...to not let a 5yo watch Doctor Who?

[Tinkjon]

DD is obsessed with Doctor Who, despite never having seen it. DH and I are huuuuuge fans so there are DVD boxsets, mugs, calendars and whatnot around the house which she's seen and asked about. Anyway, I don't let her watch it and whenever I have mentioned this to people they all think it's really strange and they say I'm being mean! But aside from it being too complex for a 5yo to understand anyway, I think it's completely inappropriate! I'm sure there are some 5yo's who could handle it but I know my DD would be bothered by it. Surely someone else must agree?!

no way would by 5 year old cope!

he's still scared of fireman sam and brum!

My dd (aged 12) had nightmares after the episode with the weeping angels.

I personally found the episode where the shop window dummys came alive rather alarming.

My ds (aged 8) takes it all in his stride.

I think it all depends on each individual person, and how sensitive they are.

DS, aged 4, watches it and loves it. i don't think he gets the plots, but then again, neither do it

DS is very into that sort of thing and is not easily scared, but it does depend on the child and probably your experience of what you were allowed to watch as chilren. my mum let me watch pretty much anything that was on in daytime and early evening, though i do remember when i was a young teenager, he wouldn't let me watch 'the young ones'. i usede to lie in bed listening to her, my dad and my older brothers piss themselves laughing. she needn't have bothered, i swear like a sailor now when DS is out of earshot.

Depends on the child. We let ours watch (5y and 8y) but they are okay with it.
If you think your dd wouldn't be okay with it then you are doing the right thing. So, YANBU.
It might be an idea to watch them with her. We can usually find an answer to most of the questions our children ask about it, that satisfies them.

We all watch as a family - highlight of the week - with DS1(10)+friend, DS2 (8) and DTs (4). I don't have a problem with DTs wandering around after with upside-down laundry baskets on their heads saying 'exterminate, exterminate' in funny voices. Frankly, I think the really scary episides have been the more psychological ones, like the Library, which the little ones find rather boring. I wouldn't want any of them to watch it alone and am more than happy to provide laps and a back to peer out from behind. I have much more of an issue with children watching Eastenders, where the moral boundaries are far more blurred.

I don't agree, sorry. My ds has been watching it since he was two. He's now three.

We buy the dr Who mag every week, and we discuss the programmes at great length.

It's the classic battle of good against evil, the black and the white with shades of grey, which is exactly the sort of concepts that children of a young age should be grappling with.

And don't forget, I'm 43 now, and it's been on the telly since before I was born. It's heritage. You shouldn't deny her. Honestly, it's cruel.

My son's been watching it since he was 5. It's fantasy, none of it is true so it can't damage him in anyway. It's a kids tv show so I let the kids watch it!

IMO 5 is too young to watch Dr Who.
However YABVU to have such a lot of old tatt
and merchandise around your house.

your child your call - you obviously know them better than us and as you're the parent it's your opinion that counts in this instance. my youngest ds - now 8 watched from the beginning of the re-awakening of who. we love sitting and discussing episodes through the week until saturday - it is part of our national psyche, i feel and it is a bit mean to have all the trappings that she can't enjoy and be part of - but she can in a couple of years when you judge it's appropriate.

It depends on the child, I think. Mine are 6 and 11 - and we let ds2 start watching some episodes at age 5. We record them and watch them first, then decide whether the episode is OK for him to see. So, for instance, he has not seen 'Blink' or the one with the little boy in the gas mask "Are you my Mummy?" Ds1 has seen them all.

But it really is up to you - it's not cruel to not let her watch it - she's got plenty of time when she's older, and will quite possibly get more out of it then. I know a lot of it is lost on ds2

I think it depends on the child but you are also forgetting that your dd is old enough to see all the attractive reminders about the programme. Put them away and stop tormenting her, or let her watch it.

MrsRuffalo's right. What on earth are you doing with all that stuff???

Yes, I think that's very true about knowing your own child.

ds adores it. He leaves the room when something frightening comes on, but tentatively returns very quickly. Children have been doing this for 45 years, which is what I love about it .. well, that and the immense theme tune

He does all the puzzles in the magazine, and his knowledge of the episodes is forensic.

For my kid, it's been a huge educational tool. For other children, it might provoke nightmares.

Follow your instincts.

dd2 has only been able to watch it as of this year and she is 9. Last year it kept giving her nightmares. Some kids are like that

Is there a bit of a boy/girl divide, possibly?

Certainly, none of ds's girlfriends watch it, but all his boyfriends do.

It's DS(5) who likes the fighting and explosions, while DD(8) seems to appreciate it more on a plot level. She was inDoctrinated from an early age - sat and watched Tom Baker vidoes with me from about 2 onwards.

She too was shocked that Martha said "bloody"! I think she is the first companion to use such a word - I can't imagine William Hartnell putting up with that. Should we take bets on Sally Sparrow saying "fuck" when she comes back in 2010?

Daleks shooting people is fantasy, almost cartoon violence. Doctor Who's producers are very careful never to show anyone doing harm in a way which kids could imitate (e.g. people being stabbed with kitchen knives).

i remember being very small and hiding behind teh sofa (yes, really!) and refusing to come out because doctor who scared the witts out of me - one xmas at around the age of nine, i was up a step ladder in the living room and daleks came on - I refused to come down from the ladder until the episode was over - aah the goos old days when daleks didn't levitate.

i wouldn't miss those memories for the world - thats what i mean about national psyche. I think it would be very unusual for a child to be immeasurably scarred by watching DW - but i think SorenLorenson is right - there must be an episode or two that you think might be appropriate - it certainly wont be anything to do with vashta neradu (sp) though.

Quite so, UQd .. and most importantly, the doctor (apologies, my cap d doesn't work), never uses physical violence.

He uses his wits. It is a morality tale. He is the ultimate goody.

As someone else said earlier in the thread, I would consider myself a great parent if my kid never watched Eastenders. But dr Who? Bring it on ......

tassisssss Brum scares me, I still can't work out how he chased gnome-burgulars from Yardley Wood to the City Centre (over 6 miles), it's crazy! (Made me laugh because it started by my parents house and finished on my old estate).

Yardley?

Respect