There are some kid movies out there that are great, but most parents get burned out on having to watch the same ones repeatedly. Because of this, my husband and I have started experimenting with more adult movies that are mild enough for our kids to watch. Age-appropriateness is a strange thing, and it can be a hard one to navigate.
But, sheesh, is it worth it.
I distinctly remember the PG-13 movie that I got to watch before I was 13 because of my mom's love for Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a favorite in my house growing up. The only truly scary part of that movie for me was when Donovan has his life stripped away and turns into a skeleton. I would close my eyes every time, but it didn't screw me up. I just didn't watch it.
Getting to watch this movie made me feel super cool and I know my parents enjoyed getting to watch some different stuff, too. Sharing some more adult movies with my kids is just making memories that they're going to be able to hold on to forever. Not letting my son watch Hulk just isn't an option anymore. We're making memories with the movies and in daily play as he runs around pretending to be his favorite superhero.
Finding where to draw the line is a definite learning experience.
It can be challenging to do with kids. There are things that you need to steer them away from, but other movies that are mostly OK or that have scenes your kids won't notice isn't going to make or break them. Superhero movies, Harry Potter and Star Wars are the main ones that I've let them watch at this point. Yes there are some "adult" moments, but overall, my kids are 3 and 5, and they seem to do just fine with these.
The moments of violence and crudity are based in totally fictional worlds, and I make sure that they know that.
My 3-year-old's favorite superhero is the Hulk, so we started watching 'The Avengers' movies.
It all stemmed from my husband buying him an action figure, and his love just grew from there. The Avengers movies are really the best options for something to watch that features his favorite superhero. Are all of the parts kid-appropriate? Maybe not. Is most of it fine? Yes. Is putting it on worth it for him to see his favorite superhero and Mark Ruffalo's stellar performance? Definitely.
Plus, mixing in some of these movies helps preserve our sanity a bit.
There's fighting and some swearing, but there's nothing all that terrible. All that my son wants is for Hulk to be grumpy and smash things. This is literally all he cares about. It doesn't make him more violent. He doesn't repeat swears. The worst thing that happens is that he wants to skip the parts of the movies that don't have Hulk.
As parents, there's only so much 'Daniel Tiger' that we can watch before our brains start to melt.
Some TV shows that we used to watch before having kids are much worse than The Avengers. I wouldn't show my kids How I Met Your Mother, primarily because of the Barney character. I don't think the way he talks about women is OK for my kids to hear. His ideas are inappropriate and outdated. They don't need to hear that crap, but Hulk fighting bad guys or lightsaber fights, sure, why not?
Bringing in some other movies that are mostly OK can be done carefully and strategically.
Make sure to screen things first, but not everything is off-limits. Sharing movies you love with your kids is a super fun part of being a parent. And it helps your sanity, too. It is up to you to decide which ones your kids can handle, and those may be different than the ones mine can.
