8 year old totally resistant to watching movies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have what I think is a typical 8 year old girl, except for one thing: she hates watching movies. She would rather do nothing or go to bed early than curl up and watch a Christmas movie, and I can count on two hands the movies she’s been willing to watch over the course of her entire life.

We can get her to watch the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and White Christmas 2-3 times per year each. She’s seen a handful of Disney movies. And that’s it. Even when she hears about great movies from her friends, she has zero FOMO and zero desire to watch new movies.

She loves TV shows, especially ones that are a bit young for her age, and she reads a lot with extremely strong comprehension and at a level a few years higher than her grade.

Should I be worried about an issue that’s keeping her from understanding movies? She was tested because we worried she had a learning disability, but she is in 97-99th percentiles in every area except processing speed, which is low in comparison.

Would processing speed affect her ability to follow and enjoy movies?

My normal 7.5 year old does not like movies. She loves reading, karate, soccer, puzzles and all normal things but not movies. Why is it a concern if a child doesn't like movies?

Because watching movies is a huge part of US culture. Like signing your kid up for sports, getting a dog/cat, etc

So you actually think a child should what, go to therapy because they don’t like movies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m very smart and there are very few movies that I can sit through. Such a waste of time. Would rather read a book or two in that time.

That’s cool

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was exactly like this. In kindergarten she cried at movies and had to sit in the library while other kids watched. She watched PBS as a preschooler but was still alarmed if a cartoon character was upset. It was total anxiety. Gifted children are often very attuned to emotional layers and are really distraught. We did not have the TV on much and she was not used to it. She finally got over it when she realized that at school they were only showing educational movies and not Chainsaw Massacre!

I had a student or two like this, also, over the years.

My daughter taught herself to read before kindergarten and just preferred books, because they are not so visually stimulating.

I get very bored at movies and rarely watch any and I don’t watch TV at all. Your daughter might enjoy watching twenty minutes at a time and then doing something else.

Anxiety over characters is such a thing!

My child’s Kindergarten class talked a big game about movies. If you listened to the recess chatter, they had all seen Star Wars, Grease, and every Disney and Pixar movie.

During the last week of school they earned a movie as a reward from their sweet, loving 2nd year teacher: Finding Nemo.

As my Dd described it, they were really excited. And then it started. And then they started putting their hands over their eyes. And then a couple of boys cried and then everyone cried, and the teacher had to turn the lights up and stop the movie and she re-read part of Ralph S. Mouse instead.

I try to remember this story whenever her classmates (much older now!) are being jerks.

[Anonymous]

My 15yo daughter is like this. She is very extroverted and active and would rather practice sports or her instrument or just talk to someone instead. She’s just not a very visual person, never liked video games either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does she have difficulty recognizing new faces?

This is an interesting insight. I struggled to watch movies as a kid as well and I also had a terrible time following characters as I couldn’t recognize or remember their faces from scene to scene. I also had undiagnosed ADHD and it was hard for me to sit still for 2.5 hours. I’m highly intelligent otherwise and seem to have grown out of it now as an adult.

I have a bit of this. Always struggled with faces. The worst movie for me was watching the departed with Matt Damon & Leonardo di caprio, had to keep checking with dh who is who. I usually rely on non facial features to recognize people, haircut, skin color etc. These two where identical

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have what I think is a typical 8 year old girl, except for one thing: she hates watching movies. She would rather do nothing or go to bed early than curl up and watch a Christmas movie, and I can count on two hands the movies she’s been willing to watch over the course of her entire life.

We can get her to watch the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and White Christmas 2-3 times per year each. She’s seen a handful of Disney movies. And that’s it. Even when she hears about great movies from her friends, she has zero FOMO and zero desire to watch new movies.

She loves TV shows, especially ones that are a bit young for her age, and she reads a lot with extremely strong comprehension and at a level a few years higher than her grade.

Should I be worried about an issue that’s keeping her from understanding movies? She was tested because we worried she had a learning disability, but she is in 97-99th percentiles in every area except processing speed, which is low in comparison.

Would processing speed affect her ability to follow and enjoy movies?

My normal 7.5 year old does not like movies. She loves reading, karate, soccer, puzzles and all normal things but not movies. Why is it a concern if a child doesn't like movies?

Because watching movies is a huge part of US culture. Like signing your kid up for sports, getting a dog/cat, etc

It’s so sad that you seem to honestly believe this.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone bet themselves how many posters would mention their “brilliant” kids, their I Q, their Ivy school, how smart they are?

Hating movies or loving movies is no different than any other activity. You either like watching movies or you don’t. What a stupid thing to even think about.

[Anonymous]

Our DC is similar, probably because we (by choice) all are readers. It is great that people in the US have the freedom to make individual choices about watching movies, reading books, or doing whatever else.

[Anonymous]

My DD is very similar to this and she has ADHD and sensory processing disorder. She is very much an empath and freaks out when something bad/dramatic is happening. But she loves audiobooks and so we listen to stories and she plays quietly while doing so, she will also lay down and listen. The audiobooks also help calm her down. Put on a nice Christmas audible and enjoy yourselves.

[Anonymous]

My DD is like this too, and the reason it's hard is just that DH and I really like movies. I think sometimes it's hard to have a highly sensitive kid because it can alter how you thought you'd spend time together and bond. Like with our DD, the following things are much harder or simply not possible: going to the movies, playing board games, eating dinner together. We've really had to adjust as parents to a different kind of family life than we original thought we'd have.

It doesn't mean it's bad that our kid doesn't really like movies. But it's also a reasonable thing to feel a bit disappointed about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is like this too, and the reason it's hard is just that DH and I really like movies. I think sometimes it's hard to have a highly sensitive kid because it can alter how you thought you'd spend time together and bond. Like with our DD, the following things are much harder or simply not possible: going to the movies, playing board games, eating dinner together. We've really had to adjust as parents to a different kind of family life than we original thought we'd have.

It doesn't mean it's bad that our kid doesn't really like movies. But it's also a reasonable thing to feel a bit disappointed about.

It's fine to be disappointed. The original post mentioned something wrong with the child because she does not like to watch movies. Disappointment is real though, but it's not the same as assuming something is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does she have difficulty recognizing new faces?

This is an interesting insight. I struggled to watch movies as a kid as well and I also had a terrible time following characters as I couldn’t recognize or remember their faces from scene to scene. I also had undiagnosed ADHD and it was hard for me to sit still for 2.5 hours. I’m highly intelligent otherwise and seem to have grown out of it now as an adult.

I have a bit of this. Always struggled with faces. The worst movie for me was watching the departed with Matt Damon & Leonardo di caprio, had to keep checking with dh who is who. I usually rely on non facial features to recognize people, haircut, skin color etc. These two where identical

I didn’t realize how much I rely on other cues to ID people until I watched Orphan Black (show with a bunch of clones played by one actress). When a new clone was introduced, I had no idea it was the same person, because the new character had a different hair style & hair color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids don't like older movies because they are so slow. Not enough dopamine.

Kindergarten teacher here. I’ve seen a big decline in my students’ interest in watching movies over the years. The attention span isn’t there anymore. They used to love watching The Snowman because there is no dialogue in it, just music. This year, I had 1 student out of 20 still watching it 15 minutes into the movie. Ditto with the other teachers. Whatever they show might keep the kids’ interest for maybe 15 minutes tops.

The Snowman is boring and awful. That’s not a “kids these days” problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child with low processing speed enjoys and understands movies like anyone else. Could your daughter be on the autism spectrum?

My kid with Autism loves movies and we see Broadway shows. Why does everyone think Autism?

+1 mine too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a Magna cum Laude graduate everywhere, and I can’t stand sitting through movies. No patience. Such a waste of time.

I’m a nuclear physicist and not a fan of movies. Not for everyone.