Anonymous wrote:Took me a while to realize you didn't mean the triathlon and I'm thinking "my daughter has been coming to my races since she's born! Should I think about this?!"

i actually thought this, too! i have a friend who triatholons

OP here, I guess I am disturbed by IronMan, so I guess I woudl not want my 4 year old watching but to each his own!

Ironically, letting really young kids watch the movies is "safer" in a way than letting an 8 year old watch a PG-13, a lot of the adult themes go right over their heads!

I fight the good fight, but my kids have watched things younger than I would like. One complicating factor is that my younger son gets to see what my older is finally "ready" to see. I can't quarantine the younger one so the older can watch Goonies, you know?

You never know what you're going to end up doing as a parent. I would not have thought that my kids would have watched all the things they have, but I have stood firm on violence and sex stuff, and DH has stood with me. Thank goodness!

I'd have no problem with a 4 yr old watching Ironman.

Anonymous wrote:Took me a while to realize you didn't mean the triathlon and I'm thinking "my daughter has been coming to my races since she's born! Should I think about this?!"

+1 Too funny!

Anonymous wrote:My DS watched all the Harry Potter movies except the last one at 3, 4 and 5 years old. He is obssessed with HP and has also read the books (he is now 7).

No super hero fans in our house, but I surmise that Harry Potter has some equally scary scenes.

You must do what is best for the individual child. In general I agree such movies are for older children.

Whoa, Harry Potter movies = WAY too scary for the 3 and 5 year old in our house. Not sure why, since we allow Doc Oct and the Green Goblin. Venom and Malelovent from Sleeping Beauty make the kids hide behind the couch during certain scenes.

I would not but I do let my 3 and 5 year old watch cartoons like The Avengers, Spiderman and the old Superman cartoons. Those are pretty violent but not so gory or realistic.

I have noticed that some of the parents at my kid's school have absolutely NO filter for hard core rap, gory movies and games or crap magazines around the house. Especially if they have older kids. They may wonder why we don't do playdates at their house.

It takes us a month to have a free evening to watch a "grown-up" movie like a Jason Bourne or James Bond flick without someone sneaking out of bed to quietly watch over our shoulders until they get caught.

I would not recommend the cartoons we watch to other parents. And even the Disney and Barbie movies involve women getting tied up or someone being locked in a dungeon, and those themes have resurfaced in the kid's play.
The Hulk and Spiderman are so funny though. Hawkeye and (cartoon) Ironman, too. I tell my kids "I think everybody feels like the Hulk sometimes." Like when Mommy is driving in DC traffic!

Took me a while to realize you didn't mean the triathlon and I'm thinking "my daughter has been coming to my races since she's born! Should I think about this?!"

We let our 4 y/o boy watch some of the Olympics opening ceremony, and he had a hard time falling asleep! So Ironman would be OUT in my book.

Anonymous wrote: I'm probably a bit extreme on this stuff but I see absolutely NO advantage to filling little heads with that stuff. They have their whole life to watch older movies -- stick to PBS Kids, etc for 4 year olds.

This is my thinking. What's the advantage of having my 4 year old watch something like that? There's no harm in waiting. And, at age 4, it's not really an issue with peer pressure. He doesn't really have many friends who have seen the movie. Maybe it's just the particular kids he hangs out with at preschool? He knows the names of some of the superheroes (e.g. his friend brought in an IronMan toy the other day), but other than that, it's not really like he's missing out.

Do what you feel is best for your child and make your own judgment.

My parents were very lax about what we could and couldn't watch as kids and although I try to be aware and informed regarding on what is atually appropriate and what isn't, I am not going to go by the ratings guide - meaning I'm not waiting for my kid to turn 13 to let him watch pg-13 movies, etc. I prefer to go by the individual movie, show, whatever.

My DS watched all the Harry Potter movies except the last one at 3, 4 and 5 years old. He is obssessed with HP and has also read the books (he is now 7).

No super hero fans in our house, but I surmise that Harry Potter has some equally scary scenes.

You must do what is best for the individual child. In general I agree such movies are for older children.

My go-to site is CommonSenseMedia.org. You can look up movies, tv shows, even apps and get the review and recommendation on the appropriate age. Ironman for example is recommended for 13 years and up. I'm probably a bit extreme on this stuff but I see absolutely NO advantage to filling little heads with that stuff. They have their whole life to watch older movies -- stick to PBS Kids, etc for 4 year olds.

OP here, i am talking about the Iron man movie with that guy from Less Than Zero and Pretty and Pink -- can't remember his name now. The one with the cocaine problem. I am not talking about the TV series.

I am just wondering what the 'norm' is for these movies and age groups. I know when I was a kid, i thought the movies were real.

Do you mean the movies or TV series? Pretty much all 4 year old boys are obsessed with Batman, Ironman, etc. No harm. But the movies are not for kids. The series are, though.