Scary Kid's Movie??

[Hunni Bee]

Okay, so we take our preschool and school-age kids to the weekly free kiddie movies at the local movie theater...about every couple of weeks. The last movie we saw, the kids really enjoyed it and were still talking about it weeks later. Its h3ll trying to get seats all together and the "i want some wildly expensive movie snacks, but my parents didn't give me any money" stuff, but we mostly have a good time.

So we go this morning...I didn't check what was playing because it usually doesn't matter to them, and they are all silly kid movies anyway. About 20 minutes in, me and my preschoolers were heading out to the lobby. The movie was SO scary. It was called "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", and it was similar to Harry Potter. But it was entirely too much for my 3, 4 and 5 year olds...they were cowering in the seat and hiding their eyes. The stepdad in the movie was slapping the mom on the butt and drinking beer, there were monsters I even covered my eyes at, explosions and car crashes, etc...We let the SA's stay...but me and my babies beat it out of there.

When an attendant saw us milling around in the lobby and asked us why, and I told her...she just blew me off.

Should I call and complain...the movie was rated PG...and you can't really tell what the movies are about from the listing they give you. I feel like all the movies they show should be able to be seen by all ages of kids, since its the Kids Summer Movie Series. One of my dck's had a bad dream at nap.

WWYD?

[Crystal]

I understand your being upset, but in all honesty, it really is your responsibility to check to see what is playing and decide whether or not it's a good choice for your DCK....the movies ARE for kids, but you need to take into consideration that they are intended for all age kids, not just the littles. I imagine they would have complaints about all the free movies being intended for the very young crowd from parents of tweens.....I'd let it go.

ETA: I see you checked the listing and it doesn't explain....I would take it a step further and google the title to see what it's about.

[MarinaVanessa]

I would make sure that I checked on what movie they were showing next time before I took the kiddo's and maybe do a little research on it to see if it was appropriate for the age of kids in my care. Contrary to what many people believe PG, movies are not really meant for kids of all ages. If you want a movie that is appropriate for kids of all ages including very young kids then you should look for the G rating.

Here is what I found about ratings:

G movies
"According to the MPAA, a "G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture."

PG movies
"A PG-rated film may not be suitable for children. The MPAA says a PG-rated should be checked out by parents before allowing younger children to see the movie. There could be some profanity, some violence, or brief nudity, however there will not be any drug use in a PG film."

Just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

[Hunni Bee]

I understand your being upset, but in all honesty, it really is your responsibility to check to see what is playing and decide whether or not it's a good choice for your DCK....the movies ARE for kids, but you need to take into consideration that they are intended for all age kids, not just the littles. I imagine they would have complaints about all the free movies being intended for the very young crowd from parents of tweens.....I'd let it go.

ETA: I see you checked the listing and it doesn't explain....I would take it a step further and google the title to see what it's about.

Yeah, you're right. My co-worker suggest I complain...I was more upset about having to actually leave and mess up their outing than I am about the actual movie.

The reason I didn't check is because usually if they have a movie like that, they'll do a different one for the littles. At least thats what they did last year...but I will be googling the titles from now on. Thanks.

[e.j.]

I'd chalk it up to a lesson learned. I wouldn't complain.

I looked up PG ratings and this is one of the explanations I read: A PG-rated film may not be suitable for children. The MPAA says a PG-rated should be checked out by parents before allowing younger children to see the movie. There could be some profanity, some violence, or brief nudity, however there will not be any drug use in a PG film.

I think I'd just make sure that any movies you bring the kids to in the future are rated G.

[e.j.]

I would make sure that I checked on what movie they were showing next time before I took the kiddo's and maybe do a little research on it to see if it was appropriate for the age of kids in my care. Contrary to what many people believe PG, movies are not really meant for kids of all ages. If you want a movie that is appropriate for kids of all ages including very young kids then you should look for the G rating.

Here is what I found about ratings:

G movies
"According to the MPAA, a "G-rated motion picture contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters that, in the view of the Rating Board, would offend parents whose younger children view the motion picture."

PG movies
"A PG-rated film may not be suitable for children. The MPAA says a PG-rated should be checked out by parents before allowing younger children to see the movie. There could be some profanity, some violence, or brief nudity, however there will not be any drug use in a PG film."

Just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Great minds think alike! ::

[MarinaVanessa]

I'd chalk it up to a lesson learned. I wouldn't complain.

I looked up PG ratings and this is one of the explanations I read: A PG-rated film may not be suitable for children. The MPAA says a PG-rated should be checked out by parents before allowing younger children to see the movie. There could be some profanity, some violence, or brief nudity, however there will not be any drug use in a PG film.

I think I'd just make sure that any movies you bring the kids to in the future are rated G.

LOL you and I must have been on the same website at the same time ::::::

[e.j.]

LOL you and I must have been on the same website at the same time ::::::

We're posting at the same time, too! ::

[GretasLittleFriends]

I agree with previous poster, you should have checked to see what was showing a head of time. Also, if the description isn't the best, you can always look at movie trailers at imdb or youtube.

I have seen the movie (and read all of the Percy Jackson/Olympian books) and I agree, it's not meant for the 2-4 range. Unfortunately most of the 2-4 crowd I have, have probably all seen it, as some of the parents could really care less about what their children see. I have a 5yr old boy whose father allows him to play Call of Duty: Black Ops (a video game rated Mature 17+). He has come to my house on several occasions and talked about the bloody messes from blowing peoples' heads off with the M60 or 60cal machine gun (same thing). All I can do is request the child not discuss that video game here. Yet dad blames child's bad behavior on mom (they're divorced) ?? I only have him when mom has him, so not much during the summer.

What would I do? I would apologize to the parents of the kids that were too little for the movie and explain that it was a PG movie, and you hadn't investigated it completely. I agree over all I'd let it go.

As far as the attendant blowing you off, and since the movie was free, there isn't much she can do about it. Perhaps she could have said something like "I'm sorry to hear that" but the thought didn't cross her mind.

[Hunni Bee]

I agree with previous poster, you should have checked to see what was showing a head of time. Also, if the description isn't the best, you can always look at movie trailers at imdb or youtube.

I have seen the movie (and read all of the Percy Jackson/Olympian books) and I agree, it's not meant for the 2-4 range. Unfortunately most of the 2-4 crowd I have, have probably all seen it, as some of the parents could really care less about what their children see. I have a 5yr old boy whose father allows him to play Call of Duty: Black Ops (a video game rated Mature 17+). He has come to my house on several occasions and talked about the bloody messes from blowing peoples' heads off with the M60 or 60cal machine gun (same thing). All I can do is request the child not discuss that video game here. Yet dad blames child's bad behavior on mom (they're divorced) ?? I only have him when mom has him, so not much during the summer.

What would I do? I would apologize to the parents of the kids that were too little for the movie and explain that it was a PG movie, and you hadn't investigated it completely. I agree over all I'd let it go.

As far as the attendant blowing you off, and since the movie was free, there isn't much she can do about it. Perhaps she could have said something like "I'm sorry to hear that" but the thought didn't cross her mind.

I did explain to the little's parents what happened. Nobody was upset. They only saw about 15 mins of it, so they missed most of the scary parts. And we went and got ice cream afterward, so they cared more about that . I'll be more careful next time.

[Kaddidle Care]

Should I call and complain...the movie was rated PG...and you can't really tell what the movies are about from the listing they give you. I feel like all the movies they show should be able to be seen by all ages of kids, since its the Kids Summer Movie Series. One of my dck's had a bad dream at nap.

WWYD?

Always check out the movie first - I found this site recently and it's great for letting you know what to expect for the Kadiddles.

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

Here's their take on Percy Jackson:

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/p/percyjacksonandtheolympiansthelightningthief.htm

The higher the rating numbers, the less chance you want to take the littles.

Stick with G rated movies for them. (I know they are hard to find these days - sadly. )