Now let’s be realistic here when we’re talking about ‘kids’. We’re not talking about teenagers, who can and should be able to handle a great deal of subject matter that younger children aren’t always equipped for. We’re talking more about pre-teens and below, those that are still fairly impressionable and might still need a bit of reassuring to know that the nighttime monsters featured in the movies aren’t real and that no, we don’t really treat each other the way people do in the movies. Or at least we shouldn’t be treating each other that way. Anyway, the point is that there are plenty of folks that initially don’t see any real problem with exposing their kids to graphic violence, adult situations, and foul language in the movies that we come to love later on in life. But to each their own, right? After all, unless they’re our kids, we’re not paying the possible therapy bills and don’t have to take the time to sort a child out when they think it’s okay to treat other people like dirt since they saw it in the movies. But there are movies that one might regret showing to a kid later on in life for various reasons, not the least of which might be that it was traumatizing in some way that’s hard to define, or simply shaped their young mind in a manner that we weren’t ready to accept.
Here are five movies that you might regret showing to your kid.
5. Sixteen Candles
This movie is something that would go right over a young kid’s head most times since a lot of the jokes are pretty crude and yes, there is some stereotyping going on and even a bit of what some people might call pervy behavior since let’s face it, it’s high school. But one thing about this movie is that it’s definitely best to watch as a teenager or as an adult since those of us that watched it when the movie first came out could at least understand a good part of what the characters were going through. High school isn’t always a nice and safe experience, but at the very least it’s an adventure that will keep you on your toes.
4. The Breakfast Club
Seriously, almost NO ONE just waltzes into detention on a Saturday just because they’re bored. It’s easier to be bored at home or somewhere else than it is at school since, well, you’re at school, one of the places most people try to avoid unless it’s an actual school day. It depends on how a person feels about their school experience really, but being forced to attend Saturday school isn’t a lot of people’s idea of a good time, and the prospect of making friends in this manner isn’t as realistic as it might appear. Plus, anyone taking after John Bender is going to have a rather hard time in life given that at the end of the day he still had the worst home to go back to.
3. The Bad News Bears
Foul language, racism, and sexism are big reasons why you’ll get a lot of questions as a parent when it comes to this movie since it doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to displaying all three of them in short order. So long as you’re there to tell your kid the difference between now and then however it should be okay, but otherwise any impressionable kid might be a little confused by this. Plus, the whole idea of ‘plays ball like a girl’ has really changed throughout the years, and while it’s not exactly an insult that people will resort to any longer, it’s one that’s still stuck in the back of our minds as a kind of habit that won’t go away quietly.
2. 300
A big part of this movie is the wanton violence that takes place that might be confusing or troubling to kids, but the rest of it is the actual thought that history does take place in this movie, but from a very different perspective that might make people think that Spartans were all big, muscular bohunks that wore sandals, a cape, and something to cover themselves for decency. Rest assured they wouldn’t have lasted long had this been the limit of their armor. In truth, Spartan’s were like mobile tanks unto themselves since between their armor, weaponry, and shields, they were among the toughest warriors on the field.
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
If you don’t want your kid to go to sleep or are willing to put a mattress at the side of your bed for them, then this movie is fair game since it’s caused enough nightmares in the past to last for several lifetimes. Personally watching the third movie made me afraid to even look at the veins in my wrists for fear that they’d simply pop out, but the first movie was troubling enough since it crossed the line between reality and the dream world and ever looked back.
Oh, there are many, MANY more movies you might never want to let your kid watch.
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