Age to watch various movie ratings - Page 2

[One_Girl]

I tend to take it on a case by case basis.  Many kids movies are PG these days even though they are much tamer than the G rated versions from my childhood.  Some PG-13 movies are also kid friendly, Adams Family and Doctor DoLittle are two that come to mind.  It really depends on the movie and the reason behind the rating for me.  R is not a rating I feel comfortable with yet though.

As for the Hunger Games, I read the first book and I wouldn't let my dd see it.  I told her what it was about and she decided she would rather not see it anyways so it wasn't an issue for us.  I was surprised to learn that the books were targeted towards kids, but I think they mean kids meaning teenagers not kids meaning elementary school children.

[LynnS6]

I think it completely depends on the child. My kids are really really sensitive to visual images and so we've severely restricted movies. My kids are able to handle things in books (such as Harry Potter) that they can't handle in movies (dd spent most of the Harry Potter movie with the dementors upstairs waiting for the scary parts to be over -- no way would she have been able to do a theater). Other kids aren't as bothered by visual images, but I know my kids, their tendency toward nightmares and their sensitivity to visual imagery.

[ashleyhaugh]

I think it depends on the kid, the movie, and your family...ds is 4.5, and there are some "kid things" I don't let him watch, like sponge Bob, but he likes Harry potter, and LOVES the narnia Movies

[Storm Bride]

hmm...I thought I'd replied on this thread.

Which movies I let my children watch, at what ages, varies wildly from movie to movie, and from child to child. DS1 could watch anything (he could watch stuff that would turn my stomach) from a very early age. He had an amazingly precocious grasp of the difference between tv/movies and reality, and has never been "haunted" by anything he's watched. He's never had a nightmare or anything like that. My other kids aren't quite like that, though.

The first thing I do if I'm thinking about letting my kids watch something is go to imdb.com and check out the content advisory on the movie. There have been a couple that dh and I were thinking about, and then found from the advisory that they were nothing like we'd been expecting, and were completely inappropriate for our kids. I haven't done any prescreeening, as I find the imdb advisory tends to lay it out for me pretty well...and getting screen time without the kids around is almos timpossible, anyway.

[meemee]

one huge difference i have noted is the movie experience vs the at home tv screen experience.

some movies i wont let dd watch on the big screen. like hunger games. nope. only because of the 'thinking' aspect and to see all that emotionality - nope. my kid is not ready to handle it. she will be ok but i know it has the potential to pursue her thoughts and dreams for a long time.

however i have given in to hunger games the book. she really, really wants to read them. and i have shared my misgivings about it and we have come to a happy medium where she will stop reading if it gets too intense for her. 

my dd has been watching PG-13 for a long time. as others have pointed out it really depends on the child. at 4 dd could watch certain PG13 movies but not some G movies. she loved spiderman the movie but she could not sit through A Bugs life. how on earth that got a G rating with a character like Hopper I dont know. 

so what i am saying 4 weeks ago when u first posted and i read it - i said absolutely not. 

now 4 weeks later i am buying my dd the series of books (most of her 4th graders have read it, some said they wish they hadnt - dd has talked to both camps and decided she still wants to try it). 

we'll see how she does after the book to figure out if she wants to watch the movie or not. 

[KaliShanti]

My husband was seriously disturbed by the hunger games movie. So if he was, I would say no way to a child. That means, non-adult. But really, media is very subjective in lots of ways. We are very strict with what our kids watch. But we as parents are pretty strict with ourselves as well. We rarely watch R... Like pretty much never. And we don't watch pg13 with a lot of sexual content either.

My dh and I are in the film industry. We know the effects visual media has on the mind and heart. Reading books, however acti e your imaginationis, is not the same as watching a movie.

[MichelleZB]

In general, the MPA ratings system is kind of arbitrary, so it really does depend on the movie's content, not the rating, and also your values. For instance, I'm quite happy to let my son watch some sexier content, but am less cool with the violence. Ratings do not reflect this preference, so it's pretty important to review the movies first.

[JollyGG]

I didn't let my son read or watch the Hunger Games, but we just came from The Avengers after watching it as a family including my 6 year old and my 9 year old. So clearly the rating alone isn't an issue for us. Both movies are PG13.

We also use Internet web sites that describe potential objectionable materials. We also consider the what we know of other similar movies and talk to friends who have seen movies.

[queenjane]

Originally Posted by JollyGG 

I didn't let my son read or watch the Hunger Games, but we just came from The Avengers after watching it as a family including my 6 year old and my 9 year old. So clearly the rating alone isn't an issue for us. Both movies are PG13.

We also use Internet web sites that describe potential objectionable materials. We also consider the what we know of other similar movies and talk to friends who have seen movies.

Just curious....what was it about The Hunger Games that you didnt want your children to see? I took my daughter who is 10, she is not a very deep thinker so i wasnt sure she would really "get" the themes involved. With a younger child that would be my only worry, would they really "get" it (issues of freedom vs. oppression, etc)....my two 4 yr old boys are REALLY into superheroes right now, and i kinda wanted to take them to see The Avengers but i wondered how violent is is and heard there are huge long stretches of just crazy fight scenes. I'm not super opposed to film "violence" but it might be too much for them.

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by queenjane 

Just curious....what was it about The Hunger Games that you didn't want your children to see? I took my daughter who is 10, she is not a very deep thinker so i wasn't sure she would really "get" the themes involved. With a younger child that would be my only worry, would they really "get" it (issues of freedom vs. oppression, etc)....my two 4 yr old boys are REALLY into superheroes right now, and i kinda wanted to take them to see The Avengers but i wondered how violent is is and heard there are huge long stretches of just crazy fight scenes. I'm not super opposed to film "violence" but it might be too much for them.

I don't really consider the two movies even in the same categories. One is about children killing other children and one is basically a live action cartoon. While both are in fictional universes, the universe with the giant green man feels a lot more fictional to kids. While every kid wants to be a superhero that is different than already being a kid. Seeing kids placed in the situation that the Hunger Games does is going to feel a lot more real and personal. My son actually has a sister he would do anything to protect, he doesn't actually have a superhero alter ego.

Heck 1/2 of the movie fight scenes are amongst characters on the same "side" so you know as the fight starts that they will make up and be friends again once it's over. That is very different than 22 children dying while an audience cheers them on.

Hunger Games would just be way to personal and real for my kids. They'd basically "get" it far to well. The issues of oppression, freedom, corruption, etc. would bother my son a lot.

Plus my kids had already seen the Iron Man movies and the Spider-man movies so I knew that they were comfortable with the cartoon violence that the story portrays. 

[JollyGG]

oops double post.

[JudiAU]

My husband and I loved the Avengers but there is no way it is suitable for a young child. Very violent. I like http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/avengers because they are very specific in their concerns. They provide their own age rating and this case it is age 13.