To sometimes wonder what my mum was thinking?

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

I was born in '91 to give you an idea of just how young I was.

She used to let me stay up and watch murder shows with her like Jonathan Creek and Midsomer Murders I'd actually go into my primary school the next day and discuss the previous nights episode with the dinner lady who also watched MM! I have an 11yr old and I wouldn't dream of letting her watch either of those shows! She'd also record stuff like South Park and Stressed Eric etc (she watched them herself so she knew full well what they were like!) so we could watch them in the mornings.

There is a particular episode of JC that gave me nightmares for years, I man had (I think) been trapped in a cellar which flooded and he drowned. I still remember the moment they opened the door and he was at the top of the stairs with his arm outstretched, and he was all yellow and waxy looking 🤢

It's only recently that I've begun to wonder what on earth she was thinking! I'm not sure if there's even any point asking her because she'd probably get all defensive and tell me I was attacking her parenting 🙄

I’m quite strict about my 11 yr old not watching anything above a 12 rating but JC, MM etc are all very tame. No sex, drugs or swearing and she loves the who dunnit element.

I think they’re good kids viewing

Jonathan Creek is a whodunnit. Zero blood or gore. It is televised Cluedo.

And Jaws was a PG at the time. It has since been reclassified as a 12A.

I think programmes such as Eastenders and Emmerdale are far worse, and they're on earlier in the evening, when most kids are still up.

I agree Eastenders and Emmerdale deal with very gritty themes.
**

It was this super weird scene (can't remember which Jaws) where there was the head of one of the victims in some sort of post-mortem setting. It was disgusting. Im pretty sure it was Jaws..I remember feeling surprised.

None of these are that bad OP, South Park is the only one I'd give pause for thought on but at 11 it's not a huge deal to worry about.

YANBU in terms of setting your own boundaries but generally putting thought or concern into the examples you gave isn't necessary, they're all quite mild.

That does not sound like Jaws One. That was pretty tame.

Jaws 1 has the dismembered hand and lower arm in the post mortem room, I think, and then the face with the eye hanging out coming through the hole in the hill of the boat, underwater.

I was born in 81 and used to stay up to watch prisoner cell block H, was pretty normal among my peers. I certainly don't think it was neglectful or abusive.

You parent your way and I'm sure you'll make mistakes along the way, you may nor realise that now but I can guarantee when your dc reach adulthood they'll too have moments where they wonder what the hell you were thinking too.

Jaws was only a PG and is/was more terrifying than any of the above.

Parenting was just different then.

Go back further 5 year old were sent to the cinema alone.

Medievialleap yep The "D" in Doctor Whos adversaries! I remember going to the cinema and not being able to sleep after.Many of these brave Mumsnetters seem a hardy bunch! Even now feel scared to watch not just "Horror" movies ,but any sort of thing that I dont feel happy about ie even a couple of episodes of Marple! My DC seem unphased as Adults watching anything scary at all!

Jonathan Creek was seen as totally child-appropriate. As were things like Miss Marple/Poirot/Columbo/Murder She Wrote. I was definitely watching them in primary school (Midsomer Murders came out when I was a bit older). In fact I wrote a play for school when I was 10 which was based on Jessica Fletcher and Miss Marple joining forces to solve a crime, and everyone knew who they were. Play was deemed suitable for the whole school to see.

Incidentally I also remember a JC episode where somebody was drowned in a secret chamber under a bath that tipped when full - similar floating arm. Completely, possibly unintentionally horrific premise - the victim was then stuck in a dark, soundproof, water-filled chamber, treading water until they tired and drowned. I assume the writers had thought “tilting bath”, and not really considered what that mode of death would actually be like for the victim.

I remember it because it was really out of keeping with the rest of JC, which was mostly whimsical puzzle solving.

Hahaha I love that film. Love the idea of a 6 year old appreciating it for the fine art it clearly is.

There was a concept of family viewing, because most families had one TV.

The popcorn scene in Arachnophobia also left a mark on my soul. I forgot about that until now.

The Joan Hickson Miss Marple started in 1984 so I was 8/9 then and definitely used to watch that. When I was ten I was allowed to watch things like Tales of the Unexpected which could be quite disturbing, and soaps could have quite adult content as well. When I was 13 mum and I used to stay up late on a Friday night watching Prisoner Cell Block H.

Still have a fear of electricity substations and sparklers.

I hid behind a cushion for the Tufty the squirrel ones. The fireworks ones made me overly anxious on Bonfire Night throughout my childhood.

Midsomer Murders started when I was 10 and I loved it! I also loved Randall & Hopkirk (have it on dvd). However I was made to watch Scream around the same age (youth club) and that haunted me for a while.

You say you were 5/6 in your later posts - that is a very different from age 11.

I was born in 1990, I still remember convincing my mum that South Park was just a cartoon... Me and my brother got about 10 minutes in before mum turned it off 😅 The 90s were full of pretty easy going murder mysteries, it was the thing at the time.

Exactly the same age and I watched these shows. I don't need therapy in the long term. It's not. bad thing to be scared, as long as you know it is not real.

I was born in '84, and watched Monty Python with my dad from the age of about 3/4! We used to sing all the rude songs together when I was certainly still in primary school. He also used to watch 18 certificate films on the tv in the lounge on a Sunday afternoon!
I was playing games like "Doom" and "Duke Nukem" on the PC when I was around 10, and they were 18 games.

It was just a different time.

I watched the Exorcist at 7 and Carrie at about 10! They still both scare the crap out of me and I'm 52 now. What was my dad thinking? Still, probably a year later we were hanging out on street corners in groups and getting video nasties from the video shop! Ahh, the good old days 🤣. It's a wonder I turned out relatively normal. 🤗

Oh god, these were haunting. Also the 'Charlie says' adverts, bloody scary!