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.

Like I said it's a small school, they know DD very well. They are well aware.

no difference to safeguarding, I mean

They are well aware
well ware of what?

Or she could just be one of those kids who isn't phased by these things because they know they aren't real.

DS1 is 10 and it would be too much for him but that doesn't mean there is something wrong with children who don't find it scary.

You must have scared the shit out of a lot of parents in your 30 years of work if you are as trigger happy with phrases like 'warped development' and 'severe trauma' in RL as you have been here.

It's armchair psychology - Bad armchair psychology at that.

Pisses me right off.

Sorry to sound like a snowflake mum but I would be concerned if my 5 year old shrugged her shoulders at the surprise appearance if a severed head.

Well I disagree re safeguarding. Might not be the party line but I do!
That DD loves sharks, loves a scary story and has seen Jaws. She's a child, she talks about her interests without fear that her teachers will think her warped. The reading books she takes in give it away anyway.

I think she'd be very concerned by a severed head. A prop on a screen, not so much.

I'd be astounded if those teachers aren't judging you for letting her watch Jaws. They're just too professional to say anything.

Wow, different children are scared by different things? Just like adults? Who knew.

My dd was not some special genius that would be able to see at 5 that it was a fake.

Well I disagree re safeguarding doesn't matter a fig what your opinion is, it will be a safe guarding issue, full stop.

I've just discussed this with my DM

My beloved grandfather bought me Jaws on video and he died when I was 7..so I reckon I watched it aged 6

One of my favourite films ever. Zero trauma occurred from me watching it

However; having watched it numerous times since - would I fuck let my DS watch it until he's 11ish - I'll say secondary school age

I wasn't much older than five when I went on the Jaws ride in Universal Studios. Definitely more likely to induce trauma than watching a film.

Clearly that warped my little brain and led to me repeating the cycle with my own DCs.

Or
Different people are scared by different things

The severed head scene scares me, to be fair. :o

There are worse things in the shops at Halloween these days, though. We have a severed arm prop that is more realistic.

Some kids are just very black and white. 'That's not real therefore it's not frightening'.

It doesn't mean they are disturbed.

Thankyou Weebo my older DD (8) would hate it too, she doesn't watch them.
But DD2 likes being scared. Like people enjoy rollercoasters or bunjee jumping or horror movies! She enjoys the thrill of being scared. She doesn't enjoy people being attacked by sharks she enjoys the adrenaline of fright. Some people do. It isn't warped it's perfectly normal.
I don't like it personally but she does and that's her and that's fine by me.
She enjoys the scare at the time, but doesn't take it forward into life thinking there's a shark down the toilet or in the pool. Maybe that's why she can enjoy it in the moment.
I don't know but I do know it doesn't make her warped and it is something I will share with her rather than trying and make her feel wrong or ashamed as that is a sure fire way to make problems.

Do the unphased kids know that other kids don't like it/haven't been exposed to it and moderate what they say accordingly. Or do they think it's a laugh to scare the shit out of other 5 year olds by recounting the plot and all the goriness.
If some little darling had started talking severed heads to my 5 year old I would have asked the school to do something about it.

I wasn't much older than five when I went on the Jaws ride in Universal Studios. Definitely more likely to induce trauma than watching a film.

no, theme park rides are significantly LESS likely to induce trauma than horror films, particularly before the age of 14

doesn't matter a fig what your opinion is, it will be a safe guarding issue, full stop.
Indeed. I was talking re class sizes I thought that was obvious given the conversation up to that point.
I do not believe a child watching a PG/12A film is a safeguarding issue. In fact I would go so far to say that it never has been in my experience

But DD2 likes being scared. Like people enjoy rollercoasters or bunjee jumping or horror movies!

no, the enjoyment of roller coasters and horror movies can't be equated until after the age of 14, at that stage of brain development, it is possible for a child to classify a horror movie as something similar to a theme park ride, as in adrenaline inducing, but safe. However, not before that age. And yes, some individuals will reach that stage of development before the age of 14, of course they will.

NOT by the age of 5 though.

You may THINK she has, but she hasn't. What ever has caused her to react like this to horror scenes, it is not having the mental development of a 14 year old

I do not believe a child watching a 12A film is a safeguarding issue

it has probably already been recorded as such, I would assume

Your use of the word trauma in this context is insultingly flippant, User.

www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/jaws.
This is a useful website, adults and children saying it's suitable for 11 and upwards.

There's a boy in my dd's class who has, since the age of about 7 , been claiming he watches Game of Thrones and plays Grand Theft Auto. Hopefully it is just "boasting" and not reality. Sadly, the poor kid has a lot of dysfunction in his family life so who knows. I assume the teachers are at least keeping an eye on what he claims.

general safe guarding guidelines will include reporting instances of children being exposed to age inappropriate films and video games. As a foster carer, watching frightening films one of around three or four reasons why one of my foster children had been taken into care ( he was 9, but emotionally younger - the film in question was the spiderman, if I remember correctly)

Your use of the word trauma in this context is insultingly flippant, User.

no, I am not using it flippantly, I am using it as a trained and knowledgable practitioner.