Scary Movies Tips
Are your kids ready for brain-eating zombies?
- The younger kids are when they see a scary movie or TV show, the longer-lasting the effects will be
- Kids who watch scary stuff often have nightmares or anxiety
- Kids 2 to 7 often can't distinguish between fantasy and reality
See resources for this topic
Download a parent handoutSee related research
Send this page to a friend
Sign up for our newsletter
Related articles
Horror Movies and Your TeensTalking About "Sexting"
The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)
Workshop: Raising Kids in a Digital World (Elementary School)
Workshop: Raising Kids in a Digital World (Middle and High School)
Advice and Answers
Are they ready for brain-eating zombies?
Your 9-year-old is clambering for a scary movie at the video store. Not just any scary movie, but one where people are cut up with a hacksaw. Is it okay for them to be scared silly by something so gory? Or will they have nightmares for a month? (Will you?) It’s good to know what works for kids by age, so you can keep “being scared out of your wits“ fun for everyone.What are they?
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. At earlier ages, they are more readily frightened by creatures that older children know don’t exist. Abrupt noises and eerie sounds or music create tension in both young and older children. And psychological suspense with its threats of impending doom can terrify your middle school kids.Why they matter
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 certain 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 really impact vulnerable kids for years.Parent tips for 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.Parent tips for preschool/early elementary kids
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 very careful with monsters, skeletons, aliens, and zombies. Avoid any dangerous stuff involving parents, siblings, or kids near their age.
If your child is frightened, give them physical comfort, a glass of water, or distract them. Kids 2 to 7 respond well to magical remedies and nightly rituals such as cleaning the monsters out of the closet.
um my mom isnt usually strict about alot of movies but somehow she is strict about horror movies tell your daughter that the movie is just a movie tell her that youll be right next to her to protect her if something does happen
Do not show her anymore scary movies then. Only show her movies like casper the friendly ghost. and g-rated movies and the like.
yeah I just reported him 2.
REPORTED! dont disrespect children like that.to maniac 1031
Honestly- my parents let me see poltergeist when i was about nine, and it didnt scare me very much either. In fact, the one horror movie i'm NOT allowed to see is The Exorcist (because i went to catholic school, my mom is afraid it would be too disturbing). But I know my own limits- what i can handle and what i wouldnt want to see. i had enough foresight to wait to watch the omen until i was 12 or 13 so i wouldnt be so freaked out- and i wasnt scared! so let the kids watch the movies. as long as they arent, like, eight.
WHY ARE U TEACHING KIDS THIS BULL!!! JUST TELL THEM TO GROW A PAIR OF BALLS LIKE WE DID WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN!!! TELL THEM TO GO SUCK POPSICLES YOU LITTLE BITCH AND PISS IN THEIR FACE IF YOU HAVE TO!!! ( of course i put another liquid in ther face ;] ) 8===>~
It's funny. I'm a kid contributor and I admit, I do see the slice 'em and dice 'em category but I know this stuff is not realistic. Aliens and evil robots rarely scare me because they are too fantasy like. Shoot, even Saw is unrealistic. I say if you let your kids watch horror movie and they feel uncomfortable, try talking with them. A good conversation would be very helpful. I know that whenever I get scared, my parents told me to watch through my window, the night stars, and I would never get scared. It's worked since then. Also, try showing them movies that hamper away from the realistic category. Such films as Alien and Shaun of the dead. Those events can't take place and real life and less likely for them to be scared.
You should have a talk with them, tell them that what they have seen could never happen in real life,When I first saw "jaws" I was so scared I almost cried, but watching it a second time, I realized that this is a spectacular movie that couldn' even be real, I sugust you watch it with you child and show them the parts that could never happen and explain why, and if they still fell scared, you can always comfert them with a hug or a kiss.
i still get scared of the dark so i can't exactly help that much but i usually try to keep my mind off of anything that relates to the movie ( in this case)
find out what movie she saw, learn more about the movie, talk to her about it, and try to explain to her that the movie is not real. Then, rent (or buy) the movie and watch it with them a second time. When you watch a movie that disturbs or surprises you, you tend to remember the events in the movie more graphically or horrifically than they really are. If you watch the scary movie with her in a well-lit room and give her control of the remote, the scary moments will tend to seem less scary, since she is watching it for a second time (she already knows what will happen) and she's watching it with you. This way, you can remind her that you are there with her and she's only watching a something on a screen.