Is "An Inconvenient Truth" appropriate for kids?

[AuntNi]

I just got this from the library, and would like to watch it this rainy afternoon. But I'm not sure if it's appropriate to be on when my 6-yo is around. Any thoughts on this movie for kids?

[Bird Girl]

A 6-year old may not understand it. But if they do, exactly what can they do about it? Nothing, right? What could be better positioned to cause anxiety--tell them about a coming disaster that they have no power to stop? It's not like your 6 year old can vote, or purchase greener supplies for the home, or control how much he/she drives in a car. So why add such a large worry?

[Laggie]

I'm not sure where it came from, but I recently read the recommendation: "No disasters before grade 5." Meaning that kids aren't ready to understand things like earthquakes, tornadoes, etc until they're older.

DD gets obsessively worried about things like that. She can't comprehend the idea that it's very unlikely that our house will fall down in an earthquake or be struck by lightning. The fact that it "could" happen is enough.

Some kids, though, don't even consider that this stuff could happen to them. So I think it depends on your child. Also, the way "An Inconvenient Truth" is presented, I think most kids would wander away towards their toys pretty quickly. There's a lot of doomsday talk though that could be upsetting.

[AuntNi]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I haven't seen it myself, so I really had no idea what to expect. I'll wait until DD's in bed tonight before I watch it.

Bird Girl, ITA with what you're saying about why burden a child over something they can't control. It seems like all the nature books we read focus on disappearing habitats/danger of extinction. I don't like all the guilt that heaps on a little kid - after all, she's not the one logging the rain forests, y'know?

Thanks again!

PS - Unfortunately, because of where we live, DD's been through more than her shares of disasters. We've had two tornadoes come through our town since she was two, and we just felt the earthquake last week. But she totally loves "tornado drills," as she calls them, because I keep all the bottled water/junk food in the basement. Last time we had to shelter down there during a tornado warning, she had a bottle of water in one hand, a pretzel in the other, and was digging through boxes asking, "Now where are those Tootsie Rolls?" :LOL

[MammaKoz]

I let my DD watch it and she's 5. It opened up a great dialogue about the earth and the current state of it.

She did get a little worried and slightly overwhelmed yes, but that was nipped in the bud with giving her a little sense of control by explaining that we CAN help if we just do our little part and talk to others about recycling and using more environmentally friendly options for anything we can.

So now we recycle religiously, and she is in charge of making sure all lights are turned out in rooms that aren't being used and when we go out on walks etc we always take an extra bag to pick up litter (which is usually those nasty plastic shopping bags) etc along the way. She feels she is doing her part to help out yk?


I thought it was a great documentary. My 5 year old is UBER sensitive and she was fine with An Inconvenient Truth. I just made sure we talked a lot about it and she didn't go away with any undiscussed fears etc.

HTH!

[UUMom]

I don't see how it would benefit a small child who is already understanding of our need to care for the earth. Reuse* reduce * recycle, and love your mother. That's my message for little ones.

[jaidymama]

For Older Kids & Parents.... Use other resources to teach earth friendly lifestyle

It makes sense to me to save it for kids who are above grade 5. While your kid may not get scared or overwhelmed, I think developmental studies show us that the information presented in the movie would be difficult to digest. I think like most things it's best to watch it yourself first, then decide if it's appropriate for your child. Then again would you really know how much of the doomsday stuff your child has internalized?

Then again it depends on what your regular standards are for television and movies for your kids. For myself, my son watches simple things like Caillou and Little Bear. His cousins of similar age (3-8) have seen Star Wars and Spider Man movies.

If you want to teach your child about the world, you can teach about recycling and being earth friendly without the scare tactics that are presented in AIT. Come to think of it, most adults need that level of "get off your butt and do something about this problem because it's not going away" because adults have to CHANGE what they're doing. Kids don't have to change what they are doing, we have to teach them a good approach from the beginning.

[delicious]

my kids watched it with me. i think ds was 3 and dd was 6. they found it really interesting, a little sad maybe. we still talk about it all the time.

[Blu Razzberri]

Without having read the other responses; I don't see anything wrong with letting a 6 year old watch it. It's a "scary" movie; but in a way that I'm not sure a child would understand....it's a pretty big concept. It's not 'end of the world' scary; but more 'disaster' scary. Depends on your child. My 4-yo DS was kickin' around when we watched it; but it didn't keep his interest for long.

He did love this though: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

[mija y mijo]

Originally Posted by UUMom

I don't see how it would benefit a small child who is already understanding of our need to care for the earth. Reuse* reduce * recycle, and love your mother. That's my message for little ones.

I agree.

[gingerstar]

There was a great article some time back in Mothering about when it is appropriate for this sort of thing... I would have to say at least grade 5. I agree with UUMom - keep it simple and positive for any younger. There is enough to worry our kiddos without giving them stuff like this to worry about.

[BunniMummi]

I would want to see it first to decide. I know when I was in grade school (I'm not sure exactly how old but it wouldn't have been much older than yours) we were shown some enviromentalist video and it scared the hell out of me. I'm not sure I said anything to anyone at the time but I was convinced that by the time I was grown up there would be no vegetation left, the temperature was going to be barely livable on the planet and that I would never be having children because it would be too horrible a world to bring them into.

It took a long time (years) for me to get past that feeling, even when I was old enough to understand that the situation wasn't quite as dire as the video might have made it seem.

[flapjack]

The book (childrens version) is a fantastic resource for those old enough to read the words- yes, it's dating already but that's life. I haven't seen the film so can't comment.

[mommyoftwo]

I think that it totally depends on the child. My dd would totally understand and be really interested in most of the content but she is also very sensitive and has some anxiety issues. It would definately be something that would keep her up at night. (not that it doesn't keep me up at night too)

We have watched plenty of nonfiction type nature programs though.

[That Is Nice]

Absolutely! You'll just need to explain some things and put things in context. Granted, it's an adult movie, and a documentary at that, so a child might not be all that interested, depending on their age.

[That Is Nice]

Originally Posted by Blu Razzberri

He did love this though: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

I loved that too!