Thread: Do parents have the right to tell a 14 yr. old what movies they can watch?

If a teenager is 14 years old, do you think parents should have the right to tell them what movies they are able to watch? Quite a few family members came by to stay for the weekend, and a cousin of mine wanted to watch "Black Swan" but her mom said there was no way she would be able to watch the movie with the rest of the family because she said there was a lesbian scene in there she did not want her to see.



Now, I can understand if she was 12 but she is 14. Your thoughts???

well thats pretty silly. I bet hes jacked off thinking about lesbians at least once. i know i did long before 14, but maybe im a pervert
anyhow i dont see what harm seeing a lesbian scene could do. would they mind if it was heterosexual? probably not, which has an air of homophobia about it i think...
sure they have the right to shield their child from it, but i dont think its right.

First off, Black Swan is rated "R" which means no one under the age of 17 should watch it without a parent or guardian being present. That is the reason the rating system is there, so parents can make informed decisions on what their children can or can't watch. Secondly, as long as the child lives under the parents roof, the parent has all the right to not let a child watch certain movies if they feel it is unsuitable for the child.

my answer to this is hell yeah when my children were both 14 I made sure that they were not watching anything that was inappropriate I only allowed basic cable throughout the house and the box was in my bedroom which was always off limit to my kids as they grew up. Another thing although they had basic cable never let my kids watch the Simpson either as I felt that Bart is too disrespectful to Adults and kids mimic what they see my house my cable damn right I dictate what is being watched

It's not a boy its a girl

well yes they have the right. the kid is a legal minor. and i dont understand how 12 is that much different to 14....

but yes in saying that, parents let their kids play violent video games and thats ok, but nudity is not? seriously wtf...nudity is natural. sure so is violence but one is more harmful than the other

Some people are rather homophobic, and maybe she's trying to stop your cousin from 'becoming a lesbian' or some crap like that.

Yeah, I think parents exist to stop their kids from doing the wrong things, but you know what else exists? Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Violence, Crime, Racism, Prejudice, Genocide. I could go on, but the problem is, parents try to pretend these things don't exist, but they do. And pretending they don't exist isn't going to help. They're gonna find out through other ways. They need to teach their kids that although these things exist, you shouldn't do them. (Or in the case of Sex & Alcohol, take them in moderation)

Originally Posted by shadowbuild

Another thing although they had basic cable never let my kids watch the Simpson either as I felt that Bart is too disrespectful to Adults and kids mimic what they see my house my cable damn right I dictate what is being watched

Oh god!! Don't ever let them go to England or they might start trying to find platform 9 3/4!!

a very interesting topic, i do think parents should have the right and power to make informed decisions on the flip side these individuals will find out about everything in time and thats where i myself find it difficult as i myself never liked being told what to do! it seems to me that the children of today seem to know allot due to probably all the different means of communication we have in todays world. I think that also everything seems to be more in the open these days and more openly talked about. at the conclusion as long as they still live home they should respect their parents wishes and maybe parents could try to treat them like individuals and try to explain why? being a parent is a not easy period.

Yes they absolutely have the right to dictate what their children are exposed to. 14 is still very much a child. As long as my children are minors growing up under my guardianship they will do as I say. It is ridiculous to say that because they are 14 they have the right to watch what they please. I don't think so. 14 year old children are still highly influenced and the media plays a big part in that. Now do I think a lesbian scene will "harm" a child? No. But it's not my child, it's someone else's - and they have every right to protect them from that if they so choose.

This next bit is slightly off topic but I think it does have relevance. Scientists have said that the human brain does not stop fully maturing until the age of 25. In my opinion, that means people under that age should not be driving, drinking, or signing up to join the military. They should still be minors. And as long as they are minors, their parents should have a say in their life.

Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by Pair_of_Duck

Oh god!! Don't ever let them go to England or they might start trying to find platform 9 3/4!!

Stop glaring. You know that platform 9 3/4 actually exists right? I've seen it. Kings Cross set it up because of all the tourists coming there. Its got a trolley sticking out of the wall.