I want my daughters to have a sheltered childhood. I want them to not be afraid of things. I want them to feel safe.
Will is watching King Kong, now I am sure its a "great" film, but it bothers me. I know people who took their 5 year old children to see it. I can NOT fathom letting Rhayn watch that movie! It is too scary.
When I was growing up, the scariest things we ever saw were on Star Trek (that thing the worm-like creature that goes in Chekov's ear on The Wrath of Khan... ewww. That is the stuff of my nightmares!) I had a very happy carefree childhood.
There is nothing more that I want, than for my kids to feel that way, the way I felt about my childhood, happy and comfortable with it.
Back to that movie, if you have seen it, would you let your young child see it? Why or why not? I guess Rhayn is very sensitive to "deaf" as she calls death. She worries when people die, and asks a gazillion questions that I often do not have answers for. And- well honestly I have NO desire to see that movie, good thing Will agrees with me that Rhayn doesn't need to see it either.
4 comments:
I probably would let my Sarah watch it if only because she's always been a no nonsense type of kid and has always shown good judgment. she knows her limits well. i actually just borrowed Gremlins from the library b/c I loved it so much as a kid, but it scared the crap out of her and she turned it off. (afterward i realized I was 10, not 6.5 when I watched it~doh!)
i see it as a very individual thing. eamon might prove far more sensitive and i might have to shield him far more than sarah. sarah has always seemed older than her years and she will promptly say: "I don't think I'll like that. It's too scary." And we always have really open dialogue about what we've watched if it's questionable. This is how she knows about drag queens, domestic violence, homelessness, etc. she sees it on the streets. she catches it in the media. we talk.
i can only hope i'm doing okay. i was raised on SNL, National Lampoons films~ basically a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. I also LOVED horror films and books by the time I was 9,10,11. i'm sure it was "inappropriate" but it never harmed me. so who knows?
i wasn't so shielded, I guess.
blatant ugly violence like a Steven Segal film is ridiculous and I wouldn't let my kids or myself watch it. But fantasy stuff with some fighting, etc. I 'm pretty much okay with.
I think you're doing the right thing by KNOWING YOUR OWN child and what her limits are. Gosh, this parenting stuff will do your head in, no?
I'm with your camp - Preservation of the child. I asked the boys if they thought letting a 5 year old watch King Kong would be okay and they thought I was joking. They went on to list all the things that could be scary for one and then asked w/ big eyes, "You know a 5 year old that watched it?" IMO - there is no reason to watch such a film at any age - gore, guts and greed. But you are the mommy and if you question it then watch it first and then see if you think she could handle it. But just like we taked about w/ clothing - it's your call ultimately. gone are the days where you could sit down as a family and watch a movie. Every weekend we come to that conundrum - do a search for "parents preview" and it will list all movies and give you info on what kind of grade it gets in certain deptarments.
Well, I'm definately old fashioned when it comes to what my kids watch. I won't let any of my kids watch anything that is rated PG-13. That way I don't have to worry about that part of it. There are a few PG movies I don't really like them to watch, and I screen anything they watch anyway. I just don't see the need in filling their heads full of any garbage, whether it's violence or language or adult situations. Let them be kids. The world wants them all to grow up fast and know everything about everything. There is nothing wrong with innocence. And some of my kids have seen more than their share of stuff in their short lives already, no need filling them with more of it.
Thanks, it makes me feel better, to know that I am not the only one who wants to shelter them, even just a little. They will have plenty of time in their life to watch stupid movies that will make them wonder why they watched them.
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