Parental Guidance: Are You Showing Your Kids Inappropriate Movies?

One thing that has become apparent in my time working with movie memorabilia, action figures, and associated merchandise, is the number of parents who allow their children to watch inappropriate movies and television shows. In this age of the DVD box, movies on demand via digital television and the like, something negative has happened to the attitudes of many people regarding the things that their children can watch.

Movies are rated for a reason, be it R or NC17 in the US or PG, 12, 15, or 18 here in the UK. These movies are considered suitable for people older than those ages and not younger. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly apparent that very young children are allowed to look at things intended for adults. This is irresponsible and must be eliminated to ensure that the films these children are exposed to do not have a detrimental effect on their education.

The argument is that ‘it’s just a movie’ and ‘they know the difference between movies and reality’. The truth is, no, they don’t. You expose an underage kid to something like A Nightmare on Elm Street, and then all of a sudden they want a razor blade glove with which to cut their friends to pieces. You show them a movie from Friday the 13th and they’ll want a hockey mask and a machete. This is wrong and is deeply abhorrent behavior for any parent. Some people will argue that their children love to watch Chucky movies, but the fact is, these movies are about a psychopathic killer who owns a doll through a satanic ritual to keep killing after the police have killed his human body. Sound appropriate for a child to see? No, it is not.

Saying that “all children know who Freddy, Jason, Leatherface and Chucky are”, and that they are not afraid of them, does not solve it. The point is, they know who these characters are because they haven’t been taught that these things are meant for adults. The same goes for violent video games. After GTA, kids start to think that it’s okay to steal cars and shoot people. How about a little common sense? Exposing children to such violence ends up desensitizing them to how wrong violence is, and we end up with a culture where it is considered okay to attack people.

But it’s not just about the parents, at least not in the case of video games. Many of these ultra-violent games, such as Halo 3, Gears of War, and the like, appear to be marketed directly to the underage market. While I can see your thinking, it doesn’t make it the right thing to do. While some may argue that the media is causing decency and values ​​to fall, it should be helpful for parents to play an important role in what they let their children see and do. In fact, it may well be that very lack of oversight that has led us to become trapped in such a violent society. Please keep an eye on your children. Make sure they are not exposed to things that are completely inappropriate. Help them to be polite. Take an interest in their development. Find things you can enjoy together; there is certainly enough entertainment out there. Sitting them in front of a horror DVD or that shiny new Xbox 360 isn’t really the trickiest thing to do.