We recently went through and watched every Star Wars movie. Yes, we watched them in order from 1-6. The shocking revelation that Darth Vader was L&L's father was still kind of shocking to my girls. They didn't quite put together that the twins born at the end of episode three were all grown up in episode four. It was a fun to go through and watch these movies with our daughters.
I shared with another parent about our fun Star Wars watch-a-thon and it seemed like I had done something wrong. Questions were raised about the content and fear factor. Especially in episode three. There was a constant reference to a website, common sense media, and their recommendations for movies. It seemed like this was used as a last and final deciding factor when making decisions about what to allow a child to watch.
I decided to take a little internet stroll over to this website. I wanted to see what the big deal was and why it would be used as an all deciding factor. I was floored when I saw the age recommendations for movies we've seen in our home. They were ridiculous! Perhaps I should elaborate. They were ridiculous FOR MY CHILDREN. I would never use this website as a factor when deciding whether or not I should allow my children to watch a movie.
Here's what I'd like to ask those who rely on this website religiously. Who knows your child best? The website? The other parents leaving reviews on the website? Is your child exactly the same as their child? This website would assume that every child is exactly the same as every other child. The same level of maturity, the same attention span, the same level of fear, the same personality. Websites like this are a problem. People start using them as set rules instead of guidelines. They take them as law instead of suggestions. No two children are alike. That's just a fact.
My two girls are different. Born of the same mother and father, yet completely different. I know my girls and I know what they can or can not handle. I know what would be too scary for them to watch or too serious for them to understand. If we have any question about the content of a movie, we "pre-screen" it after bedtime and decide from their if it's something our girls should watch. We don't jump on a website and use it to make our decisions. For example, our three and five year old can handle Maleficent and it is one of their favorite. Common sense media gave it an age rating of eight. The Boxtrolls has an age rating of nine. The Star Wars movies were rated seven and up, eight and up, and episode three was rated 11 and up! Now, my five year old handled episode three like a champ. She knows movies are pretend. My three year old on the other hand. I did take her out of the room for the end of the movie.
The point is, only YOU know your children best. I'm not saying the website is bad. I'm saying, please don't use it to make your decisions. Make your decisions on how well you know your child. If you don't want to guess, watch it yourself first. Only you can decide what it best for your child. Whether it's a simple movie or a complicated issue. You have the full ability to decide what is best. You don't need websites to tell you what to do.
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