I'd agree with this.
Age to allow child to watch Star Wars for first time
- Thread starter Tom Hendricks
- Start date
Saw it when I was 5. It didn't scare me or scar me, I guess it just comes down to what you think is acceptable for your child at this time. I have a 5 year old daugher that loves Star Wars.
Most children I know have watched Star Wars by the time they are three or four. I'd be less concerned about them being disturbed by it, and more concerned about the playground your house will turn into for the ensuing six hours after the movie ends. It's gonna be loud, and stuff's gonna get broke. 
Nonsense, you're projecting your own personal distaste for the movie. Kids love Episode I.
Same here. I was seven when A New Hope came out originally, and my little brother was six months old, and my mom saw no problem with taking both of us to see it.
We try to skirt the line when it comes to be over protective. I give my kids plenty of lead, I never want to smother or be a hover parent. It just never occurred to me that he would want to watch Star Wars this young. I wan't to temper their exposure to violence. Not that I'm against letting them see violence, just the amount and severity of it at this age.
Maybe he will when he's older but now? He'll eat up Episode I like it's candy and love it.
Maybe on Bizarro Earth, but not in this reality.
Know one knows your kids better than you do.
Personally, I would err on trying out new things and gauging the response, and using that info in making future selections for your kids. The worst thing that could happen is an easily forgotten nightmare and a brief dialogue. More than likely, They'll have a great time and their imagination will get a nice rush.
I was allowed to watch pretty much anything on television. For me it was a true blessing . All the movies really inspired my imagination, and made me ponder new issues or historical events. I saw Indiana Jones and it inspired me to read about WWII and the ark. Action and monster movies made me appreciate special effects and I started building models and similar crafts.
I do understand the desire to limit violence. My uncle has children of his own now (not so young anymore) but he was very strict on television and violent play. It took me awhile to understand that because I enjoyed that stuff a lot. I played really rough when I was growing up in the country. Fighting, staged gunfights, tying each other up, not much was off limits, pretending to be cowboys or ninjas.
Personally, I would err on trying out new things and gauging the response, and using that info in making future selections for your kids. The worst thing that could happen is an easily forgotten nightmare and a brief dialogue. More than likely, They'll have a great time and their imagination will get a nice rush.
I was allowed to watch pretty much anything on television. For me it was a true blessing . All the movies really inspired my imagination, and made me ponder new issues or historical events. I saw Indiana Jones and it inspired me to read about WWII and the ark. Action and monster movies made me appreciate special effects and I started building models and similar crafts.
I do understand the desire to limit violence. My uncle has children of his own now (not so young anymore) but he was very strict on television and violent play. It took me awhile to understand that because I enjoyed that stuff a lot. I played really rough when I was growing up in the country. Fighting, staged gunfights, tying each other up, not much was off limits, pretending to be cowboys or ninjas.
All these parents ( and I know one ) refusing to show them Episode I first... or at all..
God forbid they end up having different tastes.
I watched them all with my nephew when he was 4 going on 5. He's (a bit too) sensitive and so I had to remind him once and a while that it was "just people pretending" but otherwise it was fine.
On the other hand, I was watching "Ghostbusters" repeatedly when I was 4 and that film has much more material I'd consider "adult" than any/all of the Star Wars films. I also saw "Terminator 2" at age 7 and loved it.
IMHO, we've become a bit too overly concerned with over-protecting our kids as a whole. I think much more they each need to be judged individually as to what they can and can not handle. Some kids can handle a particular film at 3 or 4, while others might not be able to handle that same film until 6 or 7. Some still not until 10 or 11 or older even. It really all depends on the individual child rather than any specific "3 or up" age range rating like for toys. The kid isn't going to choke on the movie, after all. :P
IMHO, 4 is fine for Star Wars and almost all of Star Trek (I'm leary of 2 6 8 and 10 for kids that young) and the 70s/80s Superman films and so on.
Really tho... what do you think he can handle?
And have you considered letting him see the cartoon Clone Wars first, perhaps?
On the other hand, I was watching "Ghostbusters" repeatedly when I was 4 and that film has much more material I'd consider "adult" than any/all of the Star Wars films. I also saw "Terminator 2" at age 7 and loved it.
IMHO, we've become a bit too overly concerned with over-protecting our kids as a whole. I think much more they each need to be judged individually as to what they can and can not handle. Some kids can handle a particular film at 3 or 4, while others might not be able to handle that same film until 6 or 7. Some still not until 10 or 11 or older even. It really all depends on the individual child rather than any specific "3 or up" age range rating like for toys. The kid isn't going to choke on the movie, after all. :P
IMHO, 4 is fine for Star Wars and almost all of Star Trek (I'm leary of 2 6 8 and 10 for kids that young) and the 70s/80s Superman films and so on.
Really tho... what do you think he can handle?
And have you considered letting him see the cartoon Clone Wars first, perhaps?
My 3 boys grew up watching all the Star Wars movies from an early age. Their dad would sit in the midst of them, just like the 4'th little kid. No matter how many times they watched them, it was a serious cinematic event. Those were good times.
Just be there to answer any questions that might pop up.
Just be there to answer any questions that might pop up.
Just sit your kids down on a Sunday night to watch the exciting mystery film Blue Velvet. After that you won't be concerned about Star Wars at all.
I think only you as parents can decide this, because I'm not sure I can relate to your concerns about Star Wars at all. It's essentially a harmless cartoon both in terms of the themes and violence on display. The more psychologically deep themes in the OT (mainly in ESB, with only mild stuff in SW and ROTJ) will simply go way over the head of a kid, I think. TPM is harmless in this regard too (I actually think he might enjoy it the most at his age). AOTC will probably just bore him at age 4 (I think you need to be around 7 or so to enjoy it the most). ROTS actually has some of the most psychologically powerful stuff in it. That one, I can understand delaying quite a bit more.
I have a 6 year old who is very into Star Wars - Darth Vader is by far her favorite character. She saw Star Wars at age 5, hasn't made it through Empire yet because she gets sorta lost in it and doesn't care for the romance, and was frightened at the end of ROTJ when Vader took off his mask - had nightmares frightened. We recently showed her TPM, which she pronounced "really boring", wanting to know how that little kid could be Darth Vader.
I was surprised that it was the maskless Vader that upset her, as opposed to the Emperor or the general violence. My point is - every kid is different, and its hard to predict what a kid will react to. I tend to use Common Sense Media as a guide - though I think they skew a little to the cautious side. If they recommend a movie for age 7, I'll let a six-year-old watch it.
Meanwhile, my daughter spends hours going through her Star Wars character guide book, wanting to know which ones are bad guys and which ones are good guys.
So, I'd say this - you're probably safe letting your 4 year old watch Star Wars and/ or TPM. But I'd wait a little while on the others.
I was surprised that it was the maskless Vader that upset her, as opposed to the Emperor or the general violence. My point is - every kid is different, and its hard to predict what a kid will react to. I tend to use Common Sense Media as a guide - though I think they skew a little to the cautious side. If they recommend a movie for age 7, I'll let a six-year-old watch it.
Meanwhile, my daughter spends hours going through her Star Wars character guide book, wanting to know which ones are bad guys and which ones are good guys.
So, I'd say this - you're probably safe letting your 4 year old watch Star Wars and/ or TPM. But I'd wait a little while on the others.
All these parents ( and I know one ) refusing to show them Episode I first... or at all..
God forbid they end up having different tastes.
Well, there's no reason to refuse to show it. The problem is just that it's so damn irrelevant to all the other movies, and has such an illogical, confusing plot that it just feels like such a waste of time. The only entertainment value it has is cheap slapstick humor, an overlong race, and the Darth Maul fight. The rest is pretty boring. Skipping it (or showing it last as an extra) actually has the benefit of presenting a less confusing, more compact story, and you wouldn't be missing anything important either.
It's an ok stand alone kids movie, but barely essential to the Star Wars saga.
My son's 5 and he's seen all 6 films, altough I made him turn his head during the end of the Mustafar duel. That one moment is the only one that I know is too much for him.
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