Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Movies and Gifted Children

Our DS is seven and has led a pretty sheltered life so far. (Unless you consider what I'm now witnessing outside my window...he's driving our ride-on lawn mower under dad's scrutiny. Hummm...I wonder if this is a precursor to taking the family car for a spin? Yikes! )

Back to my thought: We try to regulate what he watches on tv and have done this since he was very little. He is sensitive, so we didn't want to contribute to "nightmare material."

I want to know how other parents help their children choose what movies and tv to watch; or not.

A recently found site: Kids In Mind

From the site: "Since our system is based on objective standards, not the viewer's age or the artistic merits of a film, we enable concerned adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children according to their own criteria."

I pre-watch all new material, which means we don't watch a lot of movies. DS2.7 has watched the Toy Story trilogy, the original Winnie the Pooh movie (fast forwarding through the Heffalump scene), and The Incredibles.

(I have to put in a plug for The Incredibles, as its message of using your gifts to the fullest resonates well with a GT audience. This is DS' favourite movie--he loves the super hero baby, Jack Jack, and has glommed onto a line by the sarcastic fashion designer, Edna Mode. Highly recommend.)

A site I consult for some of our media is www.commonsensemedia.org, and I reference the parent reviews. Generally, I try to identify potentially objectionable scenes from the comme ts and read the transcript for that section of the movie, as that can save me time watching material that will just be upsetting to DS.

This might be overkill for an older child, but it works for us now.

I find that DD6's sensitivities are so idiosyncratic that other people's ratings don't work. I have to judge for myself on a case by case basis.

When she was younger I kept her to minimal screen time, not because I think it's evil, but because I believe that passive viewing is a learned skill, and I wasn't in any rush for her to learn that.

We've started to watch movies fairly recently. Beyond basic screening for material I don't think she's ready for, my more important criterion is finding interesting stuff to fill her mind with. So far she has watched Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and the first three Wallace & Gromit movies. I'm thinking of trying Totoro next. I would love to hear other people's suggestions, not just of movies that are non-objectionable, but of movies that are really worth watching.

I just asked DD17 what her favourite film was when she was little, Matilda (because she was clever and could do magic).
We usually kept films for wet sunday afternoons, she mostly watched documentaries and some kids TV. What I have found is that she regulates herself very much now, she has shows that she watches to chill out (brain candy) but has also discovered Shakespeare especially Hamlet, 3.5 hours nearly put her Father and I into a coma, but she loved it.
As for sensitivities some films would upset her, but we talked things through and she learned the difference between film and real life. Real life apparently isn't scary it is just films that are, go figure.

We watch a lot of movies, because DD has a long attention span and movies are usually of a higher quality than random kids TV shows, with more complicated story lines and more sophisticated character development etc (depending on the movie of course, I only go for what I think of as 'good' movies!)
We use common sense media, too, though I go for a year or so older than DD. It also has good lists of movie suggestions.
Aquinas, we love The Incredibles but I always feel a bit squinchy at the guy-jumping-off-a-building scene - I don't really want to explain that
We don't really limit screen time because DD tends to self-regulate anyway. Sure she may spend a whole week glued to the TV, or a game, but next week she'll be reading her history books, and the week after building a weather station outside, so I'm happy to roll with that

I'm not sure why the writers felt suicide was necessary. Couldn't they have just argued the Supers were causing too much infrastructure damage?

I'll admit to deception. I said the man fell off the building and was projecting his displeasure at being injured onto Mr. Incredible.

When my son was in early elementary he was very sensitive and had things he would NOT watch. The main example was "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory". The Johnny Depp version has just come out and advertisements were everywhere. Both movie versions, the book, and even didn't want to see the movie cover. He even got in trouble at school because of this.

Because of this I was careful what movies to let him see. At around the same time he saw a photo of ET and became very fascinated. I ended up watching it with him and he had no problems. I really had a hard time figuring out what would bother him and what wouldn't.

As to what is appropriate. Best thing is if you have watched a movie already, or watch it with them. My son is a teenager I'll let my son watch almost anything as long as my husband or I watch it with him.

My kids (DD2 and DS5) are actually not very sensitive when it comes to movies. They've been pretty good with some "scary" movies (e.g. Ghostbusters and Harry Potter). My husband has no filter when it comes to media, so the kids have seen snippets of things that I wouldn't have let them see from his channel surfing, like Walking Dead or Platoon.

The thing I am really going to have to start monitoring, though, is music videos. They both really like pop music, so they'll sometimes ask to watch the video that goes along with the song they like. Those tend to have inappropriate sexual things, which I don't want them to pick up. Already from seeing stuff on tv and Frozen, my tiny daughter has the idea that people should kiss with open mouths.

We've kept our DS6 pretty sheltered with media also. No media before 3 and then he fell in love with the Aristocrats and Super Why. He still only watches something a couple of times a week. He's got so much he wants to do and read that there's no time for media. Yeah! I hope that lasts!

Now he is more sophisticated and very sensitive to violence and loud characters. Two movies he loves right now are Hugo (after reading the Adventures of Hugo Cabret) and Because of Winn Dixie (again after reading the book). His empathy for the characters and what they go through is amazing and he's able to put it into perspective. The flip side is he cannot watch The Little Mermaid or The Lion King because they are too stressful and violent. We also let him watch trailers to see if he's interested. He's very good at setting his own boundaries and we totally respect his decisions.

Old school live action is definitely a hit and fairly safe. Big Red is a family favorite, Swiss Family Robinson, The Parent Trap, live action Charlotte's Web with Dakota Fanning and live music concerts. Our son loves watching his favorite bands in concert on DVD! The Avett Brothers, Adele and John Denver. It's becoming much more fun for us to be able to watch more mature movies with him and discuss after. Have fun!

At age 3.5, my son is really sensitive. I only let him watch things that I think are nonfiction or there is really nothing scary. He gets nightmares very easily.

John Denver and the Muppets Rocky Mountain Holiday is safe. :-). I find the older movies/shows tend to be safer. Also not as frantic.

Anything nonfiction doesn't bother him. Food chain, predators, extinction, and demolition are fine. Short Disney Snow White book in the dentist office... Nightmares galore. No way I am trying an actual Disney movie any time soon. (My husband suggested the book to him. Sigh. He no longer trusts Dad's choice in books.)

When he is older, we will push these sensitivities a bit for growth, but for now, it can wait.