Scary Movies

[Traveller]

What age do you start to let your kids watch scary movies, and do you stick to the age guidance on the movie itself? My kids are totally obsessed with vampires at the moment and have been asking heaps of questions about their mythology. I ascertained that they understood they were just made up, and considering they have seen all the Harry Potter movies I an letting them watch The Lost Boys so the Frogg brothers can educate them properly. My sister thinks they are far too young (aged almost 7 and 8) as this movie is a 15+, but I remember watching it in primary school, and my boys are not sensitive wee souls so I think they will be fine. What do you guys think, sensible child based parenting decision or setting them up for a future of psychology and trauma?

[Phteven]

No way I would let mine watch a 15+ movie but they are sooks who get scared by Toy Story 3.

[Tinks]

I think it depends on the child. My DS and DD1 were fine with scarier themes but DD2 still can't cope at almost 10. You're their parent, you know what they can and can't handle and will be there to explain and answer any questions they have.

[lilima]

Nope. There s a rating for a reason. 13-15 maybe, but 7, no way.

[Astrid]

Not sure if I can comment, as both girls (7 & 4) watch Doctor Who and that can get scary at times. I would think Lost Boys may be a bit much at their age. A lot more adult concepts going on than HP from what I can recall. Sometimes it is the adult concepts that are harder to deal with than the scary stuff.

I suppose if you feel confident showing them, you could start it off and just watch closely how they go.

[peanutter]

I think it depends on a lot of things, including how vivid their imagination is, how well they discern between myth and fact, how vividly they dream, what frightens them and how they respond, how much they will understand, how much brooding they do over different things, and more ...

In general, I think they're likely to be too young though.

[Trillian]

I'm probably not a great one to comment - I had watched all sorts of films by the time I was that age. Mum was really permissive about that sort of thing. I watched The Lost Boys when it was a new release - so I would have been 9-10. My kids have also watched some movies that others would baulk at, but I think they are able to process it so I let them watch. If you think that they will be fine with it, then I don't see a problem with letting them watch so long as you watch it with them. TBH, I don't think there would be anything in that movie that would be any more graphic than anything they would have watched in Harry Potter. And great choice of movie too. Much better to 'blood' them with The Lost Boys than with Twilight LOL.

[Novella]

You know your kids best, if you do let them I would watch it with them to check their reactions and aldo to answer any questions

My memory is terrible so I would rewatch it before hand to double check there aren't any scenes I may have forgotten or were more violent/scary than I remembered

[Tegam]

Nope. There s a rating for a reason. 13-15 maybe, but 7, no way.

Yelp this

[Traveller]

totally forgot to update this thread

I did let my boys watch The Lost Boys. The more I think about it I'm convinced I saw it when it was new release on video which would make me about 7 and as much as the old phrase "but it didn't do me any harm" is of course anecdotal nonsense, the fact is I loved movies like that from a young age. Both boys absolutely loved it, they asked heaps more questions about vampire mythology and then went straight to bed and slept well, no nightmares or concerns about sleeping. The next day then were playing at being vampires again. So I guess, like so many other aspects of parenting, I need to stop worrying about what society thinks and instead trust that I know my kids best

[AliBaby]

I can remember seeing scary movies when I was little. My dad always took us to the movies on his weekend and it was usually to watch what he wanted to see.

I remember watching Terminator 2 at the movies and I was 8. I remember being scared but not that scared. The nightmares I had as a kid were mainly about crocodiles. Go figure. Maybe from watching Crocodile Dundee LOL!

[briggsy's girl]

i remember watching scary movies early on too - never got nightmares from it.

DD is only three, and has already been around while we watched all the HP movies (i won't say she watched them, but she was in the room so watched parts of them) - she asked q's about what was happening, and we told her what was going on, that it was a movie, and they were pretending and this is what they are pretending to do. i tried to distract her on a couple of the more graphic bits (the snake etc) but she ended up seeing some of it with no ill effects.

i have anatomy books at home (full texts with cadaver shots/skeletons etc) which she likes to ask about, so we don't hide it from her - we put it in the simplest terms possible. she "watches" medical/crime shows (Bones, NCIS/CSI, ER) when they come on tv, and isn't afraid to ask what is going on. i think i'm taking her lead with it all - if it seemed to be distressing her, i'd pull the pin and not have it on any more kwim? i'm taking it based on her understanding and reactions. that's what my folks did....

Admittedly it's not vampires or anything like that - but i've been watching cartoons in the mornings lately, and waaaaay too many of them are loaded with violence in some way or another, so i figure, without eliminating TV completely (impossible given i can't dictate what my folks do at their house when DD is there), I figure we need to base our viewing in DD's waking hours upon what she can cope with...

FWIW - i think having seen all this stuff has been AWESOME for us in the last 12 months - she didn't freak out when she found me surrounded by blood when i was miscarrying - just called Daddy and asked him to get something to help me clean up. She coped amazingly well in the lead up and post-op period of her own surgery, more curious about what was happening than freaked out. even in post-op recovery with others who had more noticable surgeries etc - she didn't get wigged out at all. and now, with DH having dressing changed, large open wound, bleeding all the time - she isn't at all distressed by it. It gives me confidence that taking her lead and trusting that we'll see signs if something is too much for her has worked so far...

i guess, after all that waffle, we all have to go with our gut about what is appropriate for our own kidlets.

[Traveller]

lol, the scariest film I remember being upset by as a child was Return To Oz, those wheelie people freak me out to this day. I was also frequently upset by Wurzel Gummidge and scarecrows scare me even now. Terminator, not so much!

Having a look at the rating, The Lost Boys is the same rating as Harry Potter and the Dealthly Hallows which is a film a large amount of even 4 and 5 year olds have seen. Don't know why I worried

[Tinks]

You're right Trav. I remember my brother having nightmares over Hansel and Gretel but he happily watched Rambo.

[jlk]

I really think it depends on the kids

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Good for you, Trav. Making a parenting decision and not letting a government agency make it for you! (And I agree, Return to Oz was far scarier than Terminator - I wouldn't even read the Oz book until a few years ago, the Wheelies scared me that much!)

FWIW, I won't let Liebling watch Potter. He has played the Lego computer games and loves pretending to be Harry and Bellatrix and the like, but he cannot watch the films until he has read the books. It does annoy me that superhero films are all highly rated these days: while my 5yo would love to watch Spidey and Batman, it just ain't happening yet.

[Astrid]

Glad to know it went well for your boys Trav! Mine artists used to freak me out as a kid, I can blame the Goodies for that.