13 yo & Squid Games 3?

[Wreckinball]

My 13 yo tells me everyone in school is watching this new season. Perhaps to my shame I’d never heard of it or known they’d watched the other 2 seasons.
We’ve reached a truce where DH and I will watch it first off tonight to see if it’s appropriate, as I think it’s a 15 and quick review search indicates that it’s mindless violence and bad psychologically.
Do you let your DCs watch it?

It doesn’t take high intelligence to know that a horror film isn’t reality, most seven year olds could tell you that. The effects, whether a child appears to be coping with it or not, are emotional. Training a young brain to watch extreme violence, that it will respond to in most ways as if real (the point in horror is that it disturbs and scares us), is not an intelligent decision. Behaviour problems increase in children who watch violent scenes, that isn’t because they reason that it was real violence and is supposed to be emulated. It’s because it disturbs them and makes them feel the world is unsafe, and violence a strategy to cope with it

I personally think it’s a brilliant programme especially series 1, with interesting and thoughtful allegories about important issues, so I actually think it would be unfair to write it off as mindless violence and bad psychologically in general. In my mind it’s certainly not horror for the sake of horror if you know what I mean. Similar to the S Korean movie “Parasite” if you’ve ever seen that (though a higher percentage of violence/gore compared to that which also had a few shocking moments). Having said that, it is exceptionally gory with a psychological/horror aspect to it and it would definitely have an 18 rating if it was a film. So if you’re normally strict parents I think there is no way in hell you would want him watching it at this age. However I recommend you consider watching it yourself! And season 3 is not significantly worse than 1 or 2 in terms of gore/violence, there is threatened harm to a baby so maybe slightly more psychologically.

I have to say I did let my own son watch season 1 age 14 when it first came out way before all the hype, but we watched it together and I recall thinking I would never ever have agreed to it if I had known the details of the story in advance, and especially quite how gory it is. I remember pausing it when the violence started in a bit of shock, and discussing whether it was really a good idea for him to continue watching, I was worried he’d have nightmares! However he was totally hooked on the story by then of course (as was I), and seemed to be taking it all in his stride so I let him continue to watch it with me as it is really good story-telling and allegory. I don’t think it’s actually done him any harm at all (he’s 18 now). I am also generally relatively strict and have never let him play Fortnite for example 🤣 I think Squid Game season 1 is the only thing I’ve ever let him watch which I think was not ideal for his age.

You do realise that tv production and cinema has changed dramatically since Nightmare on Elm Street? The graphic violence and explicit nature is tenfold what it was. More.

Saying oh I was ok cause I watched Candyman so I let them “police” their own viewing is lazy and neglectful.

Why the fuck are you letting your young children watch The Pianist?

As if you are on here claiming her floods of tears and inability to watch any further are because she’s so “intelligent”. Poor bloody kids

Same but I was a lot younger!
we would watch them at my friends house.

Squid game isn’t nearly as bad as it’s being made out. The deaths are very over the top, in a silly kind of way.

How dare you accuse me of pretending it never happened?

The Pianist is not an appropriate way to teach a child as young as yours.

Personally I think it should be an 18, it is really violent and unsettling. (And I like watching horror and also really like SG but wouldnt let a child watch it).

You have no idea. None whatsoever. Sickened

Adding to my comment above, I’d go so far as to say that although it can be bleak/nihilistic at times there are actually some very positive and psychologically healthy messages that come through from it as a satire. I think my son got a lot out of watching it to be honest, we had some very interesting discussions about the questions it provoked about life in general, morality, capitalism, the nature of evil, what good people can do to create positive change in horrible situations etc. However I feel it was conceived as an adult show for adult audiences ultimately.

Thinking further about why I allowed my son to continue watching at the time, as I’m a bit shocked in hindsight to realise he was only 14 and it was very unlike me to do so (!), one factor is that his primary school showed them Hunger Games (which they also read) when he was 9 before I even realised it was happening which I was really taken aback by, and I think that lowered my threshold a bit for allowing him to watch something that might not be age-appropriate. But also I think as we got into it super early on I just genuinely hadn’t realised the storyline and extent of the violence etc. I think it said it was a 15 and he was almost 15! I do think my child does fall into the narrow category of a super mentally stable and also very moral child as described by a pp. And we do both enjoy slightly dark humour/dystopia in storytelling. Another factor is that we were also all super bored and starved of content in 2021 with no new decent shows being made for ages due to the pandemic lol. But maybe I’m just justifying what should not be justified really!

Anyway do watch it for yourself OP, it’s really good, I actually can’t recommend it enough as an adult show.