Your children and movie ratings

[Miss Chicken]

I am asking this here rather than General Media because I know there are many parents who post in Miscellaneous and this thread is more about being parents rather than the movies themselves.

On another site a woman complained complained in a thread that she took her 7 year old son to see "Knowing". She said she knew nothing about the movie beforehand having not seen any trailers etc.

During the first intense scene her son was scared and crying. The woman took him outside for a while but she thought that the rest of the movie might be OK so she talked him into going back in.

I commented that she should have taken notice of the PG-13 rating.

She said that many movies with PG-13 ratings are aimed at children (Indiana Jones, Transformers etc).

So I was wondering how many parents here do take notice of ratings of movies, TV shows, games, books etc. Would you ever consider letting a 7 year old watch something with a PG-13 rating?

 

[John Picard]

The PG-13 rating means that children *UNDER* 13 probably shouldn't watch that movie. The rating was created due to a particularly "gory" scene in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which was rated PG. The G rating, meaning General Audiences, is more suitable for a 7-year old.

Learn about the movie ratings system here.

 

[Sledder]

I wouldn't think that a PG-13 movie would be appropriate for a 7 year old. Some movies might be ok but as a parent I'd have to screen the movie first. Now some mature 10 or 11 year olds would likely have no problem with a PG-13 movie but the idea behind the rating is that it's for ages 13+

 

[Sephiroth]

whats worse is a woman bringing a collicky baby to an R rated film at 9:30pm on a tuesday, HAPPENS TO ME EVERY FUCKING TIME! :rant:

 

[John Picard]

whats worse is a woman bringing a collicky baby to an R rated film at 9:30pm on a tuesday, HAPPENS TO ME EVERY FUCKING TIME! :rant:

So stop going to the movies at 9:30pm on Tuesdays!

 

[Sephiroth]

what sane person goes to see a 9:30pm showing of Zatoichi at large on a tuesday night?

 

[John Picard]

what sane person goes to see a 9:30pm showing of Zatoichi at large on a tuesday night?

Quite right.

 

[Sephiroth]

yeah, I could have worded that better, couldn't have I?

 

[trampledamage]

I would never let my children see a movie that I hadn't already seen. Admittedly my two are aged two and four and their film viewing experience so far is Toy Story, Cars and The Incredibles.

 

[Sledder]

I'd take my kids to any G rated movie sight unseen. This weekend I took my 3.5 year old to Monsters vs Aliens and he loved it.

Anything above a G rating needs to be checked out for young kids IMO.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, it's Parental Guidance, not restricted. PG-13 are basically movies where they caution letting kids in under 13. As a parent, you have to make that judgment call. PG-13 movies aren't aimed at children, but some are OK for children to see.

If we're into arbitrary ages, 7 seems a bit young, though, especially if your kid gets disturbed by things like that.

 

[cultcross]

I think it depends somewhat on the child - I wasn't at all sensitive as a child, and I could 'disconnect' with gore in films perfectly well. But if a kid is a bit more easily affected, I'd perhaps pre-screen anything that wasn't specially fro younger kids, or ask another parent who'd seen it.

 

[Hermiod]

Here in the UK we have this ridiculous 12A certificate. It used to be just '12', meaning that if you are under 12 you can't see the movie no matter who accompanies you.

Then Spider-Man came out. Loads of parents complained to cinema managers that they weren't allowed to take their children to see a "children's film" (which, as far as I am concerned equals pure fail on their part). In the UK however, local councils have the power to override the BBFC and change the certificate on a local basis.

So now we have the 12A, which means that children under 12 are not allowed in unless accompanied by an adult which has resulted in children way under 12 being taken to see movies a few years ago they wouldn't have been allowed in to see. The spirit of the change was to allow relatively mature 10 and 11 year olds in, not the five year olds who didn't understand Hulk and cried all the way through because of it.

 

[opali]

She said that many movies with PG-13 ratings are aimed at children (Indiana Jones, Transformers etc).

So I was wondering how many parents here do take notice of ratings of movies, TV shows, games, books etc. Would you ever consider letting a 7 year old watch something with a PG-13 rating?

Definitely depends on the child. My eight year old loves the Goosebumps series of books, but my nine year old won't touch them. Even my six year old watched Harry Potter and had no issues. She didn't like Voldemort of course, but she loves Hermione and the twins and Ron made her laugh so it balanced out. If there is something that makes them uncomfortable, they don't finish watching it, or will not watch it again.

I would not walk into a PG-13 movie with my seven year old without even taking the time to review it online, much less complain about it if I did. It's my responsibility, not theirs.

Regardless, I figure they have time to enjoy all types of movies as they get older so there is no rush to take them to a movie they won't really get, or that might give them baseless fears as a result.

Incidentally, my eight year old was given permission to watch a video last night. I came up to see what she had picked and there she was eating Doritos and watching Laurel and Hardy, "Flying Deuces" episode from 1939.

Now there's a girl with good taste.

 

[CorporalClegg]

This reminds me of when I went to see TDK.

This woman brought her two kids who looked to be between five and nine. She probably thought "Oh. Well it's Batman," without doing any research.

The poor kinds were terrified and the younger one started crying (Only ruining it for the rest of us).

Those guidelines are there for a reason.

 

[JuanBolio]

I watched R rated movies from about age 7 on. My mom was pretty liberal about that kind of stuff. I plan to do the same with my kids. At home, anyway. If they made a fuss in a theater, though, there will be consequences.

 

[cultcross]

This reminds me of when I went to see TDK.

This woman brought her two kids who looked to be between five and nine. She probably thought "Oh. Well it's Batman," without doing any research.

The poor kinds were terrified and the younger one started crying (Only ruining it for the rest of us).

Those guidelines are there for a reason.

To be fair, while she was stupid to take her kids TDK was underrated for little other reason than the bullying power of Warner Brothers. There's some pretty dark stuff in that film, and yet it was a 12A here. So, accompanied by an adult, a 3 year old could go see it. I'm all for parental responsibility on these things, but how is a parent who doesn't scour the internet spoiler boards really supposed to tell the differecne between 12A-rated happy-cartwheeling-cheesy-fun Spiderman and dark destruction-of-the-human-soul drama Dark Knight? It should have been a 15.

 

[QuasarVM]

I restrict movies to my kids based on rating under normal circumstances. However, if there is a PG-13 film that I have seen and consider harmless, then I will occasionally let the kids watch it.

 

[SinglePurpose]

When I saw Borat there were these two kids that were about 10 that were right in front of me. As soon as the nude wrestling scene started they started going "eeeew" and their mother came up (that's right she wasn't even sitting with them) and tried to calm them down. Some parents annoy me.

 

[Kelso]

the five year olds who didn't understand Hulk and cried all the way through because of it.

That was me.

Incidentally, my eight year old was given permission to watch a video last night. I came up to see what she had picked and there she was eating Doritos and watching Laurel and Hardy, "Flying Deuces" episode from 1939.

Now there's a girl with good taste.

I introduced Flying Deuces to my eight year old niece on our last family vacation.

She loved it.