Reception aged kids watching k pop demon hunters is inappropriate

[RedRobyn24]

I think it’s absolutely wild that virtually all the 4 and 5yo’s in my DD class have watched K Pop Demon Hunters presumably multiple times. I’ve watched it myself and was completely shocked that anyone would let their little kid watch that.

I was thinking this morning, I told my daughter Father Christmas is a pretend game (she was terrified he was going to come in her room when she was asleep) and more than that I just wasn’t up for lying for years about it.

These other parents presumably want to retain their children’s innocence and suspended belief in a magic man who travels round the world in one night to gift presents… but are also letting them watch a film like K Pop Demon Hunters??

AIBU??? Really??

This is all a bit miserable, isn't it.

My 5 year old is having a lovely time believing in Santa and having a dance to KPopDH!

Good luck with that when they're 16 and free to have sex if they want to.

Well that’s all great, good for your daughter.

But you haven’t actually explained what your issue is with KPop Demon Hunters?

Why on earth would you have told that to your child? No wonder she’s scared. Did you deliberately try and scare her? Nobody nobody ever describes father Christmases as a man who comes into your bedroom at night

Christ, OP, it’s KPop Demon Hunters, not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

My dd had the most horrific nightmares about spooky spoon and the numbertaker and I really wished I had never let her watch that educational programme add I barely slept in 9 months. But my 4-5 yo DGS love K-pop demon hunters and sing all the songs and do the dances and love the strong female role models. No nightmares or concerns from them or their mum. Horses for courses.

I’m not sure about all of them, but I did ask a couple of parents and they said their kids had watched it

If you're worried about what other parents see doing at this age, you're in for a long haul.

Is the real problem that you'll have to step in and tell your own child they can't watch what all their friends are watching? Or that she will be outcast because you stand firm? We all have to make choices.

KPop demon hunters is absolutely fine. I do get that your kid seems particularly sensitive though, so it's totally fine to have your own boundries.

I remember being in school at that age and they stuck watership down on one lunchtime when it was raining. Now that was traumatising.

I think there was a comment saying something about my not liking the film and what didn’t I like about it?

I do like the film, I enjoyed the songs as well. If my daughter was 9/10 I would have loved to watch it with her, but she’s just turned 5.

Its very fast moving, overstimulating, there are scenes with almost waves of crawling demons chasing the hunters, there are normal people going about their lives being literally eaten by demons… aside from that there’s the weird relationship between Rumi and Juni, Juni is essentially a “bad boy” and Rumi is “good girl” and keeps telling Rumi how he can “change” and he’s good really… he’s done very little to demonstrate that, like is this kind of thing you want our girls to emulate in a romantic relationship?

It’s not about some different tastes in films etc and it’s not even about different temperaments, if you think about a child of 4 and 5’s development it is completely inappropriate to show them something like this.

I used Father Christmas as an example because parents are expecting their kids to be innocent and young enough to believe in the whole Father Christmas story but then equally showing them this film and expecting them to understand all the context and know that demons aren’t going to come and eat their souls…

I already asked her if she felt left out or wanted to watch it (not that I was offering, just interested) and she said no she wasn’t bothered.

I personally felt bad like she might feel left out, but that was me projecting on her.

I do think I’ll be in for a long haul because I won’t be (for example) giving her a smartphone when she’s 10 and I expect that’s going to be a lot more difficult to navigate. But I’m obviously not going to change how I parent because of other parents choices.

But I don’t believe she will be “outcast” as you put it, she has a lot more to offer as a friend than liking the same tv shows as her friends 🙄 I hope you don’t think that about your own children

Children are generally a lot more discerning than you are suggesting and are capable of distinguishing between fantasy and reality. My son as a toddler loved superheroes and there were obviously villains that came along with this. He never once thought any of it was real and it was all part of the fun. You have good guys and bad guys. It's not too graphic or traumatising to see them pitted against each other and good always triumphs at these ages.

Father Christmas is different because a lot of parents actively go out of their way to deceive their children about this in order to create some magic. With KPop Demon Hunters presumably parents can easily tell distressed children that it's all pretend and nothing to worry about.

I think you need to pull yourself together.

My 8 year old hasn't watched it - she has no interest in watching it, but knows all the songs! 😂 So maybe don't just assume!

Its very fast moving, overstimulating, there are scenes with almost waves of crawling demons chasing the hunters, there are normal people going about their lives being literally eaten by demons… aside from that there’s the weird relationship between Rumi and Juni, Juni is essentially a “bad boy” and Rumi is “good girl” and keeps telling Rumi how he can “change” and he’s good really… he’s done very little to demonstrate that, like is this kind of thing you want our girls to emulate in a romantic relationship?

So you also have an issue with this film?

It's very fast moving, overstimulating, there are scenes with people carrying pitchforks and torches wanting to kill one of the main characters. There are normal people going about their lives while a young woman is held captive in a castle… aside from that there’s the weird relationship between the main character and the love interestl.The love interest is essentially a “bad boy” and the main character is “good girl” and keeps telling the love interest how he can “change” and he’s good really… he’s done very little to demonstrate that, like is this kind of thing you want our girls to emulate in a romantic relationship?

The film in question. Beauty and the beast.

Most films aimed at young children can be made to sound awful, if you only focus on the negative parts. 🤷‍♀️

You’ve got it the wrong way round! Jinu tells Rumi that he’s bad, that he feels deep shame for mistakes he made in his past, and she tries to convince him that we can all choose to change for the better and we are not the sum of all our worst impulses. In the end, he realises she was right, and he makes his first ever selfless decision when he gives her his soul so that she can be stronger and save the world.

And everyone whose soul gets taken by the demons is restored at the end when Huntrix make the new Honmoon. It’s a happy ending.

It’s good to discuss the good bits and scary bits of movies with your kids but you do have to pay attention to what’s actually happening in them

Yes it's inappropriate and it's desensitising children.

I do agree with you that they can be a lot more discerning than we give them credit for, so why are we lying about Father Christmas and then showing them a film like this? 🫠

There are parents who won’t even use the correct names for our genitals or won’t tell their kids about periods or how babies are made (factually and age appropriate information) but they’ll sit them in front of this???

What are we thinking? Like why are we doing this?

The comments are right I am being very judgemental, but this is apparently the hill I’ve chosen to die on and I don’t want to upset the parents I know in real life by discussing my thoughts so I’m sharing and reading thoughts on here.

I mean the story in Wall-E is that litter will take over the planet and everyone will have to live on a strange spaceship forever. The story of Moana is about how a god stole a stone from a goddess and she cursed the world. The story of Hansel and Gretel is pretty crazy. I think what a 4-5 year old gets from some of these things is really different to what you notice as an adult. Be ready for your daughter to keep noticing different things - my daughter loved Moana at 5 as she just noticed the singing and fish and whatnot. At 8 it gave her nightmares as she understood more of the nuance.

I didn’t, I asked two of the mums whose children my daughter plays with the most. I’m sure you’re right though there will be some who maybe have just heard the songs.

Desensitising them to what?

I do have a problem with that film and book yes. The thing with beauty and the beast is there are so many adaptations and books of it everywhere, I took my daughter to the panto at Christmas and last week she brought home a book from her school library about the story. I’ve just navigated that by talking to her about what I think about it and asking what she thinks about it. It’s a bloody weird story though, I’m glad you agree.

My 5 year old hasn’t watched it and won’t be. I don’t think language like idiot and stupid is appropriate for reception children.

I’m also surprised so many people are okay with the sexualisation of characters with girls crying over the sight of a boys abs? If it were the other way round and the focus was on a teenage girls and boys fixating on their bodies I think people would have a different stance.

I agree with @Mixerfixer that it is desensitising children.

I have not seen the film but when mine were that age I would first watch a film and then decide if it was suitable. What others did was of no concern. I didn't find many that I wouldn't let them watch but I did chose to wait until they were a bit older for some.

As for films like Beauty and the Beast, you are overthinking it. Kids don't see that deeply into things, they just enjoy the story.