AIBU not to let my three-year-old watch Frozen yet?

[Colourfulrainbowunicorns]

A discussion came up with a bunch of mum friends and I was definitely in the minority. I thought I would post here to see if I am being unreasonable. It's fine if I am.

My DD is 3. She has become aware of the character of Elsa from Frozen at nursery and loves this character. I am not bothered by this and happily got her an 'Elsa' dress when asked. I also allow the songs.

I will not however let her watch the full film.

She gets a bit invested in programs and is easily upset. She also likes to properly understand 'why'. I think there is a LOT of explanation and unpacking needed in Frozen and that she can wait a year or so.

On a practical note she doesn't have the concentration to watch a full length film like that.

YABU ☃️

You’re thinking of it from an adult POV though. Just let it be fun from a 3 year old POV. If she gets up and wanders off then turn it off for another time. Otherwise let her enjoy a song and dance!

Why? Apart from you like it?

Yeah but she is already asking why Elsa is sad or worried or alone just from a song. I don't want to have to explain the whole thing.

It's a kids cartoon that resolves itself. The adult jokes will go over her head. She knows that humans really can't freeze stuff and the happy ending will amaze her

I am with you OP. 3 year olds don’t need films.

What it’s made for her age group lol it’s not anything to unpack…. Wow

Does she have any screen time?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with frozen for a 3yo per se, but I don’t think 3yos really need films at all and it is fine to wait a year.

What age do you think it is for ? I think little girls age 3-5 like it.

So explain why? It's good that she's curious, you should give her an age appropriate explanation - "because her magic is too strong so she wants to hide away", for example. How else is she going to learn about the world?

Parental death, loneliness ...

IIRC Frozen is rated PG which starts at around age 7 or 8.

If you can’t explain to a three year old that Elsa’s sad because her magic is too strong for her to control, how are you going to explain actual complicated things that children of her age ask, like ‘What happens when we die?’ and ‘Where was I before I was in your tummy?’ Not to mention stuff like how electricity works or why the sky is blue.

And we wonder where all the anxious children are coming from…

‘I’m not sure sweetheart, let’s watch it and find out’

My experience from DCs' nursery is that all the kids like Elsa and know the songs, but many of them are not ready for full length movies yet and haven't seen the whole thing. My child struggles with suspense and mild peril and made me turn off Zog and the Flying Doctors halfway through at that age because it was too scary (see also: Hey Duggee the Castle Badge), so he wouldn't have been coping with Frozen.

Why not just show her odd scenes then, especially if she doesn't have the concentration for the full film yet. Let her dress up as Elsa, play her the Let it go part and sing along. Add in other scenes as you see fit.

YABU if she's asking to watch it. Let her watch it and answer her questions. It's quite lazy to not let her watch it because you can't be bothered to have a conversation with her afterwards!

YANBU to have not introduced it to her if she hasn't asked though. I'm sure you can get a book that tells the story to go with the songs and dressing up so that she can have a bit more context/join in with games at nursery.

Why only girls?

All the fairy tales are far worse, especially in their original forms at least, like Cinderella and cutting off feet. It's up to you though-a lot of parents don't like their daughters watching anything princessy, which is what I'd thought you might be objecting to, or screens in general.

I agree with you OP. 3 is far too young for a film. Plenty of time for Disney classics when she’s a few years older.

so much evidence around screen time for young children esp under 5s. It’s not good for them. Let them play dress up and sing the songs but they are too young to even follow the plot so it’s not age appropriate anyway.

I agree with you, op. I see very little benefit in getting used to watching feature length films younger than other children.

My own dd didn't like feature films until 5yo either, and even now can't sit through (for example) the Lion King without getting upset and wanting to turn it off.

This isn't me raising an anxious child, far from it, this is me saying "good point, why watch a film if you aren't enjoying it, let's play football in the garden instead"

You know your child best, why care what a bunch of random strangers think?
Amongst the dancing snowman and talking reindeer, there’s some quite heavy topics in Frozen, if you have a 3 year old who wants to understand everything then the whole dead parents, serious domestic abuse, attempted murder stuff is a lot.
Also, a 3 year old does not ‘need’ to see any film, she knows who Elsa is and knows the songs, there won’t be lots of Frozen chat at nursery that she’s being left out from!
There’s a short called Olaf’s frozen adventure that isn’t as full on from what I can remember, so you could let her watch that, but she’ll be just fine without watching any of it until she’s a bit older.

Let it go…

My 3.5 year old DD is currently in her Frozen era. We’ve watched it about 3 times this week, she has the songs playing on her Yoto, and is performing them constantly as well. Shes loving it and it’s actually really sweet. She doesn’t seem to have any difficulty with the story and if she has questions I just answer them. There are definitely extra layers to the story that go over her head but that’s the case with many movies aimed at kids and I do think us adults put more stock into those plot points than they do.

What exactly are you concerned about?