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?

The Childcatcher is one of the scariest people of all time.

My children are nearly 5 and two they watch cbeebies I won't even put Nic Junior on because the constant adverts for things like Llli kelli shoes drive me nuts. Film wise dd has seen Things such as Happy Feet, ratatoille, Happy Never Ending and Mary Poppins. I haven't let her watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang yet because I too was traumatised by it as a child!

Have Rataoille as an Easter pressie for DS for tomorrow.

btw - the first couple of harry potters are pg, as the books get older - so do the films..

DS is 5 and rarely watches Cbeebies as he says "ite boring". He prefers Nick Jr or Cartoon Network and I dont mind this.

We have a nice range of dvds and films suitable for him so a good overall choice.

I cant imagine an 8/9 year old watching cbeebies as its aimed at 0-6 years from what I remember. Also, they wouldnt be able to join in discussions at school about certain shows and know the characters etc.

God, you're not unreasonable at all. I'm horrified at the thought of 3 and 4 year olds watching the later HPs, Dr Who etc.

Do you remember the discussion about Casino Royale? Again, I was shocked that people took 5 and 6 year olds to see that.

I want my children to retain their innocence as long as possible, not to see graphic representations of torture, pain, terror and death.

DS1 is almost 4 and watches Scooby Doo also Pixar and Disney films: Cars, Toy Story, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Aladdin etc. He fully understands that someone has drawn the pictures making the film or a clever person has made it on their computer and isn't scared and doesn't have nightmares. He stopped being interested in CBeebies when he was about 3, but does like Playhouse Disney and Nick Junior.

He is not allowed to watch Power Rangers or Ben 10 as for me there is just too much fighting. Spider Man I do think would scare him to death as would Transformers or Harry Potter. Doctor Who scares me sometimes too so I definitely wouldn't let him watch that . I think it depends on the child, some are lots more sensitive to this stuff than others.

yes the first three HP films are pg's not 12's. i think the 5th one is a 12a, ie is suitable for children over 8 iirc but adult supervision is recommended.

dd2 was absolutly petrified of snow white and the seven dwarves last year.

dd3 has been pestering me for weeks to see pirtaes of the caribean, and i keep telling her no. its quite hard as it is actually a disney film and has a lot of toys marketed as well with the film.

for older girls, (7 and over) i can recommend (well dd1 will) films like 'ice princess' 'hsm1+2' (fairly harmless but i have seen them far too many times), princess diaries 1+ 2' and 'the labyrinth'.

its not all HP films here, and i will say that over and over. dd3 does watch some of the older films yes, but its not all she watches. dd2+3 have choosen piglets big movie to watch shortly. if dd1 was here then it would be one of the older ones being put on.

oh and garfield is good as well.

(we watched a lot of films when dh was in hospital, his room had a dvd/tv combi in there)

Buda, if your kids like Home Alone, they will love Little Heroes - same storyline but dogs play the role of Kevin. Also, Cheaper By The Dozen 1/2 has similar slapstick/practical joke fun in it.

To me it wouldn't be about the age it says on the box, but I would be watching any film first to see if I find it objectionable, never mind what the censors say.

A simple f* word probably wouldn't deter me- after all they can hear that any day in the playground from the other mums- but there are things I'd be quite fussy about: a cynical attitude towards sex, violence-as-entertainment etc.

Eastenders is something I wouldn't want them to watch as I don't like the attitude towards life displayed in it, that endless dreariness and the lack of respect the writers show towards their characters.

But they have watched Romeo and Juliet (the Zefirelli version) which contains a certain amount of violence and some rather ripe language (that old nurse ). And I let dd (11) watch Mike Leigh's Topsy Turvy which is a 15. But then I had seen it first and did not judge there was anything in it that would either corrupt or unduly upset her. And we talked about it.

Message withdrawn

I agree with you Fairymum.

A mum I know lets her six and four year old watch Dirty Dancing "because they love the dancing, the other bits go right over their heads."

Bet the other bits don't go right over their heads.
Dirty Dancing is one of my favourite films. However, when ds was in hospital at age 11, I complained a number of times about that dvd being put on the communal TV in his ward for the 15 year old girls to watch.
We do not have 'mainstream' tv on in the house whilst children are awake.
Ds is now 13 but has still never seen Eastenders - my particular beef with that is that sex is always preceded by a shouting match or worse, it's not how I want it presented to my kids.

i disagree with you emkana and Mouselady. i watch Dirty Dancing with my 3 year old. As soon as the music comes on we get and dance and she loves it. She just waits for the music and the rest certainly does go over her head. As it is there is no nudity or sex scenes - it is all implied, so I can't see how that can corrupt my dd.

We're fairly careful about what they watch (they're 6,4 and 22 months). They generally watch CBeebies, Pixar films etc.

However, they HAVE seen Pirates of the Caribbean 1. Ds1 was DESPERATE to watch it, and he was given it for Christmas. I watched it with him, and he wasn't scared at all. I asked him if it was scary, and he said 'no, it was funny. They shot off each others hats. And the actors are only pretending - Johnny Depp is pretending to be Jack Sparrow. And the skeletons aren't even actors, they're done on a computer.'

I think it's unpredictable what they find scary. This same ds1 cannot watch Numberjacks because of the Puzzler - he is physically shaking and hysterical if it comes on. And Dr Who would be way too scary for him, as would Harry Potter. But Pirates is much more 'fantasy' fighting imo - it's the way they play pirates in the playground - kind of 'bang you're dead' rather than lots of blood and horridness. And Jack Sparrow is a good role model (at least in the first film) as he is very pacifist, and won't fight if he can negotiate instead.

I DO think the story lines of the 2nd and 3rd films (not that I've seen them) are too adult, but the 1st one is fine imo. Having said that, it's not a film that we let them watch again and again as they do with Toy Story and Cars.

It's had lots of benefits - ds1 has spent a lot of time writing his own Jack Sparrow 'books' - 10 or 12 pages worth. And anything that gets a 6 year old Y2 boy to write for fun at home is good imo! And he has also learned to play the music on the piano (I've written it out for him). It's way beyond his 'level' (I'm teaching him), but he can do this because he REALLY wants to. And it has got him interested in other film music - he watched the Lion King 2 today, and was commenting on the score all the way through, and at the end was scouring the credits to see who wrote the music.

It hasn't lost any innocence imo! I'm far more concerned about some of the programmes on CBBC, which we don't let them watch as a channel - I think it's way too adult for a 6 year old - or the adverts on Nick Junior, or ITV - again they aren't allowed to watch those channels unless there's something very good on (eg the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

If I think about what he reads - lots of Roald Dahl - I honestly don't think PotC is any more 'horrific' than something like The Witches, which could even be more pertinent to a child, as the whole book is about a plot to turn children into mice and then set traps and cats on them!

Sorry this is so long! I did think long and hard before they watched the film!

I DEFINITELY would not let my kids watch Dirty Dancing!!!!! Too many questions to answer!

Good point tortoise - when that happens the DVD will mysteriously disappear

I find it interesting that so many of you ask your children if they are scared and trust them when they say they are not and that they know its "not for real". I have always thought that the border between fantasy and real life was quite blurred for children up to a certain age. It certainly was for me. I think I would still wonder about the long-term effects and what images they would carry with them IYSWIM.
Also, if they watch Dirty Dancing and Pirate of the Caribbean at a very young age. Do they become too "sophisticated" to watch postman pat? I know i go on about Postman Pat, but I do love him so!

I do think you have a point Fairymum. My dd1 prefers to watch something really animated like Flushed Away or Charlie & the Choc Factory. Saying that, she is glued to NumberJacks and Something Special. Sometimes it depends on how tired she is as to what info she can take in.

Mine still love Postman Pat! And Fireman Sam! And in fact lots of the Cbeebies things.

It's very easy to know if mine are scared - they scream and shake! They all have a 'drama queen gene', so wear their emotions on their sleeve. I'm confident that I know if they're scared.

Ds1 and dd to a lesser extent inhabit a parallel universe at most times anyway. Ds1 has always lived in a different fantasy world!

We will let ds watch something that is rated 12 at home with us (not always, depends on the film, I agree that 12 has a staggeringly wide range). At 9 he is too young to go to the cinema to watch a 12 IMO and that's currently not negotiable.
I am a bit puzzled as to what parents are meant to do with younger siblings when something aimed at older children is on TV. Dd who is four, has seen Stupid , Raven, Ker-Ching! and Tracy Beaker on CBBC. However, ds will still sit patiently with dd and discuss Pinky Dinky Doo or the latest Blue Cow. We only have one telly.