PG Movies and Tweens

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2007
PG Movies and Tweens
26
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 3:57am

My daughter Katlynn is 12 and going into 7th grade, this last year I have found that her frineds are watching many PG 13 movies, some are ok, but I would prefer to be asked first if she is at a friend's home. This past school year Kate was at a birthday sleepover and the parents kept calling to ask about things like a scavenger hunt etc, but then showed the girls Dodgeball and another movie I wasn't too pleased about. What is everyone's opinion on it? I have discussed sex with my daughter and don't think I am overly protective, I just prefer to preview/monitor movies she sees at this age.

Thanks, I am curious to see where everyone stands on this subject. :-)

Sharon, mom to Katlynn 12, Jaymeson 9 1/2 and Jonathan 7 1/2

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 6:55am

I'm pretty flexible on this. I allow PG-13. I would not be happy with an A-14 or R but I find most of the PG-13 are okay for us. But every family has their own rules. I'm finding right now its difficult to find movies because she is getting too old for G rated movies and there doesn't seem to be alot of PG out there that are decent. But she has been watching Harry Potter since they came out and they are PG-13 and she owns a few others like iRobot which I think is PG-13.


As a parent its okay to ask at a sleepover which movie they'll be watching. If you think its inappropriate then you have the choice of picking her up before the movie or perhaps the parents will change the choice if you let it be heard.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 8:30am

My DD is almost 13 and I still want to know and approve what movies she sees. I'm pretty flexible, but there are PG-13 movies that I don't want my DD to see, yet. (or unless I am with her)

Karin

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 8:51am

I've always asked parents if the movies we're going to show are ok for kids, when I've shown PG13's at a party, I have asked first and I think that's the right thing to do but not every parent does.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 9:08am

Honestly this is one of my pet peeves, several of my son's friends have been watching PG13 and R movies for years (they are 12ish now).

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 9:23am

There are some PG-13 movies that Aly has watched, but I wouldn't say as a rule that she is allowed to watch PG-13, actually quite the contrary.

I would definitely be upset in your case...especially if the parents had called you and mentioned OTHER things...why didn't they mention that? Almost like they were trying to hide it because they knew you would disapprove.

Alysha














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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 10:11am
I get asked before she watches anything. I am strict. Jackie has to call me to find out if its okay. I call all of jackie friends parents before i expect the same.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 10:43am

My twins are 12 and do watch PG-13 movies. They frequently have friends over and will at the spur of the moment put in a movie to watch. I feel at this age it is each individual childs responsibility to speak up if they are uncomfortable with the movie or not allowed to watch it. I know both of my kids do ask the other kid(s) if XYZ is the movie they want to watch, and that is the time to object for any reason. If one kid can't watch a particular movie, then they can just find something else to watch that everyone is in agreement with or do something else.

My dd does have one gf that is not allowed to watch pg-13 movies, so they don't. It's just not a big issue and those movies are not put on when she's there. But the girl has made it known that she can't watch PG-13 movies and reminds everyone when they decide to watch a movie.

Movies can be rated PG-13 for a variety of reasons...sexual innuendo, crude humor, gore, language content, etc.

Lynn




Edited 6/26/2007 10:45 am ET by twins4lynn

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 10:57am

The girls (I have a 10 and 13 year old) can watch PG-13 movies that I've seen or read about first.

We let our 10 year old watch Men in Black 1. I thought she'd be fine with it, but she freaked out at the end when they're killing the bad alien. Poor kid. Good thing we were right there.

I use Plugged in online. It's the one run by Focus on the Family, and it can get a little preachy (Dr. Dobson didn't like Evan Almighty, I don't really have a problem with it), but they're really good about describing what's in the movie.

I would expect that the girl's friends parents would tell me what they're watching. A couple of years ago, one of dd's friends watched Legally Blonde at a sleepover. Now that I've seen it, there's nothing REALLY bad in it (just that it's dumb), but I had a problem with an 8 year old (at the time) watching it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2007
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 11:09am

True about trusting the kid to follow the rules. Kate didn't know the rating of the movie or anything about it. Since her brothers are so much younger she just doesn't see those movies for the most part. Mostly I think what bothered me is that Dodgeball is pretty crude, the other movie they showed was American Pie which I find totally inappropriate and it was nearly a year ago when the kids were just turning 11.

I do allow many PG13 movies when I think about it, once I have seen the movie myself, like my kids have seen the Spiderman movies and a couple of the Harry Potter movies. It is mostly an issue of content for me, if the movie is rather crude and uses a lot of sexual humor it really bothers me.

Oddly enough, Katlynn and her friends are all the first born kids, I would totally expect it if they had teens for the movie viewing to get a bit lax if they were the younger or middle kids.

I guess as an only child raised in a totally over controlled Christian home it shocks me what other parents will show kids whom are not their own when visiting.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2007
Tue, 06-26-2007 - 11:21am

Oh I should mention that now Katlynn calls everytime she watches a movie at a friends house for an ok, it's funny sometimes because they can be totally appropriate and she calls, better safe than sorry.

I was surprised at that age that her 2 best friends see pretty much every movie that has comes out, before the parents even do, and I have known them since they were in kindergarten it seems so unlike their parents to be so non-chalant. One pretty much only watches MTV, Vh-1 and the Fuse programming and shows like I watch, Grey's Anatomy etc.

It made me think, hmmm I might need to let out the boundaries a little...maybe. My parents gave me no freedoms, I couldn't even listen to music on the radio, anything that was "non-Christian" and while we are Christian and attend church, I don't want Katlynn to be totally clueless about everything like I was. That was an awful way to grow up, I was totally naive and hated not seeing any of the movies the other kids, not that I am about to say, whatever you want honey, but I am starting to watch more shows with Katlynn.

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