One might assume that a child would be less frightened watching something scary if he were in the company of his parents. Not so says a group of Finnish researchers. According to
">a new study published in the journal Child: Care, Health and Development, children are actually more afraid of the events on the screen when their folks are in their presence. Though they may be cuddled or soothed by dear mom, the tot is more likely to pick up on the hair-raising moments thanks to his parent's facial expressions or physical reactions. Had the tot watched the show alone, he may have skipped right over the apparently shocking scene. So next time you're thinking of cuddling up for a family night of horror flicks, think again.
Will this revelation change your family's viewing habits?
Tibi
No, it won't change our family's viewing habits because we don't let our younger children watch scary movies anyway.
1Exactly the same as Kimpossible. If it scares the parents, it's going to be inappropriate for a child.
2My 6 year old loves lots of scarry movies. I htink some kids are better able to handle them. I think it also makes a difference that he often watches them without us. He's usually just in the next room, but like they said, he's not reacting to our reactions. We've got lots of friends who's 6 year old kids get scared watching The Little Mermaid and Snow White, but ours is very happy to watch Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia. He doesn't suffer nightmares, and simply asks questions when something doesn't make sense to him like, "Why would a person hide and jump out at another like that? It's not very nice!"
3Who in the WORLD wastes their time and money on a useless study like this??
4My son has also been one of those types of kids that can watch scary movies. He was very interested in how they made it look like people were dying and then the actor could still do an interview later on tv. I brought him to see one of the last Jurassic Park movies when he was 4 and he loved it. We also watched how they made the dinosaurs and all the special effects. It depends on your kid. My nephew can't even watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons without freaking out and hiding and saying "that is too scary"
5the BOOB tube???
6say what?!? lol
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