Kids and movies... how young is TOO young?

[libraryvixen]

I have a 6 year old daughter, B. While I'd like to think of her as this intelligent and sophisticated movie watcher (like her mommy! ), she's still 6 years old.

I take her to watch movies on a regular basis. Normally it's on opening weekend. My only movie mistake thus far was Mean Girls. I thought it would be a better version of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen... Mean Girls was a good movie... don't get me wrong... but not for B.

R and FB take B to the movies too. Mostly crap, but sometimes... PG 13. After I had told R about Mean Girls and how inappropriate it was for B to watch it, he took her to see it... with the 19 year odl girlfriend.

This weekend passed and B told me that her daddy took her and FB to see... Meet the Fockers. Now, I saw that movie without B and it was NOT a movie for kids.

I will let B watch a PG movie within reason. Both Shreks are PG, as was Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen . But you can usually tell when a PG isn't kid friendly.

What do you think? What do you let your kids watch? Am I being too freaked out about the Fockers? :confused:

What are your movie limits for your kids?

[Nephythys]

Some may think I am bad- but I don't set alot of limits, I let them set them. Rose doesn't like certain movies, and she can usually tell pretty quickly and she says so. I find her an alternative. The boys are older of course, and I let them see R movies, depending on why it's R. I avoid the sex themes, but will let them see scary movies or action flicks that are R- language I am not concerned about.

[Mousey Girl]

It all depends on the movie and why it was given the rating it was. He had seen the first 2 LOTR movies at home, when RotK came out I talked to him about it, and he wanted to go with us to the theater. He knew what to expect and was prepared for it.

he has seen the Mummy movies, and they don't bother him at all, but I made the mistake of watching Volcano in front of him and he did a minor freak.

With The Boy (who is barely 8), if the movie is fantasy then he can see a PG-13. If it is based (however loosly) on reality then no more than a PG.

[baileykat]

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/

I have found this site to be useful when picking movies for the kids! It's a site linked to Focus on The Family and tends to lean towards spiritual side of things..but if that isn't your cup of tea, it's still a great site for determining age appropriate movies.

I used it for Mean Girls...read that it wasn't going to be good for Kat to see...and didn't take her to see it. We saw it later and I was glad that we didn't let her see it in the theater.

We're starting to be a little more lenient on Bailey's movie watching...He ususally just covers his eyes for anything inappropriate...of course he's almost 10.

[mamabot]

I draw the line at unneccessary/gratuitous violence. Until they are much older, the kids are banned from seeing Spriderman 2. After the way the Green Goblin died in the first one, which we were not prepared for, we decided that the franchise was not for our family.

I agree with the Fantasy vs. Reality decision. I am fine with Brian watching the Star Wars films, but mainly because I know what to expect. I can explain the violence easily enough to him, especially since it is not especially gory. I am a bit concerned about SW Episode 3. I will have to watch it without him first. Darn.

Thank you for the link baileykat. I will have to bookmark it at work & home.

[sediment]

You know, movies nowadays will exist for quite some time. And your daughter will grow up over time, while the movie stays the same (George Lucas' films excepted), and then she can see the movies, either on DVD or at the local revival house.
And think of the money you save, if you can't see how these movies can cause your daughter to grow up a little too early, or be the one at school with the potty mouth that the rest of the kids are told to stay away from. Your call.

[ocnative1964]

my 6 year old daughter has seen 3-4 movies in the theater...

Incredibles
Nemo
Jonah

she did watch shreck 2 (at day care) but that is about the limit for a 6 year old girl, 90% G and maybe a pg that has been screened...

also she has 30 disney movies to watch already....

[Snacks]

The rating system...
PG13 means you have to be 13.... this is a grey area however... is it 13 cause of the language?
cause of violence?
cause of sex?
cause of nudity?

We generally watch them before the kids do or ask someone who has seen it before us.. I did not want my kids watching sex. There is no need. Language they hear on the play ground ( no school is perfect). Violence to some degree. Nudity is ok. NO SEX!
I tell them make a list when they are 14 they can rent them all..
They are old enough now that they watch most everything..( 13 + 12)
My Father told the boys that black and white westerns are called PG 60's and they can watch those all day long with him...
They always( my sons) ask what a movie is rated before they sit down to watch it.. old habits die hard.