Would you let your 7 year old watch Home Alone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, because what all of you are not understanding is that the core of the message to a 7 year old is abandonment. The child in that movie is abandoned by his parents. Your child will think "Oh, wow, will my parents do that to me? Hollywood says so" and now you have a kid with an anxiety disorder

I literally can't tell if you're trolling but I'm a child therapist and Home Alone is not how anxiety disorders are created.

[Anonymous]

We have a decent amount of property crime and roaming transients where I live (urban area adjacent to large college campus) so no, my 8 year old is not going to be watching Home Alone. She has enough worries about break-ins and “bad guys” as it is.

My DH was watching it the other day and I was impatient with the slapstick but forgot how charming Macaulay Caulkin is as Kevin. And I love the O’Hare scenes. It feels like the only place in the world that hasn’t changed since I was in 5th grade!

[Anonymous]

My children (8 & 6) are so ready to be left home alone after watching it. They each detailed how unlikely it was that we’d be robbed, but did separately describe how they’d walk to Walgreens and buy Skittles to survive if faced with a similar situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we watched it last year with a 4&5yo and BOY oh BOY was it a bit darker than I remember. Fast forward to the summer and we found ourselves with an interesting mix of old DVDs for the former nanny minivan.

One I had on loop for a while was Uncle Buck. Again - a little dicey in sections but overall a wholesome message and fun story. McCauley Kulkin also stars as the precocious middle child.

So lo and behold when we watched Home Alone this year - and discussed the possibility that gangsters were gunned down over money issues in the past - who should appear in the Scranton airport with the Polka Kings but Uncle Buck!

The excitement on their faces being able to see Uncle Buck save the day again was rewarding.

I haven’t told them that Uncle Buck’s big old heart gave out a few years later due to abuse of not going to bed on time AND not eating enough of his grow foods.

RIP John Candy.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 5 and 7. We watched it together last year too, maybe even the year before. But they're not allowed to watch any of the sequels because they're so terrible.

[Anonymous]

I saw it the year it came out (I was 6), and loved it! It’s my favorite Christmas movie

[Anonymous]

DC was at the cousin’s house when they saw it. I was surprised at the profanity used unnecessarily. The violence is more slapstick type. The movie is Pg-13 so just be there to ‘guide’ if you want your child to watch it for the first time. Or, if you have a very sensitive child to dark pictures, bad language, being left alone, or bad guys attacking house, then just pass on it another year or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC was at the cousin’s house when they saw it. I was surprised at the profanity used unnecessarily. The violence is more slapstick type. The movie is Pg-13 so just be there to ‘guide’ if you want your child to watch it for the first time. Or, if you have a very sensitive child to dark pictures, bad language, being left alone, or bad guys attacking house, then just pass on it another year or so.

It's PG.

And yes, I let my 7 year old watch it- along with her 5 year old sister. They loved it.

[Anonymous]

I was a HIGHLY sensitive kid and the whole "being left alone" thing didn't register with me. And the violence was more comical than anything else (except the stepping on the nail, that still makes me cringe at almost 40 years old). The only part that really bothered me was the storyline about the neighbor. I always teared up with how they thought he was dangerous but really he was just a lonely old man filled with regrets. It still tugs at my heart strings a bit.

[Anonymous]

I loved watching Home Alone with my son when he was that age. The belly laughs! I’ve loved watching it with him even though I have to shut my eyes as he kicks the crap out of the burglers. I don’t remember how old he was when he first saw it but he’s 11 now. When we watched it this year he was over it. Made my husband and I so sad that he’s moving on. Watch the movie and enjoy, OP!!

[Anonymous]

We watched it with our 6 year old who seemed to enjoy it and the message of the movie is overall positive - your family might annoy you but you love them and would miss them. I’m ok with movies and shows with plots it’s the mindless YouTube drivel that I try to avoid.

[Anonymous]

I think 7 is a good age. I think I was watching it as a baby because of older siblings. My kids have been watching it since my oldest was probably 5 or 6. The younger ones have seen it even younger than that but weren’t interested until they were around that age as well. My youngest is 6 now and they all still love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children (8 & 6) are so ready to be left home alone after watching it. They each detailed how unlikely it was that we’d be robbed, but did separately describe how they’d walk to Walgreens and buy Skittles to survive if faced with a similar situation.

Yes, it was clear when I watched this with my DD for the first time when she was probably 6 or 7 that she thought she would have used all the same tactics as Kevin to defend the home!

We are in Chicago so not only have we seen Home Alone but we have gone several times to the Home Alone house in the suburbs. This year we are discussing the WaPo story about how much money the trip would have cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC was at the cousin’s house when they saw it. I was surprised at the profanity used unnecessarily. The violence is more slapstick type. The movie is Pg-13 so just be there to ‘guide’ if you want your child to watch it for the first time. Or, if you have a very sensitive child to dark pictures, bad language, being left alone, or bad guys attacking house, then just pass on it another year or so.

Home Alone is rated PG, not PG-13.

[Anonymous]

I can’t believe how much “talking through it” Home Alone “requires.” What’s going to happen when you finally let them see the greatest Christmas movie of all time… Die Hard?