Is it ever ok to expose our kids to adult scenes in movies?

So myself and the hubby went on one of our monthly Date Days last week. Our work schedules are so crazy we’ve taken to having dates on Sunday afternoons; a couple of blissful hours of just us then back in time to put the kids to bed. It’s normally heaven, but this date proved to be a bit more controversial.

 

Off we went for a quick bite to eat then on to see Reese Witherspoon’s latest movie Wild; a movie about a woman’s self discovery after a tumultuous past. As the lights were dimming, two ladies came in and sat right in front of us, accompanied by a child who must have been no more than five-years-old.

 

Straight away I was uncomfortable. Having read the book, I knew the type of adult content that would probably be in the movie and considering the movie was rated 15A, I personally didn’t think it was suitable for a child. Almost immediately, there was nudity and sexual scenes, and it continued on in that fashion, with flashbacks to her wilder days - more sexual scenes with graphic heroin and drug use.

 

Now normally I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at this type of movie, but I was acutely aware of the young child right in front of me seeing these disturbing scenes without even the slightest attempt of shielding him.

 

I know this says an awful lot more about me than those two ladies. I used to think that I was very much a ‘live and let live’ type of person, strongly believing in letting people make their own choices and disliking ‘nanny states’ where governments and higher authorities tried to put limitations on what people see and are exposed to.

 

This experience affected me much more than I thought it would. I thought maybe it was just me; maybe I’m more prudish and old fashioned than I thought? I sought out my friends’ opinions – those who have children and those who haven’t, grandmothers and grandfathers – and I’ve heard all sides of the debate.

 

It ranged from absolute horror and disbelief to the opinion that the child was so young, he probably wouldn’t have realised what was going on in the movie anyway. Some also raised the question of why the cinema allowed the child in to see this movie in the first place, but as the movie was rated 15A, according the Irish Film Classification Office: “Films classified 15A have been deemed appropriate for viewers of fifteen and over. However, they can also be seen by younger children - provided they are accompanied by an adult who has deemed the film appropriate viewing for that child.”

 

And that is what it comes down to I suppose; ‘appropriate viewing for that child’ and the differences in opinion over what one adult deems appropriate for their child. We all know that in the minefield of parenting there are many differences of opinions on everything and who are we to say what is right or wrong?

 

I just know in my heart of hearts, I would never be comfortable exposing my children to that type of adult content and truth be told, I’m not comfortable with any other child being exposed to it either.