Why I Won't Let My Child Watch The Muppets, Toy Story or The Lion King

We've always been pretty careful with what our kids watched, but years ago on Christmas Eve, my husband and I were busy getting the car packed to head to a family party, and our son turned on the TV. He was 8, it was totally okay for him to watch some TV while we got ready. He started watching what he thought was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (which even in it's original from is kind of scary) but it was spoof that freaked him out so badly, even now as a teenager he will say it was the scariest thing he ever saw. You can never be too careful with what your kids watch and how much supervision you give. Lesson learned the hard way!

Honestly, I think you aren't giving kids enough credit. While they won't get all the jokes... they'll get the core of the movie. And then, once they've seen Empire... the next time they see Toy Story 2, they'll get the joke. And you get to see them recognize that the movies have more than one level.

I watched Clue as a kid. To me, it was a movie where people ran around trying to solve the murder mystery. And it was hilarious. Then I grew up and was amazed by the things that went over my head. And I fell even more in love with the movie.

My husband and I went to see Toy Story before we even had kids ... and they watched it on DVD as soon as we bought it. While there were some things that were "over their heads", they loved it.

I have four teenagers in the house and we prescreen the movies that they watch in our house or at the movies. My 14 year old daughter is so mad that I won't let her watch Paranormal Activity 2 (or 3, which ever one is rated R) ... oh well ... she can just be mad.

Kudos to you. This is parenting at is purest. And while some may argue that, yeah, you're thinking way too much into it, its in the long run not going to hurt the child. I remember watching the Ghostbuster movies as a child (around 5 or 6) and the fact that mom watched it, recorded it to VHS and took out the parts that she thought would be too scary for her three little children (of which I was the oldest). I was shocked as an adult when I saw the bathtub scene for the first time, wondering why I hadn't remembered that scene until mom explained why she took it out. As an adult I'm okay with this, and understand why she did it.

But also remember each child is different so keep an eye on the kiddo and kiddette and realize that one may be ready for certain things at an earlier stage than the other.

Having been there, done that, I have to disagree with this. One thing I think that we parents are guilty of is over thinking things and not giving kids credit for being smart. Kids are a lot smarter than what we like to give them credit for. I worry that this kind of "micromanaging" of our kids will be counterproductive in the end. I was more apt to not let my son see things based upon how much sex and violence was in it than if he "got the jokes". I think it's presumptuous on our part to assume that our kids won't enjoy something because they don't understand a joke.

For the record, my son has seen "Cars," "Toy Story," most of "The Lion King" and (unfortunately) at least one of the "Chipmunks" movies. My daughter hasn't really watched movies yet, but she does watch "Phineas and Ferb" with her brother. So I'm not *that* anal.

It's true that a lot of these shows/movies work on multiple levels (including "Phineas and Ferb," which is why DH and I find it hilarious). I do worry slightly about spooking kiddo, mainly because he's the sort who wouldn't ring doorbells during trick-or-treating because of all the "scary stuff" on the houses -- though he was perfectly happy to take the candy. But really I'm just hoping the kids love these movies as much as I do.

Anne -- Yeah, you're right about Shakespeare. I always thought that was pretty clever of him. And shoot, I missed Serial Killer Sunday?

And Leighbra, that is the cutest thing ever.

I completely agree! People find us overprotective, even going so far as to criticize us, saying that our kids will be 'freaks'. Yup, believe it. But I would rather wait until they're ready...in time, they can watch the good ones. And I will continue to pre-screen. My blog: http://fourunder4plustwo.blogspot.com/

This is up to you and all, but I think you're being overly cautious. Of course, a two-year-old probably shouldn't be taken to Deathly Hallows, but I'd say it's more because it's a more cerebral flick, so the little rugrat would probably not be very engaged, and would end up trotting all over the theater or at least being a nuisance. But worrying if the kids get the Star Wars references in Toy Story? That type of reference is an 8th grade literature standard in California. Are you seriously going to wait until junior high for a kiddie cartoon? How are you going to control whether your Child of the New Millennium even thinks of Star Wars? It's not like it's absolutely necessary to understand it to get some enjoyment out of staring at Woody and Buzz Lightyear for two hours. Those types of jokes/references are thrown in so that the parents enjoy the show a bit. Shakespere did the same thing by having "low humor" for the groundlings (sex jokes) and "high humor" for the merchant/royal set (complex puns, references to other literature, etc.). Should the groundlings have been sent packing? No! They were the theater's freaking bread and butter!

My three year old godson watches the Lion King on repeat and as far as I know, he's never been any worse for wear. Seriously, your kids are growing up in the age of "everything all of the time." You think you're going to protect them by denying them the fricking Lion King when every other cable channel is doing some version of Shark Week and Serial Killer Sunday?

When I was three, my mother meant to take me to some Benji movie, but due to some misunderstanding, we ended up at "Oh Heavenly Dog." It's a horrible Chevy Chase flick. I mean, NAS-TAY. My mother, being the very "waste not, want not" person she is, she simply kept watching the movie and just laughed and said "I don't know" when I asked questions. This is one of my most cherished moments from childhood. And it happened at a crap movie that was completely inappropriate for children and I pretty much understood as a Benji flick with a lot of humans.... too many humans. And I didn't have nightmares, It was probably a blessing I didn't get the jokes. And my mother would've given me the Portuguese Mother Secret Arm Pinch if I'd been bothering anybody in that theatre.

Way more harmful is all this emphasis on princesses. I'd take scary any day of the week.

I'm huge for not letting my kids do/see/read things. I take a lot of heat from other parents for the things I say no to. I didn't catch how old your daughter is, but... The best part of watching these movies WITH your kids is that they show you how to appreciate the movies in whole NEW ways. Our personal experiences aren't the end all be all. When you watch that movie for the 1st time, curled up with your kids, you'll realize that YOU never truly appreciated that movie. When my son, then maybe 3, started calling himself Schmendrick, the Magician after watching The Last Unicorn, it made me love that movie 1000 times more.

What you feel comfortable exposing your child to is a personal decision, but like others, I disagree with the "they have to get it to like it" idea. What makes me want to watch a movie over and over is the layers of understanding. The first time you watch, you take away something. When you watch again, you discover something else. And for each of us, it's something different. You can't expect your children to appreciate and enjoy the same things that you do (even as they grow older), but that seems like an unfortunate reason for not giving them the opportunity to create their own takeaway.

As for the fear aspect, yeah. There are very few movies that don't have scenes that have the potential to downright terrify a child. Cars was a good early movie intro, actually. But here's another parenting lesson... there's a very good chance that your child will be unfazed by the thing you think it the most scary, and be completely terrified by something you couldn't have anticipated. Kids see the world through their own lenses. I guess my advice is to keep on making difficult parenting decisions, but maybe stop TRYING so hard. It's easy to over-think every little choice, but as much as that scene may have scared you as a child... you're probably not still scarred by it. Fear happens. It's how we handle it that makes a difference.

I disagree too.

My child is 2.5 yrs old and his favorite movies are Toy Story 2 and The Lion King. Sure, he doesn't understand EVERYTHING on the movie, but they are his absolute faves. He reenactes scenes from Toy Story with his Buzz Lightyear that he has. I think it's precious. Are there a fight scene or two? Sure. But I use those as teachable moments. Is Scar mean? sure. But we talk about if he is acting like we would want to act with our friends, if Simba should obey his daddy (and the consequences that happen when he doesn't). I think in some ways it helps give a great lesson to my son that he may otherwise overlook if it's just me and my words.

I am also hypersensitive about what we let the kiddo watch. If there is only one particularly sensitive part we'll fast forward right on through without thinking twice. Usually its okay, sometimes he questions us. I think pre screening is important and more people should do it.

Hmm.

I disagree with the "they can't like the movie if they don't understand it" concept. Sure they can. The truth is that Toy Story, while hilarious for adults, was written for children. The physical humor is great. The one-liners directed at their age and understanding are classic. And the stuff that's thrown in for me? Is just a bonus. Someday, someday far, far in the future, they'll watch it with their kids and realize why mommy and daddy didn't mind sitting and watching it with them for the umpteenth billion time.

Don't let them miss out (when they're old enough to understand anything, not meaning NOW) just because they won't understand some jokes. I mean, heck, I wouldn't be allowed to watch ANYTHING with pop culture references if you had to have a full background in order to find it funny/like it. Funny translates across pop culture divides as long as it's actually funny. I promise.