What Movies to Show to a Child at Different Ages
Movies are believed to be an efficacious tool to build a child’s character strengths, even though this matter hasn’t been sufficiently studied yet. However, parents don’t always know how to use movies in a way to make them beneficial to their children.
5-Minute Crafts would like to tell you about what movies to show to children at different ages to make sure they are beneficial to them.
Do movies influence children?
Everything that children see and hear can become a source of learning for them, this includes the behavior of their parents and other children, reading a book, or watching a movie.
Movies have a great influence on a child’s development. Depending on the plot, they can contain educational elements, contribute to the development of altruism, build the character, and demonstrate the examples of bad behavior. However, with the guidance of parents, children are able to distinguish good from bad.
While watching a movie, emotional reactions occur that affect behavior and learning. This allows you to empathize with the heroes of the story, to share their feelings without experiencing similar situations in real life. Movies also help to learn foreign languages.
However, watching movies has its downside: vocabulary growth and language development may slow down in young children, schoolers may have weight problems and attention issues, and the duration of sleep may be shortened. In addition, children may adopt bad habits and aggressive behavior from a movie where all these elements are present.
What are film ratings for?
Children of different age groups may understand the same movie in a totally different way. Based on the materials contained in a movie (for example, the way characters speak), the Motion Picture Association has created film ratings that allow you to understand what age a particular movie is suitable for.
- G. General Audiences: All ages are admitted. Parents don’t have to worry while watching this movie with their children. For example: The Lion King, Aladdin, Ratatouille, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Rio, etc.
- PG. Parental Guidance Suggested: Some materials may not be appropriate for young children, according to parents. For example: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Sing 2, Little Women, Star Wars, The Greatest Showman, The Last Airbender, etc.
- PG-13. Parents Strongly Cautioned: Some materials may not be suitable for children under 13 or pre-teenagers. For example: The Avengers, X-Men, Dune, The Adam Project, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Knives Out, etc.
- R. Restricted: Children under 17 should be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are urged to learn more about the movie before taking their children with them, as it may contain materials that are only suitable for adults. For example: Neighbors, Me, Myself and Irene, There’s Something About Mary, Don’t Look Up, The Happening, Deadpool, etc.
- NC-17. Adults only: Children are not admitted. For example: Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Scream, Ozark, Django Unchained, The Shining, etc.
Besides, it’s not only important what movies your children can watch, but also where they do it. You should not take young children to the movies, as the decibel level there can be too high. And this can be dangerous to both adults and children whose ears are still developing.
The examples of movies that develop different character traits
Children often identify themselves with movie characters and want to be like them. Here are some examples of feature movies and animated movies that will be beneficial for children.
- These movies will teach a child to feel comfortable about their looks: Anne of Green Gables, Little Miss Sunshine, Mulan.
- These will help them become more self-confident: Sing, Ferdinand, Harry Potter.
- These will help learn to appreciate friendship and relationships: The Lion King, Charlotte’s Web, Toy Story.
- These will help them see their value and find their place in the world: Inside Out, Amélie, How to Train Your Dragon.
What movies to show at different age
Below are some examples of feature movies, animated movies, and TV shows that are suitable for children of different ages.
0 to 2 years old
Children under 2 years of age develop and learn through interaction with people, so it’s difficult for them to perceive information from digital media. Besides, they can’t relate the information on the screen to the real world.
From 24 months, children are able to learn words from live video-chatting with adults. However, for toddlers under 2 years of age, excessive exposure to digital media is harmful. Since most movies are longer than 1-2 hours, it’s best not to show them to children at this age.
2 to 5 years old
At the age of 2 to 5 years, it’s recommended to limit the time children spend in front of the screen to 1 hour. Therefore, it’s best to choose short movies and TV shows, for example:
- Sesame Street
- The Jungle Book
- Dumbo
- Bambi
- The Land Before Time
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
6 to 9 years old
For children older than 6 years old, there are no specific limits on time of viewing media content. However, parents should ensure that movies don’t replace sleep and physical activity.
- Coco
- The Lion King
- WALL·E
- Toy Story
- Up
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Inside Out
- Aladdin
- Beauty and the Beast
- Despicable Me
9 to 12 years old
- Back to the Future
- Spirited Away
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Maleficent
- Little Women
- Spider-Man
- Escape to Witch Mountain
- The Avengers
- Groundhog Day
- Indiana Jones film series
- The Hobbit
- X-Men
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Karate Kid
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- The Lord of the Rings
- Harry Potter (the Goblet of Fire, the Order of the Phoenix, the Half-Blood Prince, the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2)
- The Martian
- Star Trek
12 to 16 years old
- Inception
- Dirty Dancing
- Source Code
- Speed
- Con Air
- Gone Baby Gone
- The Matrix
- Twilight
- Batman Begins
- The Dark Knight
- Titanic
- Harry Potter
- Step Up
- The Incredibles
- Iron Man
- The Avengers
- Rush Hour
- The Mask of Zorro
- Troy
- Blade Runner
16 to 18 years old
- Mask
- Forrest Gump
- The Green Mile
- Les Misérables
- Million Dollar Baby
- 127 Hours
- Watchmen
- James Bond
