Films, TV shows and their certification, etc - a watching guide for parents.

guess i find people who consciously refuse their kids telly to be guilty of abuse. ok, that last line might be hyperbole. i am being slightly tongue in cheek.

slightly tongue in cheek? how about completely mental?

I can see why people ban tv from their kids, absolutely, being parked in front of the tv all through my childhood is probably why I have the attention span of a gnat, but then I could never ban A from watching as it's also where I learned so much stuff. But to equate the withdrawal of tv to abuse even in jest is a little distasteful I feel.

I was kidding! Dude, chill out! Of course it's not abuse! Did you think I was serious? Come on. I still think that one should introduce the telly. Extremes don't work in my mind. You have to teach children how to use the medium in a healthy way: show'em how it can distort reality for example (of course not when they are a toddler), teach them how advertisements work,... Show'em the evil that Fox is. How political it can be....

we have cable but just a few kids channels. however, there is a lot of free kids stuff on our "on demand" thing, so the kids are enjoying some of that retro junk. first time i'd seen "topcat" in about 30 years

as soon as i read 'topcat' into my head came "Top cat! the indisputable leader of the gang. He's the boss, he's a pip, he's the championship. He's the most tip top, Top Cat. Yes he's a chief, he's a king, but above everything, he's the most tip top, Top Cat." See tv didnt ruin my braine!!

We are, perhaps selfishly, giving Ava and Lulu a heavy dose of our own 1970s US/UK childhoods - we have Electric Company, Sesame Street, Mary, Mungo & Midge, Clangers, Schoolhouse Rock, Herbs, etc DVDs. But it does seem like a bit of a golden age of children's TV. But we would say that.

Their behaviour is absolutely shot to pieces after a heavy day of TV (i.e., we've resorted to it because there's something we really have to do that doesn't involve them) - they don't listen, they're disobedient, they're moody, etc. So, y'know, moderation in all things. There seems to be an ideal of about 30-35min during which they're entertained, engaged, asking questions...beyond that it's very much zombie mode. There are some exceptions - Ava was genuinely rapt and charmed throughout the whole of Miyazaki's Totoro, for example. And they were golden during their one cinema visit (The Aristocats, a kids' matinee at the Barbican - OUR first cinema visit since 2004!).

It's a meaninglessly small sample, but the one family we know who don't own a TV have two super-bright girls (four and two, like ours - plus a baby brother) who are exceptionally articulate but also rather disconcertingly serious for their age. But I'm not going to suggest that's down to no telly!

I suppose we should be grateful that we hear "Can I dance to Blondie/We Are The Robots/the monkey song*/crazy fast music**" as much as "Can I have a little bit of CBeebies?"

(* - Peanut by Quitzow; ** - Get Yr Snack On by Amon Tobin)

The Aristocats, a kids' matinee at the Barbican

Don't make the mistake we made and get the Aristocrats - it's not the same thing AT ALL...

my kid's watching fricking macguyver on netflix. why can't i be high right now?

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They watched Lukas Moodysson's We Are The Best! the other night. It's a 15 certificate but that's pretty much entirely for swearing and they can get past that. They loved it so much. Lulu (7) thought it was better than the Lego Movie, which is high praise indeed.
I mean, they already have a "band" (Pitchfork Pandemonium) which isn't much less realised than Bobo and Klara's band in the first half of the film. They could relate.

I'm prob considered weird (or eurotrash lol) for letting my kids watch most things. We watched Sex Education together. Ophelia's 13 yo. Actually it should be required watching for all teens. It's awesome.