PG 13 movies--not for young kids???

[gillianna]

Am I missing something here???? It seems like quite a few of my friends think is is fine for their kids age 5-8 to rent and watch PG 13 movies. Example "Just my Luck", "Bring it on (that cheerleader movie)", I feel my daughter who is 7 is too young to be watching these movies nor to I want her to go to someone's house and watch them. My friends think I am crazy and that there is nothing wrong with these movies. I feel cursing and references to sex are not age appropriate for little kids.

Do others feel this way or is is just me?

 

[BeBeStyle]

I look for ratings before my kids watch movies. Its not just you!

 

[merika]

I look for ratings also. PG-13 means exactly that. I don't want my 7 yo exposed to anything he need not be.

 

[cutestmomever]

Some of these PG 13 movies are too much even for me!!

 

[Beach Bum]

It depends on the movie..I see them first and If I find unappropriate material..I dont let her watch it..My daughter is 11..some of these PG 13 movies ARE ok for her..Some arent...Parental pre screening HELPS!

 

[Syntagma]

I grew up in a family that let me watch The Exorcist, Rosemary's baby and other movies at a very young age. I do allow my oldest (he is 7) to watch alot of things that others would disapprove. I do watch everything BEFORE I allow him to watch it. He loves horror just like I did when I was young. I completely understand you wanting to shield your child from bad influences on television. Different strokes.

 

[LVmom]

I wonder about this, having an 11 year old. I don't let him watch PG13 with sex in it, but I will allow not so scary but somewhat vulgar movies. I never know what to rent during sleep overs, so as not to offend the other parents. However, the other parents seem to allow any PG 13, so I just never can tell appropriate or not.

 

[sweetlove]

I also grew up allowed to watch whatever I wanted or was on TV (of course, my parents would never buy me a video with the exorcist or take initiative to see it, but if it showed up on tv, they wouldn't deny me) and I think I turned out allright... However, wether I will let my kids watch movies that are rated for ages older than they are will totally depend on that child's maturity and/or ability to know that "movie is not for real" although of course, I will never take initiative to see a horror or action movie with my kids if/when I have some.

 

[Swanky]

I watched whataever I wanted growing up, in fact, I can remember as far back as 4th grade having my own TV, remote and cable in my bedroom, that was A LONG TIME ago.
There's a few PG's I let my almost 6 yr old watch, but not many.

 

[pidgeon92]

I worked in movie theatres for several years when I was younger. People brought children of all ages to see movies with R and NR ratings. It never ceased to amaze me.

 

[merika]

My son doesn't like many movies except animated features and documentaries like Popular Mechanics or Discovery Channel programs. He watched the beginning of 'The Return of the King' and grew uncomfortable at the strangling scene.

I thought to myself that he would see and hear of much more of that kind of stuff in real life when he grew older, and to let him preserve his innocence about the bad things people do to each other for a while longer.

 

[Christine]

We watched Employee of the Month last night (My bf, me and his 10 yr old) and I felt it inappropriate for the 10 yr old (girl).

 

[madamefifi]

That's a tough one! My DH gets very uptight about language and sexual content when we watch movies with his boys (2 12-yr-olds and a 14-yr-old) but their mother apparently lets them watch whatever they want, so it's hard to draw a line. The only thing I have a problem with is misogynistic-type sexual content, when women are portrayed as slutty bimbos whose only value is their physical attributes.

 

[bvbirdygirl]

7 is incredibly young!
i saw austin powers when i was 8, but i didnt know ANYTHING then, so nothing really affected me...i just liked the groovy colors lol.
i think these kids may not even understand half of these things...

 

[hell_lo_kitty]

I grew up in a home where there were no restrictions on movies and television. Sure if my parents thought it might be too much for me, they sometimes watched first or would make sure they were in the room with me. But I had no limits and I think I turned out fine.

When I was growing up I loved all the Disney movies and such to death, but two of my fav. movies were Pretty Woman and Silence of the Lambs, and I think I was around the 8 or 9 range when both of those movies came out. My parents tried very hard and were very good at explaining things to me, they didn't hide anything from me. They explained how things in movies aren't actually real and how some movies you just have to take for what they are on the surface, movies. I plan on doing this with my kids one day.

But I don't think it's wrong for anyone to want to be an informed and caring parent. You should be pround of the fact that you care, since there are a lot of children out there that live in homes without someone who cares. And I think this is an area where each family, each parent, and each child should be taken into consideration. To quote one of our lovely ladies above "Different strokes for different folks".