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Scary Movies and Your Kids
Filed under: Movies, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Tweens, Expert Advice: Teens, TV
Kids love scary films. The trick is finding movies with age-appropriate thrills. Credit: Sony
What are scary movies?
Kids love scary films. The trick is finding movies with age-appropriate thrills. Something that terrifies kids at 5 (ghosts, evil characters, major peril) will be a non-issue at 15. Scariness comes from fear of the unknown, from surprise, and from fears about the loss of a loved one. Depending on where your kids are in their emotional development, different things will affect them differently. Young kids are frightened more by creatures that older children know don't exist. Abrupt noises, eerie sounds, and music create tension in both younger and older children. Psychological suspense, with its threats of impending doom, can terrify your middle-school kids.
The facts
- The younger kids are when they see a scary movie or TV show, the longer-lasting the effects will be.
- Kids who watch scary material often have nightmares or anxiety.
- Kids ages 2 to 7 often can't distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Movies with scary images, intense danger, loud noises, and -- above all -- blood and gore, can create all sorts of disturbances. Among them are anxiety, sleep disruption, and fears about possible situations. Children younger than 7 can't easily distinguish between fantasy and reality -- even if you tell them "it's not real." You will know if your kids have become too frightened when they start having sleep problems, irrational fears, and obsessions with things like zombies. Scary and disturbing images and sounds can affect vulnerable kids for years.
Tips for parents of all kids
- Know what they're watching -- and whether it's appropriate. Check out Common Sense Media reviews, which offer age recommendations and provide age-appropriate selections.
- Practice your poker face. Some research suggests that kids will become more scared if they see that you are scared by something in a movie or on TV.
- Choose media with care. Kids under 7 will believe what they see. When picking media, nothing should be more startling than "Boo!" Kids over 5 may like haunted houses, mysteries, and things popping out everywhere, but stick to animation, which helps them realize that it's fantasy. Be careful with monsters, skeletons, aliens, and zombies. Avoid any dangerous material involving characters near their age.
- Be prepared for when things do go bump in the night. If your child is frightened, give him physical comfort, a glass of water, or a distraction. Kids 2 to 7 respond well to magical remedies and nightly rituals, such as cleaning the monsters out of the closet.
- Don't be surprised if your kids suddenly like a little scary stuff. Kids who are 8-to-10 years old can handle being scared for longer periods of time -- in fact, they love it. Bring on the phantoms and ghoulish faces, but continue to choose films without gore or physical harm. Some intense moments are fun as long as the resolution involves a happy ending.
- Pushing boundaries may be OK. Some kids of this age are ready to be scared silly. You still should be mindful of blood and gore, but in general skeletons, monsters, and aliens are okay. Even so, stick to movies that have humor mixed in, or those with safe-and-sound endings.
- Give reassurance when necessary. Other kids still scare easily. Middle school is when scary movies start being a big part of sleepovers and movie outings with friends. Even if your child isn't ready for the scarier stuff, it can be hard for her to tell that to friends who want to see the latest zombie flick. Let your children know that it's OK to be scared and to tell their friends they'd rather watch something else.
- They may be ready for more than you think. Developmentally, teens can handle dramatic and psychological suspense, but kids under 16 still shouldn't see slasher horrors, especially those that feature kids in dire danger or that have lots of gore.
- Mind the messages. Many scary movies now pair horrific graphic violence with sexual situations -- not a great combination for kids exploring newfound sexuality. Be sure to talk with them about the content of the movie they're seeing and the messages it may convey. Check Common Sense Media's reviews for conversation starters.
- Dig into the vault. If you like scary movies too, try introducing your teens to some of the horror and suspense classics. Just make sure that any younger siblings are already tucked in bed.
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Get more information for parents on media and technology by checking out Common Sense Media.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
2-25-2011 @ 8:49PM
Alicia said.......Wow. I have to say, I'm really glad my parents were not as up tight as you are. If you think a 16 year old can't handle the Jason movies, you are greatly underestimating their intelligence.
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2-27-2011 @ 8:16PM
damien said...jesus thank god I wasn't raised in this time as a child. I was watching scary movies since I was 5. I feel either they give kids very little credit or are younger generation are just getting dumber. Seriously all I see is how people are telling us what is good for a child and what isn't. I remember whole family having marathon with jason, freddy, dawn of dead, alien, the thing ect. I had nightmares but for some people not understand reality from fantasy at 8 years sounds crazy to me. Hell I knew everything about sex when I was 8 and this was before internet, or even given the stupid bees and birds talk.
2-27-2011 @ 2:32PM
Bronzemarigolds said...I agree with not letting young kids watch scary movies. When my kids were 5, they had never seen a scary movie. They went to stay the night at a friends house who had a babysitter for a few hours. The stupid twit made the kids watch Dawn of the Dead. You can guess what happened next. For over 2 years, my kids refused to hug their daddy because they were afraid he would eat them (something about a dad doing that in the movie). It put a great strain on our family, and my kids still have nightmares about that horrid movie.
As far as I am concerned, they should not even have those scarry comercials flashing blood, guts, and gore.
As for teenagers watching, they are impressionable. Look what happened with those vampire\werewolf movies. Teenagers were actually drinking each others blood!!! And lets not forget about the 12 year old boys who lured a toddler from a mall and beat him to death because they saw something similiar in a movie.
Everyone complains about crime and violence, and yet they constantly expose their kids to it on tv, movies, and music. If you don't want your kids growing up to be criminals and prostitutes (yes I said it), then be aware of what your kids are watching, listening to and who they are hanging around. It just might surprise you.
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2-27-2011 @ 3:10PM
????? said...Ok, first things first, movies don't MAKE kids do things, parents let them and don't teach their kids the difference between fiction and reality. Only idiots blame their misfortune on violence in the media. Second, your kids must have seen the remake of dawn of the dead, which means I agree that the babysitter is a twit, because the original is better and doesn't involve "traumatic" imagry. Thirdly only idiots who know literally nothing about good literature read the likes of "twilight" and only idiots make believe they are vampires like in the books and movies. Also I have been watching these films since I was at least 13 and I have no criminal record, no desire to commit violent acts against people, and I consider the finer of the horror to be classics that everybody should see at least once. If you can't appreciate fear and respect it, your kids will look at that and end up like those who can't distinguish fiction from reality. Stop protesting while your ahead so you can use the time more wisely to teach your kids these things.
2-27-2011 @ 4:52PM
Jaynie said...I wholeheartedly agree! Stop showing those movies as being appealing to young people and crimes as something to be famous for! I remember that commercials, movies and TV were targeted to 18 to 49 year-olds because they were the adults and people that bought and had the final say for their children. Such is not that way anymore. Children say what they are going to do, where they are going and tell their parents what to buy and the media reflects that in whom they target. Now that I am in my early fifties, there are no shows targeted to those of my age like the Golden Girls was for my mom, All In the Family, so on and so forth. I guess I am supposed to watch that rediculous show that comes on on cable station about older people sowing their wild oats, that are one older than me and two do not reflect the average person that is really their age who can even live like they do financially.
But anyway, I have digressed. The handbasket, that the old folks I knew as a kid, is coming sooner and the question of whether life reflects fiction or fiction reflects life won't make a whole bunch of difference when the two mesh inot one!
2-27-2011 @ 6:04PM
michelle said...I am sickend by the scary comercials popping up even during a child g rated movie or t.v. show is on. I have terrible nightmares and I'm 40. people say that I shouldn't watch t.v. then if I don't want to see that. I'm not the freak. Hollywood is! It's a free country so we have to put up with it but at what cost? My kids are affraid of everyone, nobody in my family can have a peaceful night sleep because we are afraid of someone breaking in and killing us. you can say that thats stupid to think it could happen to you but I thought that before someone broke into my house and raped me. and thats what you will think before anything happens to you or your family. life is tragic enough, I don't need to watch sick freaks on the big screen. I do like intense plots. a movie to get your mind working, just not horror bloody killing. I don't like looking at dead gorry bodies. wake up hollywood. the movies that make the big bucks are g rated. everyone would go pay to see your films if they weren't crap!
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2-27-2011 @ 7:10PM
????? said...So you're going to let fear run your life then? No one bad experience is more valid than another, and letting it run and ruin your life is no way to live, because you aren't actually living if you do.
2-27-2011 @ 3:03PM
??? said...Scary movies scared me when I was little, and they would have scared me more had my parents banned them from me. I didn't start watching and enjoying "scary movies" until I was about 13-14 years old, and from what I have observed, that is the case for most children/ teens. The thrills of a horror movie are safe, and though I was scared of them when I was young, I am able to laugh at them now. (because half of these modern "horror" films are just plain fake looking anyways.)
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2-27-2011 @ 6:58PM
Alicia said...Agreed. I love the classic films. The horror porn (Hostel, Saw etc) isn't even scary, it's just gross. Scary was The Exorcist, the original Amityville, etc. Yeah, they scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, but by the time i was 11 or 12, I loved them. I've never committed a crime and feel no need for violence, either.
Oh and when I was young, Bram Stoker's Dracula was one of my favorite movies; my dad just fast forwarded through the sex scenes. I've been plagued with nightmares my entire life, but they started before I ever saw Dracula and got no worse because of the movie. The only thing that ever affected my dreams were the Goosebumps books, which always struck me as weird because my bedtime stories were as often off my parents' bookshelf as my own.
2-27-2011 @ 3:06PM
LIZ said...Different strokes for different folks. Even children have differing likes and fear thresholds. I always loved scary movies. The monster was always on the outside of the group so he couldn't be all bad.
Wanting to finish a S King book, I put my daughter to bed and told her I'd read from my book. I didn't intend for her to listen to it; it had so many boring passages for a young child, and, of course, I had to leave the adult parts out. She did not go to sleep as planned but demanded I read it every night. She loved it so much she took up reading and to this day still reads Stephen King novels. It hasn't adversely affected her but, then, she is her mother's daughter.
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2-27-2011 @ 3:15PM
??? said...oh and of course this was produced by "common sense". They want to "protect" children from everything involving anything that ins't puppies and kittens.
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2-27-2011 @ 3:23PM
Marshall said...Every child and teenager is different these days. No two people
are exactly the same in terms of wiring.Some kids already have
a big taste and sence for gore at home just by watching their
families and friends fighting and feuding over crappy stuff. Hence:
what happens in some homes of some kids is far worse than some
of the horror films I have seen myself. Read the newspapers and
articles on line. The brain wants stimulation!!!! just like with food.
Of course we have to take alot of risks in our lives as kids,
teens and adults. We sometimes go into intellectual overdrives
and we are made and impelled to take charge of things like
house sitting for a family member for example. Its all part of
growing up. If you want to get some good thrilling action?
try going up in the Devils Dive roller coaster at Six Flags in
Atlanta.The climb upwards, is featured on video of this thing,
that climbs ten stories high. I think this ride has more punch than
some silly t,.v. shows or any horror films I have seen on t.v.
Try going going in a roller coaster like the Devils Dive. See if
you get nightmares from that thing!! which is worse? a steep
windy roller coaster or a horror movie?? Kids often go up these
roller coasters yet they are blocked from seeing horror films on t.v.
This society is nuts sometimes...........it is all part of growing UP!!
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2-27-2011 @ 3:24PM
J.E.B. said...I'm completely astounded when i go to a horror flick at the local theater, and I hear a child screaming and crying, and the parents displaying anger at that child for being afraid. Duhhhhhh......
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2-27-2011 @ 7:00PM
Alicia said...I will agree that it's silly to take a child to a theater. If you're going to watch scary movies with your kids, do it at home, with the lights on. It offers more security than a strange, dark place filled with strange people.
2-27-2011 @ 4:12PM
SkyBlue said...I've loved scary movies since I was 5. They were fun, thrilling and exciting, but not upsetting to me. That's because my parents made it clear to me, and I understood, that they were just movies and not real. Never once had a nightmare or fear.
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2-27-2011 @ 4:21PM
CPU64 said...Get them started right. Pop in Ghostbusters I or II and they'll enjoy it.
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2-27-2011 @ 11:05PM
bob said...i say if why say what's good for parents' child/children let them do their job without any interference from dam media or government(aka michele obama).
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2-27-2011 @ 4:50PM
Jaynie said...I think the amount of killing and gore desensitizes kids along with the same message they get in other media and reported on the news. And I do agree with one thing said in the article and that is to be careful of how it is shown and what it is shown with. Even the trenchcoat killers of the nineties were reported with a some sympathy from the reporters because they were outsiders, picked on or whatever. Some things could have been opted to have been deleted in the reports such as the amount of infamy the subjects wanted to achieve.
I am in my early fifties and I saw Straight Jacket, where the opening scene is a hand being chopped off and a head and What Every Happened to BabyJane, from the back seat of a stationwagon at a drive-in. I am sure that was not my parents' intention but those two movies scared me to death as did the old Enquire magazine that was nothing but gore back then. But, my parent's didn't take me to see movies that were not within my realm of understanding that they were movies, nor in most cases to movies that were inappropriate for my age. I have respect for right and wrong that was not skewed because of my watching of movies, TV shows or the news that just showed a picture of a subject in the upper right hand corner. I had an have more imagination than even the generation after me, my children, who are barely in their thirties, but even they were not allowed to have and see all and they have a greater appreciation of it now that they have children.
I think that this article does lead one astray some. I did not take my children to any scary movies. They saw G rated movies and the GP ones that I approved of. Now if by the time I allowed them to group date, they saw a scary movie and I said it was OK for that particular one, then they saw it. Some kids are never ready for scary movies or slasher movies, which don't all under the first. I still have no desire to see Halloween, SAW or any of that genre and lest people think I was or am a wimp, I have served my country as that was my career. I have carried a weapon with intent to use it if I had to. I have seen car wrecks with terrible things to look at. I have experienced death in its worst way, but I do not feel that children should be exposed to slasher movies at any cost because they become accustomed to violence when they hear of it, see it on the news or see it in real life.
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2-27-2011 @ 5:22PM
Randy said...As a concerned parent I don't think scary movies are appropriate for children...AND NEITHER IS THE WORLD NEWS!
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2-27-2011 @ 5:48PM
sauce235 said...Most parents don't allow their children to see the evening news, so why would you let them see a gory scary film..... any reason to mess up your childs psyche? Do the child a favor, don't have one.
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