• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 13.

• Is it any good?

  3.0

• Common Sense says

  Man-eating fish tales are too intense for young kids.

Why We Rated This for Ages 13 and Up

The good stuff

• Messages:

  The show promotes keeping an open mind when it comes to popular beliefs about the vicious nature of the fish it tracks. Each episode features many emotional accounts from injury victims and witnesses to deaths from fish-induced wounds (for example, a grandfather recounts how he only recovered the bones of his young grandson after he was attacked by piranhas).

What to watch out for

• Role models:

  The host models persistence and determination, leaving no stone unturned in his investigations. But he also often puts himself in harm's way to observe creatures' behavior and test their attack instinct -- though he always treats the fish with respect.
• Violence:

  Re-enactments of drowning scenes and blurred shots of people attacked by flesh-eating fish. The host often uses himself as bait, swimming in fish-infested waters to test their attack instincts, so there's always the possibility of injury. He also baits them with animal carcasses so he can watch them devour the meat.
• Sex:

  Not an issue.
• Language:

  Not an issue.
• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

About River Monsters

Families Can Talk About