Movie Appropriateness

My kids are older but there was so much they didn't see and wasn't exposed to when they were younger and to my credit.

There are a whole host of reasons you shouldn't let you kids be exposed to anything and everything but some parents don't get that until it is too late and you can get the horses back in to barn.

I simply don't understand why parents take little kids to the kinds of movies you are detailing here. I believe it's irresponsible. I was CAREFUL about the movies my kids went to see.

I will tell you that I spoke up if we were invited to a movie with kids my own children's age, and the movie they talked about seeing was inappropriate. And I wouldn't go with mob mentality. My kids meant more to me than that.

Dawn

I like the website www.commonsensemedia.org
I like it because it's not preachy or judgy, it just let's you know ahead of time what offensive material you will see: nudity, language, adult themes, violence towards women/children, drug use, those kinds of things. My 13 year old is pretty mature as far as the adult theme/language/sex stuff goes but violence terrifies her, so if a movie she wants to see is PG13 I look it up ahead of time.
I would say Coraline is more frightening than Nightmare Before Christmas (though that Boogeyman made of bedbugs is pretty scary!) and Jurassic Park is awesome, I love that movie! But yes, it's pretty scary too, you might want to wait a few more years (she may end up hating dinosaurs after watching that!)
I love Star Wars but I think a six year old would be bored with any of the originals. The newer ones are more kid friendly, but unless she's into battles and sabers and good vs. evil she'd probably find that boring too.

We don't pay any attention at all to movie ratings. They are subjective and never truly represent a movie. There are movies that get a harsher rating in the US while the rest of the world gave it a much milder one.
We go by content and our feelings on how it is handled.
We do draw lines but they are much further out than a lot of people believe they should be. When my husband and I watch True Blood the kids go play in the other room. But we have no problem with them watching Game of Thrones. It's not the sex or nudity we had issue with, it was how it was approached. True Blood just goes into more "kink" and disrespect and the story lines aren't ones that we feel the kids would be comfortable with watching now and, open as we are, I just can't come up with a good way that I want to answer many questions that I know they would have. But Game of Thrones, the story line is supreme and the kids are really getting in to it and the fact that there is the extremely rare sex or nudity scene is completely over looked because they want to know what is going to happen next in the story. I remember when Batman The Dark Knight came out. Everyone was ranting that it wasn't for children, it was too dark blah blah blah. My kids loved it! Could not get enough of it!
The Star Wars movies, well considering my husband has a 501st approved Stormtrooper costume and I own a Jedi costume and we've done charity work in costume, even bringing the kids. They love them. I was 6 when the first movie came out and I have been in love ever since.
I don't think anything they have watched has "taken away" their childhood or innocence.
They all know it is acting and costumes and make believe and they take it as such. They will point out when someone is doing something that we don't consider appropriate and do not copy it. If they don't understand something we explain it to them, matter of fact, and discuss any social or moral implications that may go along with it.
Manda F's house sounds a lot like ours. My husband and I are both geeks and love movies, comics, role playing games etc and so on. So do our kids. We have an extensive movie collection. We not only watch movies but we watch all the behind the scenes, making ofs. I have done costuming since I was very young. We collect movie props in fact. Our kids have grown up around all of this. Movies are works of art in our house. They are social commentary. We don't let someone else's "I counted 5 "F words" so it has to get an R rating no matter what it's about deter us from watching something good with the kids.
ETA: Forgot to add. Nightmare Before Christmas is by far one of the families favorite movie ever made. My 3 year old has loved it forever even! We watch it while we decorate the Christmas Tree and while we're getting ready to go out Trick Or Treating. They look forward to when Disneyland decorates the Haunted Mansion with Jack every year. Haunted Mansion is by far my 3 year olds favorite ride, besides Small World. There are characters that look like traditionally scary monsters but the movie is far from being scary.

My kids (aged 7, 5 and 3) have not seen any of those movies you listed. The boys have listened to us read the Star Wars trilogy, but not yet seen the movies.

I grew up much like you... all my friends got to see Purple Rain, and I didn't see it until I rented it in college. I was in 6th grade when it came out.... I had the album, but wasn't allowed to see the movie due to the rating.

We watch very limited movies in our house. We do an occasional movie night, but tend to watch "classics" instead of new releases. I'd be up for letting the kids watch Star Wars A New Hope, but they haven't asked yet (believe it or not) so we are going to wait until they ask.

I'd say - let them be kids. We watch Herbie the Love Bug, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Babe, or some other totally G rated movie when we have movie night.

J.

The way we handled this was by knowing our child.

We knew there were certain things we did not want her exposed to, so that made a difference in the choices.

We knew what she was not really interested in watching.. And we knew what she could handle and understand.

At the age of 3 she is the one that told me, mom, that is not real.. it is just TV, when I was yelling at the news.

You need to just do what is best for your family and your child.. The rest is just noise, no judging or second guessing necessary.. ..

Wow. I can't imagine my daughter watching Star wars in less than a year. She gets scared over the tiniest things, though her latest addition to cyber chase is helping with that.

Twister!

My mom let be watch American werewolf in London when I was 8 because I begged. I hate horror movies because of it.

I do think we are rushing our kids to grow up, why else would barbie, which was a doll for 8 year olds, now be appropriate for 3 year olds?

Sorry for the lack of caps, typing on an iPad.

Let's see...maybe Star Wars (the older ones) but not the rest. DD loves dinos but Jurassic Park is too scary.

If your child can admit she is scared and doesn't want to see it, then don't push it. I think the Boogeyman in Nightmare would scare her and so might the kidnapping of Santa.

There are sites that say what movies are rated, and why. That might be helpful to you. Your DD might enjoy Ruby Gloom on Netflix, while another child can't stand ghosts. My mom held to some wacky standards sometimes. I don't approve of giving a child free rein (Goldmember is not a movie for 8 yr olds!) but sometimes you have to do your research and decide if it's right for YOUR kid and teach them to say, "Nah, I'll watch it when I'm older. How about Matilda?" instead.

I did allow my toddler to watch Up and stopped the movie and explained it to her when she got upset about the kidnapping of the bird. And she watched Tangled when she was a few years older. Even G movies are iffy sometimes (we have not seen all of Bambi together).

Honestly, ratings kept me from seeing a different movie at my friend's house when I was 12 ever since then I have loved the alternate movie her mom rented - The Princess Bride. You never know what they'll like that they CAN watch.

Another thing I bear in mind is that a friend grew up on horror movies. Enjoys them. But admits that they freaked him out more than he wanted to admit as a kid and wishes his parents had done more screening. Do I want DD to wish she'd seen the movie...or wish she hadn't?

We do very little censoring of movies in our house. Yes my kids have seen those and the same ones Manda F listed below.

My kids love Transformers...I mean seriously they've watched in too many times to count. They've see and loved Avatar...yes they sit through the entire movie.

We don't watch Family Guy. They don't watch some of the other shows that come on at 9pm...

If they don't like something, get scared we turn it off and find something else. If something comes up and they have questions we answer them. If we have to debate if they can watch it...they don't. We may change our minds and watch it again with them.

I get that it bothers people...there are lots of things that other parents do that bother me. I don't feel I'm pushing them to grow up...they have every option to play in their room. They more often than not get a say of what movies we watch.

I'm with you all the way.

My kids really hadn't seen those at that age,

I understand what you are saying about missing social references, but I don't think it would be a big deal until the teen years,

There is a balance but it's hard to find. I'd rather my kids be doing stuff than watching movies.

I do find that kids with older siblings watch things earlier than my kids who are close in age. did that make sense lol, kids in my sons grade who had older siblings watched more of those types of movies than those kids who were the oldest of the family. Not always but in general.

My son is 6 and his favorite movie is zombie land. He's seen all the movies you listed as well as all the marvel ones. He's not scared of stuff like that and knows that they are not real.

My daughter is 6 and has seen most of the star wars movies, has no interest in Jurassic Park or Batman. She LOVES Nightmare before Christmas and also got scared from Coraline. She also likes Beatle Juice and Corpse Bride (yes a young Tim Burton fan). She did watch some of Zombieland with my husband (I did not approve that one) and it didn’t faze her at all. She also watched The Hunger Games the other day (with me to explain it).

I know that most kids should not be watching them but my daughter has a great understanding of what is real and what is pretend. She understands how they create movie magic and that they are just actors playing a part. Movies where there are people acting extremely violent to each other bother my daughter, it seem she can understand if the situation can happen in real life.

I think that a lot of what goes on goes right over most kid’s heads and when they are older and watch the same movies they are like "hey I get it now". I also think that parents should only let their kids watch what they approve of since they know their children best.

I forgot to add she loves the new Sherlock Holmes movies.

I was strict. It paid off !

The running joke here is that I banned the Arthur show because D.W. used the words jerk and idiot. I felt I had no chioce but to turn it off. I don't use those words...

Walt Disney would not approve of these terrible tv programs w/ young female actresses who dress better than me, are in full make-up/hair, have no parents around and have pitiful mouths. I banned the Disney shows when need be, too.

Most if it is out of control---Movies and TV

I could go on forever...

Good for you for having morals and values !

My son is almost 5.5 years has not seen any of the above movies. He is a pretty tenderhearted guy and I know that all of them would have serious 'nightmare potential'. Jurassic Park would be terrifying for him. Nonetheless, we find plenty he DOES like to watch. He's not a typical kid in that he really enjoys documentaries-- he's very excited to watch "Alaska: Silence and Solitude" about a man who lived alone in a cabin for 30 years. He likes woodworking shows, nature documentaries (except the scary parts) and Reading Rainbow dvds. I am fully letting him enjoy what he's comfortable with because really, he's still a little boy.

I realize some kids are less sensitive than others. I know that come kindergarten, he'll hear a lot more about these movies. I'm waiting for him to ask me about watching them, but honestly-- we have had lots of nightmares lately (typical for five), even with Magic Treehouse books, so I'm going to go with my gut, preserve as much of my sleep as I can, and not introduce stuff he's not interested in for now. I'm in agreement about growing up too fast-- and I'm also very interested in avoiding as much targeted-at-kids marketing as I can. There will be plenty of time for that stuff later on.

I am pretty sure that he knows that the fictional shows 'aren't real', but the feelings that are evoked for him are very, very real.

I respect everyone's choices on this topic... but I have never chosen to reallly shelter my kids from movies. I don't allow them to watch Family Guy and stuff like that... that is just absolutely disgusting.

My daughters have watched everything you listed. They even started watching War of the Worlds but got scared and ran away. My older daughter asked me if she could watch a scary movie when she was 6, so I put on 'Scream' for her, and she got bored and fell asleep. lol.

I do shield them from sexually explicit anything, it just invokes too many questions for little brains!

My son is 6-1/2 and he has seen the original three Star Wars movies. He saw them when he was 5 because his class had become Star Wars obsessed and he was coming home with all sorts of ridiculous and false ideas. We watched them with him. He has not seen the newer three movies as he has decided (after discussing it with us) that they were too scary. In fact he chose to skip his best friend's birthday party because it was a viewing of the next movie. He has not seen any of the other movies. In fact the only other movies he has seen are The Sound of Music, Horton Hears a Who, Ice Age and Madagascar (all gifts as DVDs). His tv is pretty much limited to the occasional episode from the Planet Earth and Jean Michel Cousteau nature series.

IMO - the new Batman movies (not so new actually except for the new new one) are way way too dark for a child. I found them somewhat disturbing. Twister would result in nightmares for my son. Jurassic Park - he would likely enjoy and we will eventually get there - but it does have some scary parts.

The original Star Wars movie begins with a truly horrendous scene - Luke's entire family is burned to death by the dark side forces. I think that just went right over my son's head, but I was horrified. I had not seen the movie since I was 15 and didn't remember this part. I previewed the rest of them.

Hi Kali,

My son was older when he saw starwars. didn't want to watch batman or spiderman (which baffles me)

anyways, you decide what she can watch. I'm surprised at some of the coments/dialogs in some of the so called kid movies.(reference to suicide, over-sexualized, etc.) they don't need to know all that. I know we cannot cover their eyes for ever.... but just a little longer, pretty please. :) they'll grow up fast enough. and on the other side of the coin... pick your battles. Good luck! ~C.~

We go by ratings, I think the old star wars movies are PG, so my dd (3 yrs old) has seen them. The rest on your list, no way. She was a little scared of star wars, but seemed to do ok with it. We try to stick to G or PG. I also dont allow Tom and Jerry cartoons, which my husband gets mad about, lol. Most PG13 have swearing, which I dont want her hearing, so aside from the violence, that is another concern.

First off, my son wouldn't sit through watching those movies. He would get bored. Of the ones you mentioned, I would not let him watch Jurassic Park, which would probably be the one he would be most likely to sit through. I know he would get scared by the dinosaurs. My son is usually in the room with me while I watch different things and for the most part he is in his own little world. I don't watch shows with nudity or tons of cussing while he is awake, but anything else is pretty much fair game.

Twister was actually an educational movie for my son. We're in Oklahoma, so he would recognize some of the talk from our tornado warnings. I used the movie to show him how much damage they can cause and how you always have to be safe when one is coming.

My girls LOVE The Nightmare Before Christmas! My girls are 6 and 9 and have been watching it for a few years. The older loved it so the younger saw it. I knew if she didn't like it she would have gone off to do something else. The older saw Coraline and liked it. The younger hasn't seen it yet. My girls love Tim Burton. (Prob. because of me! I love Halloween!) They have seen Star Wars, my hubby is a huge fan. I don't know if they have seen them all. My younger didn't always watch all of it. She would get board. Twister was before their time. I think both have seen Jurassic Park. Neither would have any interest in Batman. I usually watch everything with them, at least the first time. I like to know what they are watching. I don't allow them to watch violence, nudity, etc...I guess I know my girls pretty well, and what they won't be scared of. In these instances, the movies are fantasy. They know that makes a difference. Real life situations are different. I wouldn't let them watch a horror movie, even a mild one if it was a real life setting. My 9 yo would love to watch ghost hunters. She has seen a few min here and there when she walked in while dad was watching. I don't think that is appropriate, and would confuse them. I guess it all comes down to knowing your child, and sticking to your values. It is hard when you want your child to fit in, but not worth sacrificing your values! P.S. I do check out movies before we watch them, if I know nothing about them. Both of my girls point out things in a movie they know aren't right..appropriate. It makes for good conversation too. If they see something that confuses them or they know isn't right, then we talk about it.