Do I let my 5yr old watch Jaws?

[Bananamama1213]

Would you?

He currently watches all of the superhero (iron man, Spider-Man, ant man, guardians of the galaxy, captain America, avengers, Thor) and the villains don't scare him in those.

I got him a Jaws top from Next and he wants to see the film.

No. He's too young & I presume you want him to go in the sea at some point in the next few years. There are lots of more appropriate films for 5 year olds.

Probably not yet. Although the special effects are rather dated now, but the idea of a killer in the sea might put him off going into the sea on holiday/day trips to the beach.

I wouldn't, it's quite gory in parts. I saw it at about 6 or 7 and was terrified! Couldn't stop thinking about the guy getting eaten alive!

It's not comparable to superhero flicks at all IMO.

No, of course not. It's completely unsuitable for a 5 year old.

I watched jaws at 5/6 and absolutely loved it* BUT I was then petrified of sharks in the water (including the bath) for about 5 years afterwards. I'm going to wait until my dc are 8-10 before we watch it.

*I still love sharks, jaws is awesome.

I wouldn't, I saw it when I was six or seven and I was terrified of the sea, the swimming pool, even the bath for several months.
I think there is a difference, in that superheroes and villains are made up, even young children realise that they don't exist outside of films books whereas sharks are real animals.

We went on the Jaws ride in Universal with a 4 year old and she was fine

The original film was a 12 so yes I do think 5 is too young
The shark is dated and doesn't look real but trust me the blood still very real and very scary

No. It's a 12 certificate and will probably give him the heebie-jeebies about going in the sea.

No. It's rated 12 for a reason.

No. Absolutely not. No good can come from it.

No I wouldn't, and I am lax as shit.

Although it's dated it's still gory, and tense, and like PPs said, will probably result in him being scared of sharks for years to come.

I also wouldn't let him watch the super hero films yet either (DS is 5 btw).
It's the level of casual violence, and the "sexiness" of the young girls in those films.

I saw Jurassic Park at 9, and spent the next couple of years terrified of raptors in public toilets!
I have a good imagination and I could just visualise them round every corner!

My friend wouldn't get in the sea at all for years after seeing Jaws when were little.

Superhero movies are a different type of scarey. Jaws is genuinely frightening because it's set in the real world. And the gory bits are very very gory indeed. Also it ramps up scarey suspense far more effectively than any Marvel type movie.

Jaws traumatised me, that they went to such extraordinary lengths to kill an animal. I was 4 or 5, it didn't have a '12' rating (not sure that was in existence then?) it was just left to parental discretion I think - my evil older siblings took me to watch it.

Heck no, way too young.

Why are Next selling a top for a five year old that shows a 12 film?

Agree with Nanny and Alpaca. Superheroes are clearly pretend and unrealistic. There's no terror in those films.

Sharks are real. Boats sinking are real.

My DC are older than your son but under twelve. They aren't scared by anything they've seen on film either and I still wouldn't let them watch Jaws.

No way
I was 5 when it came out ( showing my age) and as it was a PG parents took me. Apparently I was frozen in my seat for the whole film, apart from jumping a few times and have never really recovered 40 years later
I am not generally an anxious person but I regularly have shark related nightmares and have to really force myself into the sea on holiday. When we went to St Lucia a few years ago I had a panic attack when I saw movement in the water near me that turned out to be a shoal of fish
I'm happy for my 8 year old to watch most 12 rated movies ( Marvel etc) but I have only recently let my 12 year old watch Jaws
It still a family " joke" about how traumatised I was by it. I have watched plenty of horror movies since but Jaws gave me " ishoos"

Jaws was an A when it was released. I was 12 and considered too young to go to see it. The DVD in 2000 said 13+

5 is far too young.

Far too young. They wouldn't understand anything that's going on.

No way.

As a child, I always thought there was a shark in every swimming pool, thanks to Jaws. Have you seen Jaws yourself OP?

Also I'm pretty sure a dog dies, I don't remember the whole film but I was so so upset by the prolonged attack on the shark. Children can have a very strong sense of justice and it definitely fucked me up watching an animal suffer like that.

No. I think the suspense in it still even after all these years makes it a scary film. I watched it the other week and was still jumping, in fact had to turn over for a bit!

I watched it when I was about 7 or 8 and was too scared to get out of bed for months.....was convinced there was a shark under my bed.

I just bought it on Amazon and it's a PG