What age do you think The Simpsons is suitable for?

[HuffwardlyRouge]

I think it is unsuitable for our 3-year-old.

I think the Itchy & Scratchy violence is horrible. I have noticed dd copying the violence between Homer and Bart. She laughs like a drain when people hit and strangle each other.

She has also taken to pointing her bottom at her father or I and 'talking out of it' like Bart does.

She just loves it. Even when she hadn't seen it for months and months she still asks if she's allowed it every time you ask her if she'd like to watch a dvd.

Dh and I agreed last year that it isn't suitable and we completely stopped her watching it ever. Now I notice she is watching The Simpsons Film with dh now and then.

I ask AIBU because the time they watch it is when dh has got up early with her and I am getting an extra hour in bed (because I've been up all night with ds). I strongly believe that it is entirely up to dh to decide how he wants to spend his time up with the children at 6am or earlier!

But, but, but... I hate her watching Simpsons.

Am I right? It's horrid for young children, isn't it? Or am I being a wally? AIBU?

I actually quite like the Simpsons world view! And it gives quite a lot of food for discussion with 5yo dd. It's like most things - OK as long as you talk about it, I think. Sometimes it's nice not to have it so smarmy and full of obvious message and some of the stuff that's directed at little ones. So I don't think it's unreasonable to watch it from a young age per se, but obviously you have to watch to see what they're getting out of it.

DH got me into the Simpsons.
Watched so much of it when pg with DS1 that he immediately settled when the theme tune played

I would far much rather my 3 girls 9,4 and 2 watched the simpsons than transformers, spiderman, ben 10, chowder

all the nosense crap cartoons on kiddies telly

with the exception of spongebob, I like that

they have never copied the violence because hitting kicking, shoving, pushing, strangling, PRETEND or not, is just not allowed at all

my three love the simpsons and the simpsons movie

we did have to have a conversation about the appropriateness of shouting 'Bountiful Penis' and then collapsing into laughter in all sorts of places though

Dd has been watching the simpsons for ages (she is 5) I really don't see the harm in it. I wouldn't put family guy in the same league as the simpsons though, the simpsons isn't generally nasty/offensive/misogynistic which family guy frequently is.

oh noi family guy is totally different and dd1 has asked if she can watch it and the answert is no

completely different from the simpsons in my opinion

This is interesting.

I have 2 ds's age 11 (well on 29th) and 21m.

My sister has 2 ds's age 9 yrs and 5 yrs

My cousin has a ds age 12.

we were all at my cousins on saturday when DC (12) asked if he could watch a dvd she suggested the simpsons movie, to which my mum said "Oh Tles's DS1 won't be allowed to watch that"

cue a huge discussion about why and what i did allow him to watch.

my ban list is

power rangers
TMNT
digimon
pokemon
no guns,
no toy swords,
knives
action men.

on the other hand my DN's who as i say are 9 and 5 have every kind of gun knife sword etc around, watch terminator, lee evans, simpsons, family guy, futurama, and any other shit that their parents let them. Same as my cousins son who as i said is 12.

Now maybe I am wrong for being so strict, because all children misbehave at some point in some way but i don't feel they need any encouragment.

Its the same as the Horrid Henry books they have been banned in my house since ds1 was 5 years old and read a couple of them....he took on the role of bratty horrid henry and that was the last time he picked one of them up.

On the other side, i always let him watch the news, he watches csi, things like hancock, his ps2 and ps3 games are age appropriate, my nephews are not nor are my cousins sons. However it is down to personal choice and mine is these things are not needed in a childs life, many of us grew up without them and are not damaged by it.

I love the simpsons. Its the one programme we can all enjoy. All my kids have loved it including the toddler.

I think its warm and funny and moral.

Itchy and Scratchy have actually made me feel sick in the past so I get that bit. But it doesnt seem to influence the children. My DS2 is VERY influenced by what he sees on tv because he still cannot seperate reality from fiction. He watches Dr Who obsessively whilst wearing a suit (he looks soooo cute).

I have never seen him copy I&S. Oh but I have just thought of something I HATE HATE HATE about the Simpsons.

That HA HA laugh that the bully does. It has spread across the land and all the kids do it. I ALWAYS sounds nasty and unkind even when its not really meant that way. My DS2 does it all the time. It is going to take me ages to get him out of the habit. He has LD and it takes a while to get things in but even bloody longer to get them out!

YANBU, we used to let our preschoolers watch it but not anymore

We have most of them on DVD too and the ratings seem to vary from PG to 12

My PFB DS(now 16) was about 10 when he first watched it-I disapproved, thought it unnecessary, crude, rude, and as for Itchy and Scratchy-well, understood the irony but allow PFB to watch it? NEVER.

SO PFB was 10 when he first watched it which meant that DS2 was 8 when he first watched it which meant that DD was 4 when she first watched it which meant that DS3 could identify Homer aged around 18 months or so!!

My views on the simpsons has evolved with my parenting-none of my kids are aggressive, the older ones love the irony, DD thinks Bart is funny, they all approve of Lisa and well, I'm honoured to be told by DD that I'm as good a mum as Marge!!!

I'm not completely happy with DS3 who's 4 watching it-mainly because of words like "crap", "jerk", and I really Still hate, hate, hate Itchy and Scratchy (gross!!) but he does see it once in a blue moon

Our favourite scene is Bette Midler and Crusty singing Wind beneath my wings!

She doesn't watch any of the other violent programmes mentioned. We don't have television, only dvds, so she's never even heard of Ben10 or Power Rangers or Transformers.

I mentioned to dh that she's been watching The Simpsons Movie in the mornings quite a bit recently and he completely agreed that it wasn't the best thing for her to watch. Apparently she loves Spider Pig! No one wants to argue with a 3-yr-old at 5am so he's just been putting on whatever she wanted, but he says he'll put something different on tomorrow.

Thanks all. It's been an interesting thread

YA most definitely NOT BU

My mother wouldn't let us watch the Simpsons when I was younger because she didn't care for how "disrespectful" all of them were, not just Bart.

Now some 15 years later she is grudgingly letting my youngest brother and sister (12 and 14) watch it [oldest child of prolific breeders emoticon]. She also lets them drink carbonated beverages and eat breakfast cereal with more than 13 grams of sugar, so I'm pretty sure her standards have slipped a fair bit.

Of course, this is the same mother who apologised if she let "darn it" slip out.

2 to 200 I would say