Is it only me who are so anal about what films my children watch?

[FairyMum]

Inspired by other threads, I thought I'd start my own. I am really suprised by the type of tv-programmes and films some parents let their small children watch. They claim their children are not easily scared and its fine to watch this. I am weary of both fast moving and scary images for my children. I also think there are so many things small children just won't understand until a certain age. For example, I would not let my 6 year-old watch Harry Potter mainly because I think if he waits a few years he will get so much more out of it. I don't want to rush them into all the wonderful films and stories they will enjoy much more if they wait (I think).

Now I am wondering, are some children really more easily scared? Yes, I guess to a certain extent they are, but I am also thinking that they build up a certain tolerance to things they see. In my eyes this is not a good thing at all.

I want my children to keep their innocence. I want my 3 year-old to be scared by images in power rangers and instead watch bob the builder and postman pat who I think are programmes for his age group.

Am I the only one?

I've just been reminded of a little girl we took out once, a friend of dd1's, when they were both 6

we were in Woolworths and dd was looking at Dr Who stuff and this girl said "I'm not allowed to watch that because it's too scary"

I said that it was scary and that her mum and dad were very sensible not letting her watch it because it could make her scared

later on she said "I'm not allowed to watch Shrek because it's too scary"

that did surprise me a bit, Shrek at 6, so I say "What do you like to watch" expecting Cbeebies or Toy Story or something nice and safe

"Pirates of the Caribbean" she said. wtf? - dd1 hasn't seen this even now and she is 7.

I have no idea what her parents' decision making process was but it made no sense to me

Generally, if my child lost interest after 20 mins I would consider it too old for them.
I don't understand what the rush is tbh.

Nope, me too
BUT ds (8) has only just watched Harry Potter, but he has read all of them. I was reluctant to let him read them, but I want him to enjoy reading, and he was gripped. I'm sure it has improved his reading age enormously. Plus, the first book starts off "young" then as the books go on, they get "older". But by that time he was hooked.

Sorry, TMI!!

Don't let them watch scary things. Or Tom and Jerry
LOL

dd1 has seen the first two hp films, but after she had read the books, I wanted her to read them first...

I think that it is often the eldest child that dictates the kind of films watched (eg misdee has a 9 yo)

I have let go a lot of this stuff lately. HSM2 v dull but fine and helps dd1 in playground. we weren't allowed tv and the hell of being a fame outcast left its mark on me.

Had a v poncey friend who didn't allow cartoons/disney/only cbeebies etc but let her v small kids watch the simpsons (which we do too). Have you SEEN itchy and scratchy?!

It is all so dependent on the child. My daughter wouldn't last a second in front of Bob the Builder or Postman Pat - she'd be bored rigid.

I distinctly remember watching Ghostbusters as a child in the cinema. My mother had discussed it with other parents and all agreed that it would be suitable as it was more comedy than anything else.

I was terrifed. It wasn't so much what I saw but more the thoughts it triggered later. I'm very careful about what my son watches. Actually, I keep the television off as a rule but as he gets older I appreciate that won't be so easy. I don't particularly approve of my 5 year old niece watching that awful High School Musical either.

I refuse to let DS (5) watch Spiderman/Power Rangers/Spongebob/Scooby Doo as it is far too grim for children; they just don't need to see it! Also, I am fed up of literature being all gouls and gross for his age group - not every boy likes grim and gross/scary things! I have found it quite hard to find books that are interesting but not in the same style of Horrid Henry or other such things. Have finally settled on Dick King-smith and Paddington Bear.

Anyway, back to films - DS won't be watching HP (ever, probably!) and doesn't watch many films over a PG; he will watch musicals that are older (Grease for example) because he loves the music... I think it's relatively harmless.

He watched Flight of the Navigator recently and was absolutely enthralled; I've never seen him so absorbed. He did freak out when David met the aliens the ship had collected, but apart from that he loved it (but then he has his own rocket and alien .... imaginary of course!)

I can't believe some kids of 3 etc are watching HP - the books scared me at 23!!! My mate let her kid (3) watch it and then complained that her sleeping had become really disturbed and she appeared to be having nightmares all the time, all of a sudden - it didn't click with her that it was only after they let her watch HP; is it really that hard to realise?

I think Disney has a lot to answer for too - they put scary bits in nearly all the films nowadays. Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella NEVER used to have such scary witches. Even Shrek 3 has got scarier than the first one.

I now let DS watch proper films like Cheaper By The Dozen/Home Alone/Freaky Friday/Homeward Bound/Fly Away Home as they aren't scary but are funny (for the most part) and have good storylines for kids. DS loves the slapstick elements of HA and CBTD and they are bearable for me to watch with him!

In short - no FF, you aren't alone!

PS, what's wrong with HSM?

my 3 year old love ScoobyDoo.
He hasn't had any nightmares so I don't see the problem.

oh we do also let them watch classic musicals - Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, High Society etc; Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire

they like them - they really love them

and we like them too

and no-one gets decapitated in any of them

I don't like the fact my 5 year old niece has become this pretend US teen, swooning over the main character and dancing like she is in a pop video. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but what was wrong with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

I love Chitty Chitty and films like Mary Poppins for my children too. I like the more slow-moving pace and innocence. I think of my children as fairly mature intellectually and emotionally for their ages. I am not sure being bored by postman pat is a sign of maturity in a 3 or 4-year old. I wonder if its a sign of immaturity even? That children who sit down and watch pirates of the carribean at 4 perhaps lack the emotional maturity or even imagination to get freaked out?

I think it depends on the child what they are going to find scary, either in books or in films. I found dd was quite happy reading the Lord of the Rings at age 6, but was totally freaked out at age 9 by one of those innocuous Animal Ark books that happened to feature a ghostly dog in an everyday setting.

Also, a big difference between fantasy in films and films with a more realistic setting. Not to mention real life.

I am quite happy for my 7yo ds to watch the Harry Potter films because he knows they are fantasy.

But I am not going to let my 11yo dd watch the news anytime soon.

We didn't have a television when they were 3, so were spared Postman Pat and Bob the Builder. Though obviously they watched at friends' house.

I would have thought HP unsuitable for my children at 3, but that's my children. Have not let ds watch Pirates of the Caribbean, either, and I don't suppose I'll ever be buying this.

I find it is the 12 rated films which are the most tricky.

We have watched some with my 2 dds(9 and nearly 12) like Spiderman, Pirates OTC and Harry Potter.

But there are some 12 films that I just don't think are suitable even for my nearly 12 year old. Things like Bridget Jones and Austen Powers.

DD wanted to see the "Other Boleyn Girl"(12a) but my friend saw it last weekend and said she wouldn't even be happy to let her 15 year old see it.(Sex and inscest apparently)

I saw "Jumper" with DD2 the other week and it had the F word in it! Since when was that acceptable for a 12 rated film?

my DS's (4.5 and 3) have seen Spiderman, The Golden Compass, Transformers and regularly watch 'The Simpsons' with DH and I. I think it is up to the parents to decide what they are happy to watch with their children present and that it is not the place of others to judge. However, I would be shocked to hear of a young child watching 'The Omen' or 'The Shining' like I was allowed to as a young child. I was okay and they certainly fired my imagination but I wouldnt go that far with my own children - The Golden Compass was scary enough for them.

I was quite anal about films with my boys until they were 7 or 8, especially ds2 who was very sensitive.

I remember ds2 was terrified by Finding Nemo and sobbed all the way through the film when he was 4 or 5

But now I don't really think twice about them seeing anything that's PG-rated.

Round here many of ds1's friends went to see 12A films when they were just 6 or 7. (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars 3, Spiderman 2?, etc.) We didn't let ds1 go and see any of these.

But we will take him to a 12A film now occasionally if we think it's appropriate. (He's nearly 11).

...my friend lets her boys watch almost anything and does not monitor the content, but they only seem interested in the fighting and violence. I asked them what the story was and they looked at me blankly...
DD caught some of this and was saying "but what are they DOING?" and I took her home, but then she is scared of Robbie Rotten from Lazy Town!
I know people who let their 3 yo watch Doctor Who!
It seems to go between: the child can't really understand any of it so they would have been better off drawing pictures or something OR the child does understand it and is scared, or it all becomes like water off a duck's back and the child learns nothing and cannot put it in context so it is also a waste of time.

My DD has seen the old Winnie the Pooh film and that is it. We do books, radio, audio books and childrens classical music. Most TV and films are complete crap and pointless to a child, CBeebies is ok though.
So Fairymum you are not alone!

I let DD1 (aged 9) watch Spongebob and the Simpsons but her favourites are Tom & Jerry and Scooby Doo. We started watching Harry Potter a while ago but she asked me to turn it off!

Her granny lets her watch EastEnders and Corrie with her which I wonder about, the soaps can have very adult themes but as I don't watch them myself I'm not sure just how bad they are. I wouldn't let her watch a 12 movie.

I was a bit once though, went round to a friend's house who has a son the same age, as we arrived he asked if DD1 could go and play Grand Theft Auto with him on the Playstation (or whatever it was).

I said no.

No you are not. When my children were small I used to monitor what programmes and films they watched.

This makes me feel better, as I have been feeling like a real, um, prude (for lack of a better word) about what I let my kids watch. They are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2, and don't get to watch much beyond Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr. and Noggin (think it might be just a U. S. thing. It is basically Nick Jr. Part 2).

He was one of 3 Spidermen in his class for Halloween, and was the only one of them who hadn't seen the movie. I don't really like the Shrek movies, either.

I don't know if they would be scared of those kinds of movies or not, it just seems like too young of an age to be watching them, at least for my two. Was a bit at MIL, because she was talking about loading the HP, Spiderman and Transformer movies on her computer so DS could watch them when he came down. I'm guessing she won't remember, but we'll have to have that conversation if the time comes.

DD has seen the HP films, she is seven, DS(3) was there when she watched them but I've seen them all and am always there to explain anything.

TBH, When Dd watches something DS take no notice of it. I don't think they do at the age.

I remember when Dd was about 3 she went into my bedroom and turned the TV/video on, 13ghosts was in the player and she must've watched a good ten minutes before I realised she was watching it, it didn't bother her in the slightest but I was petrified!

I'm personally more bothered about the toilet humour and fighting in the cartoons than the american tosh DD likes.

Ds1's friend has been winding his mum up constantly since he was about 6, saying "But I love the violence, Mum!"
We brought ds1 and ds2 to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when ds2 was only 4. We had read the book but somehow I had not visualised the basilisk as being quite so scary as he turned out to be on the big screen so towards the end of the movie I brought ds2 out.
So there I was in the foyer with a 4 year old who was objecting strongly, "No I won't have bad dreams, I want^ to see the snake catching after Harry!"

Interesting reading the responses..
DS1 is nearly 4 and has been into Cbeebies until the last couple of months and has now got bored.. we tried CITV and I was happy to turn it off as I didn't like the advertising but DS1 loved some of the programs, he likes blips and Uncle Max, and pocoyo. I HATE the adverts...
He knows we are only allowed to watch CITV if DS2 is having a nap as it isn't suitable for him. ( he is 18 months)

As for films.

DS1 loves toy story / pixar films and I am happy for him to watch them but I do regret him seeing the incredibles just after his 3rd birthday, DH and I had watched it first and thought it was ok but sitting with DS1 and seeing his reaction to things that I hadn't even considered scarey made me cross with myself.. he loves the film and isnt scared by it but his initial reaction was fear and I wish I hadn't shown him it so early.

No pirates of the carribean here nor Harry Potter, I will probably be a horrid mum but if it says 12 on the box he needs to be 12 to watch it.

We are going to the cinema next week to see horton hears a who, it will be the first time DS1 will (in his memory) have been to the cinema I hope the sound level won't be too much for him.

DS did make me laugh when the Golden Compass was on - GH (again) told friends they could take him. I wasn't overly happy really but didn't want to play big bad boring mummy. I phoned the friends he was at to discover that they hadn't gone. When I picked him up i discovered that he had told friend's mum & dad that I wouldn't let him go as it was a 12! They tried telling him that Daddy had said it was OK but he said that I wouldn't be happy!

We have just watched Home Alone 3. DS loves the slapstick. Must find more like that.

Who was it mentioned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? I was traumatised by that when it came out! Had to be carried out of cinema hysterical. DS still hasn't watched it.