[darthgym]

How confident do you feel about using the MPAA guidelines for deciding what movies to let your children watch? In other words, at what age would you let your child see PG, PG-13, or even rated R films?

[twinzplus3]

Not at all. . .I find most people will let there kids watch TONS of stuff that I won't let my kids watch. I also find that what was once worthy of an R rating is now tame by comparison.

ETS: hmph!

[darthgym]

Originally Posted by twinzplus3

Not at all. . .I find most people will let there kids watch TONS of stuff that I won't let my kids watch. I also find that what was once worthy of an R rating is now tame by comparison.

ETS: hmph!

I get your point, but wasn't JAWS rated PG?

[twinzplus3]

Double hmph! Yes. . .I was informed that Jaws was only PG (imagine me blushing). All the same, I prefer to err on the side of caution with movies. I think that kids are highly influenced by movies. I also think too much screen time ruins kids' brains. So the less movies the better.

[jadis]

I never really had any restrictions growing up with what I could and couldn't wait (within reason of course- nothing XXX), and will probably do the same with this child. I was watching horror movies with my grandmother since I was 3 or 4, to the point where I would go over regularly to her place and we would have horror marathons. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Creeps, A Nightmare on Elm St, Sleepaway Camp......all the classics

I think that movies can have a negative affect if other factors are at play, or if the bad stuff isn't talked about. I never really had any issues discerning right from wrong when I was a child, and these movies never really changed that.

[pattiewrites]

We don't rely on ratings. I find the whole system very inconsistent, with some movies being worse than others in each rating category. We view movies first and decide what is or is not appropriate. My kids will sometimes ask, "Is this appropriate, Mommy?"

[twinzplus3]

Now see Jadis--I would've had nightmares!

[mcmama]

I find the ratings are inconsistent - not so much for R ratings when it comes to kids, but the pg and pg-13 determinations leave me wondering at times. I think you have to not rely on those, and make the determination based on the actual child and movie.

Jaws is a really good example. My older son when he was little was playing at a friends house and they watched Jaws - it was one of the little girl's favorite movies. He was freaked. I thought it was terrible they would let a little kid watch such a bloody movie. But then I had another child, and realized that kids are different.

My younger child is not quite so sensitive. He is 16 now, and not into horror movies, but when he was little he needed the action of pg rated movies that his brother really could not tolerate.

When he was 3, I took them to see the g rated cartoon movie "They're Back" about a bunch of dinosaurs that come back to life in NYC. There is a part where the friendly dinos go psycho and on a rampage. My older boy then looked at the younger one with concern that maybe this was a scary part and should he cover his brothers eyes. Well, the 3 year old was jumping on the seat yelling "YEAH!!! GO! GO! GO!!!!!"

A few years later we went to see the movie of "Lost in Space". We all hated it. The younger one dove under the seat, not on top of it. Not because he was scared, but because he was bored. That is one movie I would not recommend for the younger ones, because it is scary (and boring and stupid). But the old TV show is fun for kids. Much brighter colors, too. However, this same child loved Godzilla, which I thought was better than the original, (would have to be) but still a waste of special effects. And they throw bad language into it just to give it a pg 13 rating so they can justify that a monster movie is not rated pg.

Maybe we need a new rating between PG and PG-13. I suggest PG-DWR (Parental guidance - Danger Will Robinson!)

[darthgym]

When we plan on taking our kids to the movies, my wife and I nearly always preview a movie before we allow any of our children to see it. It seems that every time we think, "Surely this film would be alright to take the kids to!" without first screening it ourselves, SOMETHING is in the movie that we wouldn't have wanted our kids to see or hear.
As a result we end up waiting for just about every movie to come out on DVD. It is a rare treat for our kids to go see a movie in the theater. (It also is a REAL money saver. With the price of Admissions and concessions these days you can buy the DVD for less than the cost of 2 tickets) The last movie I went to was $11 for admission for just my ticket.

[AudreyOka]

I too can not watch horror movies. I have nightmares for weeks. My older daughter loves them. My younger daughter has seen one and is like her mom...she wont' ever watch another horror movie.

Pre 16, I was picky about what they watched. I really believe kids can become desensitized to things that they continue to see as normal. They see it on t.v., they see it in movies and they see it in their schools and neighborhoods. They become completely desensitized. So...I was pretty strict pre age 16. By the time they are 16, they know what's out there. They understand fact and fiction. They have pretty much heard about or seen it all. At 17 yes I'll let them see an R rated movie.