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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

96 replies

Tinkjon · 02/07/2008 14:51

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?!

OP posts:

UnquietDad · 03/07/2008 10:29

Be careful of those emergency temporal shifts! They blow your head off and scramble your brain!

boredveryverybored · 03/07/2008 10:35

DD is 7 and has been watching since beginning of new ones. She loves it and also takes it all at face value, daleks are 'bad' thats why they kill people etc. She doesn't get scared by it at all.

Raxacoricogizmopatorius · 03/07/2008 10:40

You know your DD best, so, no, YANBU.

I let my DS watch from the age of 4 (vetted episodes at that age). He views battles/death in a rather abstracted way and seems happy to view it in a rather goodies v baddies way. Big shoot'em up episodes go down best for him.

On the plus side, we have a guaranteed family time when we all snuggle under a duvet to watch (and later on in the week, we'll watch confidential). It's been a good springboard for talking about difficult decisions, what's good and bad and why some things are scary. On the negative side, I have developed an unhealthy David Tennant obsession and now have an account on a Doctor Who fansite

FairyMum · 03/07/2008 10:48

I don't think its always about your child being scared, saying something is scary or even having nightmares. I think all viewing experiences put together influences a child in much more subtle ways than what is sometimes immediately obvious to parents. I would worry if my child was watching quite graphic violent/scary scenes and was not scared or affected at that age to be honest.

FairyMum · 03/07/2008 10:49

"He views battles/death in a rather abstracted way "

Yes, this would not be a positive for me in a 4 year-old.

Raxacoricogizmopatorius · 03/07/2008 10:52

Ahhh, maybe he's just wierd then...

How would you prefer a 4 year old to think about battles and death then, Fairymum? From first hand experience?

Nigellapleasecomedinewithme · 03/07/2008 11:34

all ds love wathcing Dr Who 15, 11 , 6 and 3 - line up like the Simpsons. Youngest don't always understand all whats going on but they really enjoy it and behave well on a saturday knowing that its on. They always have an adult with them tho'.

FairyMum · 03/07/2008 12:36

No, but i would hope that a 4 year-old would watch scenes with battles and death and have some sort of reaction to it. I would worry about desensitisation.
I don't think 4 year-olds are capable of abstract thinking in the same way as adults. They don't have the ability to process what they see in the same way as adults. Often you cannot predict what a small child will find frightening and personally I think you are better off sticking to more age-appropriate viewing.

Raxacoricogizmopatorius · 03/07/2008 12:49

Aha I understand you better FM.

Well, yes, of course he had a reaction to it - excitement and laughter as well as fear - which is why we always viewed it together as a family and talked about it afterwards.

But his reaction was tempered by the fact that he understood it was a story. He still (at 6.5 ) makes up stories that involve battles/death (and spaceships, and dinosaurs, and pirates - very classic boystuff). I guess this is his way of exploring, in a controlled way, the implications of these big issues. I can't say I like it very much: I get much more perturbed by stories like this than he does, probably because I understand the implications of what he is saying in a more sophisticated way. However I don't think I'd be doing him any favours by trying to force him to face the realities of warfare at this age.

4madboys · 03/07/2008 12:56

well i think its down to the individual. we dont let our boys watch it, they are 8, 6 today 3 and a baby. cant say dp and i have ever really watched it either, just caught the odd episode and i dont think its appropriate for the younger two.

ds1 would be fine with it but he doesnt watch much tv at all, we have always been really strict with tv and he reads a lot (is currently reading the james bond books) if he asked and REALLY wanted to watch it then we would consider it.

JordTyler · 03/07/2008 12:57

DS WATCHES IT. HE'S 3.9 BUT I KNOW WHAT HE'S LIKE AND AGREE THAT IT WOULD SCARE SOME 5,6, AND 7 YO HALF TO DEATH. DEPENDS ON THE DC V MUCH.

Original poster

Tinkjon · 03/07/2008 13:31

Gosh, what a lot of replies - thanks everyone!

Well since I last checked this thread, we decided to let her watch a little bit of some of the episodes which I thought would be ok. Interestingly enough, I thought Blink, although one of the scariest episodes for adults, would go totally over her head and she was absolutely fine with that one. Nobody is killed in that episode and she didn't find it frightening at all. Although she has started asking me to close my eyes so she can do a Weeping Angel impression which scares the PANTS off me Anyway, that was fine, but she watched the episode where The Master dies and I felt awful because I hadn't intended to let her watch that scene but I got distracted by 9mo DS and she saw it and was incredibly upset by it [bad Mummy ]. It's not the same as the Daleks killing people, that's obviously fantasy and it's almost cartoon violence, but because The Doctor was upset on screen it made her empathise and she was sobbing for about an hour. I felt awful

As for the comments about what we are doing with "tat like that" (or some such), LOL, nice judging there

OP posts:

jellybeans · 03/07/2008 13:33

Mine watched it from about 3 or 4 and were fine.

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 13:46

Mine are 4 and 5 and they've been watching it for at least the last year. Lots of DS2's nursery friends watch it too.
They find the monsters fascinating rather than scary, and a lot does go over their heads.

hannahsaunt · 03/07/2008 20:42

Have only skimmed, but my ds2 (5.5) adores Dr Who, much to my bemusement. He finds it fascinating and his most treasured toy is his very own sonic screwdriver. I think, if anything, this type of fantasy is much easier for a small child to process - they understand very clearly that this is a story and not real - in a way that he doesn't really grasp that Tracey Beaker isn't real or acceptable in terms of behaviour because it is set in real life. Hence Dr Who is allowed (and postively encouraged by dh) and Tracey Beaker is banned.

Ripeberry · 03/07/2008 22:34

My DD1 3.6yrs old and DD2 6yrs old love watching Dr Who!
We always Confidential afterwards so they can see how it was made and that the monsters were not real.
Bit difficult last week as there was no confidential straight afterwards.
DD2 likes to hang onto my arm and hides when it gets a bit scary or walks out of the room (not very often).
The only thing she is very upset about is my Xmas present my DH got me last year.
A remote control Dalek, we keep it in the kitchen as it can't get up the steps , but DD2 does get very upset, so i can't use it anymore

southeastastra · 03/07/2008 22:37

mine has become a geek. he can name all doctors from the start and dresses up in a suit daily, he also regenerates at every opportunity. it's wearing

Ripeberry · 03/07/2008 22:37

Sorry, too much wine, DD1 is 6yrs old and DD2 is 3.6yrs!

skay · 17/01/2009 15:33

My son LOVES Doctor Who.

He first phrase as a 3yr old was "I luuurve Billy Piper".

At first we would not let him watch it. Too scary. But when he turned 4, I found that if I let him watch the "DR Who Confidential" He wouldn't have nightmares. Also we wouldn't have the tantrums if he missed it.

He is now 6. Has lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, of Dr Who posters/toys/books/games. Right down to the Dr Who duvet cover. Am I mad to let him be so obssessed by it all.

brimfull · 17/01/2009 15:35

My ds is too scared to watch but he is a wimp when it comes to telly

Ashantai · 17/01/2009 16:47

My 5yr old son loves Dr Who but he mainly likes the ones with the cybermen and daleks. I watched Blink by myself really late one night, and it scared the bejesus outta me! He hasnt seen that one and even his 9yr old sister had to get out of bed for a cuddle cos she could get to sleep after watching it.

She'll quite happily watch Van Helsing and other vampire type programmes, but Blink just preyed on her (and my!) mind. I'd have to watch it again in the daytime, i'm such a wimp

Then again i'd watch anything with David Tennant in it, scrummy! . I cant believe he is leaving!, and the bloke replacing him is about 5 yrs old himself!!!

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