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Original poster

Help! Is Dr Who Suitable for little girls?

32 replies

Jamiki · 05/04/2010 01:49

Hi, I've just put a ban on Dr Who for my 7yo dd, is this necessary ? I have sat and watched a couple of episodes and while they don't seem so bad they do seem a little dark.

My dd loves it (especially Rose) and it is a show her and DH watch together.

She woke from a nightmare the other night saying the whole family was locked in a cage and being tortured but she saved us!

My dd is quite bright and can seems to understand between fact and fiction but you know how 'real' fiction can appear.

I have viewed with her but can't view every episode, I decided against it after the nightmare (she does call out in her sleep fairly regularly but nightmares are less regular). She accepted it OK but I really don't know if banning it is necessary. I remember my cousin watching it when we were kids.

Unfortunately DH isn't really on the ball with whats suitable for dc's but I'm trying.

What do you think?

OP posts:
Bleatblurt · 05/04/2010 02:13

Can you record them so you can watch them first (or at least skim/ff through it if you don't have the time to watch it all) so you can make sure your DD doesn't see any of the more scary episodes. I'm 29 and have hidden behind pillows a few times.

ChunkyPickle · 05/04/2010 03:04

I watched it as a young girl, and the cybermen terrified me, and gave me nightmares, but I don't think they did any lasting harm.

I think that the fantasy of Dr Who, that there's someone out there who cares and will save the day is a much nicer thing to be watching (even with scary bits - it's OK, the Doctor will rescue everyone) than something like Eastenders which is just awfully depressing and not as obviously fantasy.

WorzselMummage · 05/04/2010 03:50

We ummmed and ahhed about letting our 5 year old watch it and in the end we didn't but I'm not 100% sure I won't let her watch them on replay this week.

Almost everyone I know was scared shitless by Dr Who when they were a kid.. It doesn't seem to gave damaged anyone too much.

Not much help really sorry

Original poster
Jamiki · 05/04/2010 04:26

Thankyou ladies for your help, I might just try to record and watch first, thanks BB.

OP posts:
bellissima · 06/04/2010 15:53

Surely it's a rite of passage to watch Dr Who from behind the sofa from the age of seven-ish??

(agree 5 a bit young)

muggglewump · 06/04/2010 15:55

My DD is 8 now and has been watching it since it started (the new ones obv) and loves it. I don't watch, I don't get it at all but she does.
She loves being scared.

ArthurPewty · 06/04/2010 15:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

activate · 06/04/2010 15:56

well if it gives her nightmares I'd ban it too for a couple of years

but the fact she's a girl makes no odds does it?

activate · 06/04/2010 15:57

my 5 year old watches it but then she has older siblings who love it and it's a family thing

I think 7 year olds are possibly the most scared and once they get to about 9 they love it again

Macdog · 06/04/2010 16:00

My dd is 4 and loved this weeks Dr Who because he was spitting out food

The scary snake monster for her was like the eels she sees at SeaLife, so she wasn't making the leap to be scared of it.

I think once she gets a bit older, she will find it scarier

ChocolatePants · 06/04/2010 16:00

I understand how you feel..it's always tricky but at the end of the day you just have to go with your own decision etc-

My DC range from 12 to 6- they all watch Dr Who- the little one watched it from a very young age but she was too young to be scared, iyswim, although that has changed now as she understands more...however it is something we all do on a Saturday evening- watch Dr Who together, which I really like.

I remember, especially with my first, this issue of what was acceptable to view as I had to make decisions and examine what I thought was appropriate etc, which I had not really had to do before.

HTH

ChocolatePants · 06/04/2010 16:01

Agree with activate too

legscrossed · 06/04/2010 16:05

I was alitle girl and watched.
Davros scared the bejeepers.
We need the thrill of lesser experienced emotions to learn n feel alive.

It is for kids..........yeah

ShrinkingViolet · 06/04/2010 16:07

somewhere on the BBC website is a review of each episode as watched by children with a "fear factor", so you can see in advance how scary it might be.

jellybeans · 06/04/2010 16:14

Mine all watched it from about 4, it's fine.

BariatricObama · 06/04/2010 16:16

dd has always loved it. she hasn't seen it v. often but is intrigued by it. we watched the andipose one recently which she thought was v. cute

Ellokitty · 06/04/2010 18:50

My 6 and 3 year olds watch it okay. I think when they're younger, a lot of the scary stuff is actually psychological, and so tends to go over their heads a lot of the time. I agree with Activate, that actually is a scarier when they are a bit older, as then they get it on more levels.

DilysPrice · 06/04/2010 18:55

Seconded on the Fear Factor recommendation. I use that to screen the occasional episode which I think is too scary. I'd also suggest that scarier episodes are better watched in daylight rather than just before bod.

DilysPrice · 06/04/2010 18:55

....or even bed.

Jux · 06/04/2010 21:31

I can remember Dr Who with William Hartnell. In our family, there was often a child hidden behind a nice big armchair for at least a part of Dr Who. One of my younger cousins, at age 6ish, once dived behind the chair at the opening music!

Woe betide anyone trying to switch it off though!!!

Yes, some things gave us nightmares (the Slither was my most unholy terror; my younger brother was terrified of the Kotmots - but tbh I can't remember them at all and they may have been a product of his imagination).

Nevertheless, I don't think there was any real harm done to us by allowing us to see it - with the possible exception of having to see Jon Pertwee every week when we were older. I am also happy to say that Peter Wotsit was the last Dr I even bothered to try to like.

However, this guy who's just gone was pretty good, though I think the writers should stop trying to appeal to adult fantasies and remember that the Dr's an alien and doesn't get lonely or fall in love etc. Too much human emotional crap in it these days (and that would be a much better reason to stop young kids seeing it imo).

I think this new guy has started off really well.

I'd let your dd watch it - well I let my dd watch it since she was younger than yours (she's 10 now), despite a nightmare or two.

My mum hung a police helmet on my brother's bed with a notice saying "PC Someoneorother -
Kotmots beware" and he was fine after that.

OrmRenewed · 06/04/2010 21:33

My 7 yr old watches them, usually from my knee with his face hidden in my norks And yes he does get scared after the event - but so did I as a child - and that is part of the fun. Ask him if he wants to see it and YES he DOES!

OrmRenewed · 06/04/2010 21:34

DS#1 who is 13 is usually the one who refuses to watch because it's too scary. He hated the gas mask one - was in tears after that.

Pollyanna · 06/04/2010 21:36

depends on the child - my youngest dd has watched it from about 4, but she is fearless. my ds1 who is 11 spends half the time out of the room

all of my dds (now aged 5,7,and 9) love it.

SimonCowellIsSatan · 06/04/2010 23:45

Some of my earliest memories are of the excitement when Baker regenerated into Davidson. I wasn't quite three at that point.

I have always adored Doctor Who back then and right up to the stunning Matt Smith who's incarnation I'm already hopelessly in Iove with.

Last Saturday my 2 year old daughter and 4 year old son sat completely besotted in absolute silence fir the whole hour it was on. It's magical and truely wonderful and I've no worries about my little ones watching it. My son is now totally into it and it's fantastic that he gets the same thing that I did at his age!!

MoreCrackThanHarlem · 06/04/2010 23:58

'We need the thrill of lesser experienced emotions to learn n feel alive.'

so true legscrossed
very tall 7yo dd does huge rollercoasters
she is terrified
but exhilarated
it's healthy

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