Teacher showed 15 film to Y7

[Littlepopsicle]

DS has just started Y7. All going well, loves his new school and is very settled.
Drama class last week, teacher told them the theme for this half term is something about haunted houses. She then showed them the trailer for The Woman in Black. DH and I eye rolled each other as soon as we heard this as we knew what was going to happen....no surprise, DS has been unable to sleep alone since seeing this. We are very careful about anything he watches as he has an overactive imagination, is easily scared and sleep is easily disrupted. DH is annoyed at having another disturbed night with DS and thinks we should complain to the school. Do you think we should complain and say this is inappropriate to show to 11 and 12 years olds, or at least parents should have been warned that this was going to be shown? Or would you say it's a non-issue, get over it, he's just an over sensitive child?

My dd is year 8 and absolutely not "fine with warnings" yes it's a 12 A but you should me asking for parental permission to show that film it's highly inappropriate. I am still affected as an adult by horror films I was exposed to as a young teen.

I'm mid thirties and avoid horror trailers at all cost as I know they'll freak me out for months. I'm a perfectly sensible and capable person - I just have an overactive imagination. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's good for him to recognise that he's sensitive to horror films and that he should avoid watching them. Next time he'll know to cover his eyes!

I don't need your permission, though, if students are of appropriate age! Year 12s and 9s will all be 12 and over. I'd warn them, to acknowledge different reactions.

That’s Sky’s own classification, not the BBFC rating. I don’t think Sky actually recognises 12A as a rating at all. The DVD is rated 12.

In any case, if your son only saw the trailer, the trailer will likely have a lower rating than the film itself. It’s very common for 15/12 films to have a PG trailer.

Piggy is right. Generally primary schools show pg from year 1 up and don't tell you. Yr 7 to 8 12 amd 12a. Yr 9 depends but if head of year has authorised or possibly parents told could watch a relevant 15 or clip of 15. Yr10 on 15 is fine, year 12 18 is fine but I'd expect it to be clear on sign up, eg film studies a level your child will watch 18s.

There's a directors cut type version which rated 15, and the widely distributed version which is rated 12A on BBFC. School will have shown only the material from the 12A and the trailer likely isn't even as scary as that.

It sounds like you baby your DS op. "Sweet"? This is a secondary age kid!

If he's getting very affected by a scary film it sounds like generally you've sheltered him a lot - at his age he really does need to have the resilience to be able to cope with a scary film without a run of sleepless nights.

My dd is year 8 and absolutely not "fine with warnings" yes it's a 12 A but you should me asking for parental permission to show that film it's highly inappropriate

Well no. A y8 child is at least 12, and so it is not highly inappropriate to show a 12 rated film as part of an educational topic.

A young person that age should have the sense/maturity to look away/ask the teacher if they can step outside if they are finding something really uncomfortable. Processing negative emotions like fear, disgust, sadness, anxiety is a really important skill for young people.

It just seems completely unnecessary to me. Reading a book and watching a film are separate experiences and age ratings are part of that. If a book doesn't make sense unless you show a frightening film to children in school, study something else.

My year 8 child would die with embarrassment and call you a neek for being that parent.

Tend to agree PT but it was a drama lesson. I don't think they were studying the text.

Just youtubed the trailer. All the comments on it saying how everyone apparently watched it in school lessons and they are traumatised from it. That was the whole film though not the trailer. So your not the only one who has a child that overthinks these kind of things. Just beat in future to tell your child if there's a movie going to be shown to excuse himself from the class. Give him a note if needs be. It's Christmas coming soon they will possibly show you story or the grinch and then he won't sleep until Easter 🙄

It's Christmas coming soon they will possibly show you story or the grinch and then he won't sleep until Easter 🙄

What is the need for these kind of comments? TWIB is a horror film designed to scare adults, the grinch is obviously not.

I do find on MN there are often posters who think their children are superior for not being sensitive, for being able to watch over age films / play over age games without impact, and somehow that those of us whose children could not cope have somehow failed as parents.

Personally I feel that, if a child can watch a significantly over age film (which I know is not the case here before people jump on me) without impact, maybe that child has been desensitized by seeing other things at too young an age.

Children mature at very different rates, especially between the ages of say 10-14. Parents of less mature, or more sensitive kids should not be made out to have failed in their parenting or that their children are 'lesser'.

It's not about what you legally need to do , you don't know each individual child parents do so you do the right thing and check. Do you feel superior because you can choose to give a child nightmare?

No, but I don't think I know better then the BBFC who rate that film at 12A. I don't teach WIB. But I do know I do not need to seek parental consent for 12A films when an entire class is 12+.

Goodness, only a few weeks ago many on MN were taking 5 year olds to Barbie.

Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe is rated 12A by the BBFC. The original edit obtained a PG-13 in the USA, but the makers made cuts to two scenes (totalling 7 seconds), and also darkened the detail in some scenes and reduced the volume in places in order to secure a 12A rating from the BBFC rather than the 15 the original edit would have received.

After a few complaints about the 12A rating, the BBFC conducted a public test in which 89% agreed with the 12A rating and 11% thought it should be 15. The DVD release of the cinema edit was given a 12 rating, and the original edit was given a 15 rating. Details from www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-woman-in-black

The cinematic trailer was rated 12 for the 12A film see:
www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-woman-in-black-trailer-qxnzzxq6vlgtodq2mjuw

Note there is also a 1989 version made for ITV and starring Adrian Rawlins and Bernard Hepton for which the DVD has a 15 rating.

😂