Why would someone bring an 8 and 10 year old to an R rated movie?

[sbell111]

I'm not questioning your decision at all, but I'm always curious what people don't like about Spongebob. I've watched it myself repeatedly, looking for something questionable or objectionable. Again, not questioning your decision. I've heard several people say they don't like it, but I've never heard them say why.

He lives in a pineapple --- A PINEAPPLE!!!!!! That cannot be tolerated.

 

[shortbun]

Personally, I don't pay attention to the rating system at all. I make my own judgements based on reviews, etc. The MPAA rating system is totally screwy and very subject to manipulation by directors who know how to work the system. So yes, you might see my 12 yo in a theatre watching an R-rated film sometime, with me or with his dad.

That said, I wouldn't want my grade-school aged kids watching that particular film. IME, really crude sexual humor is a particular danger for pre-adolescent boys -- they tend to repeat it without understanding it, and it gets them into trouble when they do it where they should not.

Exactly, I read up on and decide on anything PG13 and up. I even do a quick review of PG films just in case I need to prep DS for something. I've taken him to a couple R films since he was 10 and when it was earned by say 'fantasy violence' but I've skipped some PG13 films when they've earned their ratings by heavy sexual situations. Some PG13 films are just that by having the mininum word bombs dropped and others are just a tad below R. On the violence films-I've waited for a rental to view them and allow DS to watch after IF I deem appropriate. It's part of parenting.

 

[MegaDisney]

He lives in a pineapple --- A PINEAPPLE!!!!!! That cannot be tolerated.

 

[Free4Life11]

I think it's usually because they are too poor or lazy to hire a sitter. Not always, but usually.

 

[princess momma]

I'm not questioning your decision at all, but I'm always curious what people don't like about Spongebob. I've watched it myself repeatedly, looking for something questionable or objectionable. Again, not questioning your decision. I've heard several people say they don't like it, but I've never heard them say why.

It's not that I won't let them watch Spongebob ever, I just try to avoid it. Spongebob has a mouth on him and they have learned some colorful language from him. I try to discourage calling others idiots but if Spongebob does it they want to. A lot of the humor is over their heads. Spongebob actually started out as an adult oriented show that was shown on Nick@Nite, but people were letting kids watch it so it's become a kids show now.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I have no familiarity at all with the movie you reference OP. That said--my kids are 10 and 12 now and have seen quite a few R rated movies over the years. Then again there are several PG-13 and even PG movies I will not let them see (I will and do allow more and more as they get older . . .). Persoanlly my answer to why I allow my kids to see R rated movies is that I take what they see very seriously and I make the descion and research the films we see rather than trusting the ratings board to do so.

Personally, I find that the sensabilities of the ratings board do not mesh with my own beliefs and concerns. I do not want my children wathcing a lot of violence--particulalry glorified violence. So, a few years ago we walked out on the PG Zorro (I was expecteing sword fighting with no gore, I was not expecting a drawn out scene of a character waiting for the nitrogliercin to fall on him and kill him--too much for me so we left then. This was one of the only times I "trusted" the rating without doing any otehr research and I regeretted it) and my DS has not seen Transformers.
On the other hand, I don't really have an issue with nudity (brief, reasonably in context . . .), portrayal of gay couples, brief realistic use of profanity, etc which can easily tip an otherwise appropriate movie into R range.
Sometimes I have no idea where the rating even came from. For example, one of DD's favourite movies is Stand By Me which is rated R (and did come out after the PG-13 rating was an option). Really, I see nothing in it to worry about.

 

[Beca]

Personally, I don't pay attention to the rating system at all. I make my own judgements based on reviews, etc. The MPAA rating system is totally screwy and very subject to manipulation by directors who know how to work the system. So yes, you might see my 12 yo in a theatre watching an R-rated film sometime, with me or with his dad.

That said, I wouldn't want my grade-school aged kids watching that particular film. IME, really crude sexual humor is a particular danger for pre-adolescent boys -- they tend to repeat it without understanding it, and it gets them into trouble when they do it where they should not.

I completely agree!! The MPAA ratings system is so messed up, and I tend to me much more tolerant of sexual situations with my dd than with violence, but the sexual situations must be mature and natural instead of something you poke fun at. In life, I am much more bothered by the amount of violence in movies than with adult situations.

I rarely know what a movie's rating is, and am often surprised when other parents tell me what the ratings are....they just make NO sense to me!!

turkeymama....I do not let my dd watch Spongebob. For me, the reasons are: because it is crass, and because they constantly insult each other. However, it has not been much of a struggle because she tried watching it once and said, "Is this supposed to be funny? They're just mean to each other!!"

 

[goodeats]

My mother would. She took my sister and I to see Die Hard 2 when I was 12 and my sister was 9. Pretty violent, bad language, and a little nudity. She had a big crush on Bruce Willis and I guess was just too lazy to get a sitter. I don't think it scarred me or anything. It was during the day though, not a midnight showing.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I'm not questioning your decision at all, but I'm always curious what people don't like about Spongebob. I've watched it myself repeatedly, looking for something questionable or objectionable. Again, not questioning your decision. I've heard several people say they don't like it, but I've never heard them say why.

Well, we did not watch Sponge Bob when the kids were little (I never said they could not watch it at a friend's or even a hotel if it was the only kid related show on and we neede to unpack or something). These days they just don't even like it Anyway, my issue with it was that the show portrays a mean spirited and bratty attitude as funny and "cute." I had the same issue with Rugrats once upon a time.

 

[Angelhalo]

He lives in a pineapple --- A PINEAPPLE!!!!!! That cannot be tolerated.

I don't get it either. My best friend's son watches almost nothing but Spongebob and I have never heard him utter one bad word like stupid or idiot or anything of that manner, he never mouths off, and he never hits anyone. Too each their own, but I too do not understand what anyone has against Spongebob. There are FARRRRR worse things being shown on the Disney Channel.

 

[CathrynRose]

I completely agree!! The MPAA ratings system is so messed up, and I tend to me much more tolerant of sexual situations with my dd than with violence, but the sexual situations must be mature and natural instead of something you poke fun at. In life, I am much more bothered by the amount of violence in movies than with adult situations.
"

I was actually the opposite when my boys were younger.

Movies like Die Hard, Terminator - those types of movies I did take my 8,9,10 y/o to see, with no qualms. I had more issues with 'adult' humor.

Side note - Pretty Woman had an *R* rating.

I, like you, didn't pay much attention to the rating system when choosing movies.

 

[turkeymama]

He lives in a pineapple --- A PINEAPPLE!!!!!! That cannot be tolerated.

Hilarious!

It's not that I won't let them watch Spongebob ever, I just try to avoid it. Spongebob has a mouth on him and they have learned some colorful language from him. I try to discourage calling others idiots but if Spongebob does it they want to. A lot of the humor is over their heads. Spongebob actually started out as an adult oriented show that was shown on Nick@Nite, but people were letting kids watch it so it's become a kids show now.

I didn't know that about it originally being targeted at adults. I guess I've never noticed him calling people idiots. I'm not doubting you. A lot gets by me sometimes.

I don't get it either. My best friend's son watches almost nothing but Spongebob and I have never heard him utter one bad word like stupid or idiot or anything of that manner, he never mouths off, and he never hits anyone. Too each their own, but I too do not understand what anyone has against Spongebob. There are FARRRRR worse things being shown on the Disney Channel.

My kids both say "barnacles!" and "tartar sauce", and I don't mind if they say stupid, depending on the context. For example, I think the fact that my daughter has a dairy allergy is stupid. But, I would never condone her calling a person stupid, or any other derogatory name/word. And I have also seen some things on Disney that I didn't feel warm and fuzzy about.

Thanks for the enlightenment everyone. I didn't intend to hijack, but I didn't think my little question deserved it's own thread.

 

[Ilivetogo]

I can't knock that someone has to bring their kids to a movie that's out of their age range because they can't afford sitters, etc. ... BUT ... this weekend I went to Transformers and there was a family several rows in front of us with VERY little kids. One was a TINY baby -- not just baby -- LITTLE baby. The next kid was probably 15-18 months and a few more kids on up to about age 4 or 5. They were ALL too little for that movie. I'm certain Mom and Dad were the ones who wanted to see it. The littlest kid squirmed a lot (wasn't really a distraction though) and the movie is REALLY REALLY loud almost the ENTIRE time. I felt so bad for the baby. (mostly its ears!)

 

[turkeymama]

I was actually the opposite when my boys were younger.

Movies like Die Hard, Terminator - those types of movies I did take my 8,9,10 y/o to see, with no qualms. I had more issues with 'adult' humor.

Side note - Pretty Woman had an *R* rating.

I, like you, didn't pay much attention to the rating system when choosing movies.

I'm the same way. My son can handle some of the action violence, like from the Narnia movies and the first Transformer movie. Neither of my kids are old enough for sex talks yet, so sexual situations in movies are off-limits currently.

 

[BeccaBellePA]

I really find it interesting the differentiation between "violent" R rated and "sex" R-rated, especially with different cultures. I know when I was living in England, Kill Bill was out (super violent) and that was rated R both in America & England, but Love Actually (sexuality & nudity) was R in America and PG13 (or the equivalent...it was called something else) in England.

Growing up, we would rent the "questionable" movies so my parents could pre-view and fast forward through anything inappropriate, which was mostly the sex stuff. I think it was easier for them to explain the fake violence

 

[Anjelica]

When I went to Sex and the City Movie with friends there was a lady in front of us with a young girl who was maybe 10/11. During some of the racier parts, which there were quite a few, she covered her daughters eyes. Sorry - but that was a little much for a young girl - obviously someone didn't do their homework before taking their child to see it or just didn't care.

My daughter loved the transformers movie - the first one - but after doing some homework on the second one I decided she is to young to see that one.

Maybe years ago, without information as prevelant as it is today, I can see a good parent making a mistake and taking their child to a movie only to to realize it wasn't a good choice. But with so much information widely available these days and whole websites dedicated to reviews of movies and their ratings for children I don't see how many people can make those mistakes these days.

 

[tasha99]

I love Spongebob, but it got banned from our house for about 6 months when DS was in the 3rd grade. Smart alecks are funny on TV, but not in real life, and he just kept repeating what he saw. I made it clear why we were turning it off, and when we started watching it half a year later, he didn't repeat that mistake.

I agree with the poster who said ignore the rating system. For the most part, DS can watch PG-13 movies (he's 11), but not all. I let him watch The Matrix, which has led to the never successful "but I saw The Matrix and it was R-rated" argument.

 

[shellybaxter]

Funny, that was the movie I was going to see in my post above. I counted no fewer than three toddlers in the house when we saw it. It looked like they belonged to a couple of extended family of Trekkies that came to see the show. The good news is that the tots were a lot quieter than I feared. However, it was a bit annoying when one of them was basically allowed to roam up and down the theater steps (while grandpa stood against a side wall) and run back and forth on the terrace that separated the upper and lower tiers of seating. However, grandpa had to take her out of the movie a couple of times during some of the battle scenes.

Kind of a funny story

We took our neice to see Star Trek on the opening day because we were all on a trip together. She is nine and behaved perfectly - no talking, running around, etc. She LOVED the movie. She wasn't scarred or bothered. I thought it was fine for her to see (I was much more unnerved by a Law and Order SVU that was on in the hotel room later -I made my husband turn the channel) and was glad she enjoyed it. About a week after we got back I was talking to her on the phone. In an incredulous voice she said, "Aunt Shelly, Star Trek was PG13 and I'm NOT 13 yet." I just laughed and asked her if she thought she was too young to see the movie. She said no, that she loved it. She seemed upset that I had caused her to "break the rules". I really never even thought about it until she said something.

 

[Mandychelle79]

I'm the same way. My son can handle some of the action violence, like from the Narnia movies and the first Transformer movie. Neither of my kids are old enough for sex talks yet, so sexual situations in movies are off-limits currently.

How old are your kids? Just wondering how young was too young as we dont do a big sex talk here, just answer questions in an age appropriate manner. I have a boy and girl who are just over 2 yrs apart so questions do get asked a lot since we are potty training the youngest

 

[daisax]

When I saw Silence of the Lambs, a guy came in with a girl who couldn't have been more than 6 or 7. She played with the doll on her lap. Took me out of the movie a little.

Somebody mentioned Law and Order -- that's on 3 different cable channels at all different times of the day. They run marathons all day long practically every weekend -- very easy for a small child to see without staying up late.