling her she's wrong if you put it there.

We were watching Southpark at the same sort of age, which sounds very similar in terms of content. It's fine.

There are so many things way worse than this, it's a lighthearted introduction into the realities of the world, it's even more so softened by comedy. Definitely over reacting. I mean grand theft auto exist, violent content of all types exist, it's not leading to violent actions by any means. The show is simply funny as hell. Pun intended.

I've seen all the Helluva Boss episodes and although it's a great show it's definitely not for kids, there's loads of swearing including severe ones like the f bomb, tons of blood, gore, and violence, lots of sexual jokes, etc. I would wait until she's at least 17 to watch it.