What age before you let them see The Lion King?

[nbsmjs]

My 3 year old is already catching on to the fact that none of his favorite movies (all disney of course) ever have the mommy around... and so I'm starting to be a little more thoughtful before I let him watch a new movie... I was thinking about the Lion King and am concerned about the scene where the dad dies... any suggestions for what age would be appropriate before you let your child watch?

(btw -- my 3 year old thinks Nemo starts with the first day of school scene b/c I don't want him to see the part where the mommy dies.... and I no longer let him watch Sleeping Beauty b/c the ending is pretty scary for him).

 

[Hannathy]

It was the first movie my DD saw in the theater. She was 2 1/2. The only thing that bothered her on the big screen was the fire scene, it was very intense on a large screen unlike a TV set. When it came out on tape we got it and she watched it over and over again, she could recite it word for word. So I guess my answer would be 2.

It is a fact that almost all Disney movies have some sadness in them but that is true about 99% of all children's stories, it just makes for good drama. Kids deal with it at a kid level they don't analyze it the way we as adults do. I think it is good for kids to not have everything sugar coated and to learn life has sadness and happiness and the sadness is what makes the happiness that much better.

 

[henry72]

My DS saw Lion King this year and he is 4. He had no problem with the death scene but I really don't think he understands it. DD has seen part of the Lion King and he is 20 months old. None of it bothers her. I guess it would depend on the child but I would say 3 or 4 is fine. BTW, DS watches Nemo from the beginning. No problem there for him either.

 

[kim_o]

DS watched Lion King starting at 2. He was more disturbed by the fire scene and was unphased by the mufasa scene. I didn't know how to explain the fire scene to him, all I came up with was "Scar was bad and has to go in time out". Until recently every time he sees that scene he says "Scars in timeout".

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

My DD(almost 3) has seen a few Disney movies, but she usually watches the 20-minute (aka super fast-forward with a lot of parent-explained storyline) version other than a few like Cinderella with no scary parts. I agree about the no-mommy thing, it's just weird!

 

[pooh4evr]

I guess we have never really "censored" the Disney animated movies for our kids, we get them when they come out on DVD and they watch them- DD#1 was maybe 2 , and DD#2 was under 1 when LK came out on DVD we bought it and they watched it without any problems, if they do see something that bothers them we talk about it - I don't want them to be afraid of things but to undestand them instead.

 

[mommy2allgirls]

All of my dd's watch it. They are 5, 4, 2, and then we have a 1 year old who occasionally looks at the screen but doesn't really pay attention. the girls have asked some questions about some of the scenes but we explain it to them and answer their questions.

 

[ebtbmom]

In my opinion it is more harmful to try and shield your child from every unpleasant thought, he needs to be taught that unpleasant things exist and what to do when it happens. People die, it's a fact and while I'm not suggesting that you rub this in your kid's face, it's something he'll have to learn sometime, probably sooner than later. Maybe introducing it in a fantasy, animated way is the gentlest way. My son has watched LK since he was able to watch TV because he loves animals. It wasn't until he was a lot older (now 11) that he even realized Scar is a total jerk!

A lot of people criticize Disney for the no mother thing, but tons of non Disney stories have the same element, Harry Potter, James & the Giant Peach, Lion Witch and Wardrobe (they might not have been dead but they weren't living together), Matilda, Annie, etc. I tease my son and tell him sorry that he has two loving attentive parents that keep him from going on crazy orphan kid adventures!

 

[nbsmjs]

Ok. Sounds like I should be okay having my son watch it... But he will ask a billion questions. Nothing...literally nothing gets by him... So any advice on what to tell him when he asks questions about the dad dying and the fire scene?

I'm okay with him seeing reality and not sugar coating everything, but he is a sensitive smart kid who is too smart for his own good sometimes and I just want to be thoughtful about how I explain things to him.

Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

[puffkin]

I don't really do a lot of censoring with DS3 in terms of music/movies (within reason) but I personally don't like the Mufasa scene so I usually skip over that part. That is the only scene though that I intentionally skip in any of the movies he watches.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

All depends, my DD5 is very senstive to anything "scarey". She'll get very upset and insists we turn the show or movie off. She watches very little TV and very few movies. But all of her friends seems fine with the Disney movies.

She liked the 2 Tinkerbell movies but Nemo (scarey shark), Ice Age (scarey Rinos), we had to leave during Ice Age 3 when the dino made his first appearance, etc... I don't try to push it, but give me a break

Lion King, no way! I know she'd freak. We read all the disney books and I don't even skip the scarey parts and she doesn't seem to mind. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it as she gets older. I'm actually worried about the "shows" when we go to Disney in Jan. I think we'll try "Beauty and Beast", but we'll definately skip Lion King and Nemo since when I mentioned them she said "no, no"

Needless to say since we'll be skipping any rides that are remotely scarey when we go in Jan. I told my DH that we will just have to wait and see how she makes out. I'm just hoping that she's not scared of the characters because we have lots of character meals booked

 

[princessmom29]

I don't sensor things like that. They are a part of life, and I would rather my child not be ignorant of that. We talk about what is going on.

 

[princessmom29]

Ok. Sounds like I should be okay having my son watch it... But he will ask a billion questions. Nothing...literally nothing gets by him... So any advice on what to tell him when he asks questions about the dad dying and the fire scene?

I'm okay with him seeing reality and not sugar coating everything, but he is a sensitive smart kid who is too smart for his own good sometimes and I just want to be thoughtful about how I explain things to him.

Thanks for all of the advice!!

Be honest. tell him that he died, and yes that is a bad thing and it is ok not to like that it happened. Somethimes that bad things happen, but that doesn't mean that the world is a bad place. When bad things happen what is important is that we are able to find the good and move on.

 

[cjackearl]

Guess I'll be the voice of dissention here. I shield my children from things they're not ready for all of the time and that includes certain Disney movies. I think most 2 year olds will be ok with The Lion King because they can't fully process or follow the plot line, but 3 year olds are a different matter. We took my oldest to Monsters Inc. in the theater when she was 3, almost 4 and she was very upset by the fact that Boo's parents didn't notice she was gone. She was clingy for about a week afterwards and I've learned my lesson. My 4 year old has seen very few Disney movies so far. Only you know your child's temperament, but classic Disney movies aren't going anywhere and some of the themes aren't easily handled developmentally by a young child.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I must be a horrible parent because I don't censor movies from my kids. I mean they don't see R rated , but they have certainly seen all the Disney movies. If there are questions, we answer them afterwards.

I don't believe in shielding my kids. Life is not all happy songs and butterflies and I believe in some form, kids need to know that.

We have friends who never let their kids experience anything "bad". They are not aloud to watch the news or know about disappearance of kids or even a local robbery. IMOP, kids need to know some of these things. They need to know good and bad. Its a fact of life.

 

[luvsJack]

I find this discussion very interesting. I never even thought about not allowing a child to watch any of the Disney movies.

When we had the child care center, watching TV was very, very seldom but when we had rainy days or during the winter when some of the kids were still there after dark we would put a movie on for a special treat. It was ALWAYS a Disney movie with very few exceptions. Movie Time would include all of our 3 and 4's and some of the 2's even. None of them ever acted like any of the movies bothered them and we never had a parent even comment about the movies.

Most fairy tales consist of the child losing at least one parent or only having one parent with the absence of the other not being explained.

 

[Stitch76]

I must be a horrible parent because I don't censor movies from my kids. I mean they don't see R rated , but they have certainly seen all the Disney movies. If there are questions, we answer them afterwards.

I don't believe in shielding my kids. Life is not all happy songs and butterflies and I believe in some form, kids need to know that.

We have friends who never let their kids experience anything "bad". They are not aloud to watch the news or know about disappearance of kids or even a local robbery. IMOP, kids need to know some of these things. They need to know good and bad. Its a fact of life.

I'm right there with you, horrible or not! I've never censored what my kids watch or the music they listen to (within reason of course!).
My kids watched Disney movies from the day they first noticed the TV. Bambi and Lion King were some of their favorites. The death scenes never seemed to bother them.
I was a very protected/sheltered child, and I got a rude awakening when I got to be a teenager and out from under my grandparents thumb, and out into the real world.
I want my kids to know that there is bad in the world, and maybe it will help prepare them for life. I even make it a point to watch shows like Nancy Grace with my oldest 2, when a child gets abducted. We followed the Caylee Anthony case together, and I made sure to answer any questions that they had honestly. I want them to know that there are bad people in the world and that things are not always perfect, even in fairy tales.

 

[HLDisney]

I think it all depends on the child. My DD is almost 8 and she still doesn't want to watch Lion King because of the scary parts (she started watching it once when she was 5 and ran out of the room and insisted I turn the TV off) But then she can get very scared and spooked by things that other kids take in stride. One time she saw a kids video that involved crash-test dummies and she was terrified, afraid to go to sleep, crying at school and at home, for a whole week. In pre-K, she watched Meet The Robinsons at school and something in the movie (she couldn't quite explain to me which part) had her not wanting to go to school because she was afraid she would have to watch the movie again.

So while most kids are probably fine with most Disney movies, you really need to gauge how your own child will react.

(on the other hand, my DD is adopted and in a single mom family so one-parent families and not staying with the people who gave birth to you are no big deal to her )

Helen

 

[Zeebs]

Reminds me of the Friends episode where Phoebe sees the end to Old Yellow.

My kids 2 and 3.5 have just watched the Lion King, not a question or terrified look out of them. I am not sure they quite get the concept of death yet but with elderly grandparents I would rather the question comes up in theory before reality.

It certainly depends on the kids, some kids are way more sensitive to somethings only you know your kids.

My friends little girl loves loves loves the naughty lady in Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmations, in fact if there isn't a scary naughty lady in a movie she quickly loses interest.

Kirsten

 

[bdiddy]

My kids (3 & 5) have been watching those movies for as long as I can remember. Nemo, Bambi, Lion King, etc....I've come to realize that the bigger deal YOU (in general) make of something then they will also. Death is a part of life and my kids didn't even notice at first especially my 3 yr old son. I don't think he's ever thought twice about it. Now my DD has asked and when she was younger I just did a quick explanation and she was fine with it. Now that my DD is 5.5 she understands about death a lot more and has more questions but I look at it like a great learning example. I'd rather them learn about it at home with me in a controlled environment then hearing it elsewhere which is inevitable with little ones.