Children and The Passion of the Christ

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Now that The Passion of the Christ is out on DVD, at what age do you think children are ready to watch it.
 
No child without their parent or other adult knowledgeable about the Faith in the same room, watching it WITH that child.

In no case, no child who can’t distinguish between truth and fiction. I say this because they see SO MUCH stuff on TV that is fiction that is put out as non-fiction that they think that fiction and non-fiction are the same thing.

Mel Gibson has always said that nobody under 10 or 12 should see it.

I agree… we all develop to our adulthood on several levels – physical, emotional, and spiritual.

For example, you don’t let a child swim in the surf alone. Even if you’re holding on to them, the action of the surf is so strong and unknown that it is SCARY!!

Hey. Look. Bunches of adults are too scared to see the Passion.

Yeh, children are resilient. However, they are just plain not well-enough developed in their spiritual development to be able to handle it.

Wish I could say otherwise, but for little kids, it’s Nightmare City! Hardly to be the way to introduce them to the passion of Jesus.

Yes, little kids know God… but, they’re little kids. The scourging, especially, is more than any kid below 10 should see.

Good question.
 
I got the DVD last week (saw it on the screen four times) and have watched it once already. I have two kids - a son of 14 and a daughter of 11. I was all for them watching it but after watching it by myself last week, I honestly believe it is a bit heavy for them at this stage. I think it depends on the child. My son does not like any violent movies at all. My daughter is not too bad. However, they are rather wary of watching it as they have heard a lot about it. I will not force them to watch it. I told them that whenever they do want to watch it, I will do so with them and explain it all in detail to them. Until then, I think Jesus of Nazareth (mini series) or other similar films would be better for them. As an adult, I think The Passion is one of the best films about the passion and I am delighted to have it on DVD to watch whenever I want. I am hoping my husband (not religious at all) will eventually watch it. So far, he is not interested!
 
Dh and I saw the movie in the theater and I bought the DVD last week. I didn’t really think ds (12) could handle the theater viewing but I did let him watch it with us on DVD. It was really great to watch it with him. He knew the story like the back of his hand and knew right away who everyone was and what would happen next, etc. I told him we could stop it or pause it if it was too much or he had questions but he really seemed fine with the whole thing. When it was over I asked him what he thought and he said “I can’t say it was good so I’ll say it was well made”. Anyway, I think it depends on the child for sure and I definately think any child should be at least 11 or 12 to watch it.
 
I never cease to be shocked with what some kids watch. Many parents are not aware of the videos that they see at the homes of their friends. Believe me, this movie is tame compared to what the kids watch. It would be good if a parent who knows their bible watches this with the kids. But, I don’t belive they should be deprived of seeing the truth about their savior.

Deacon Tony SFO
 
Deacon Tony560:
I never cease to be shocked with what some kids watch. Many parents are not aware of the videos that they see at the homes of their friends. Believe me, this movie is tame compared to what the kids watch. It would be good if a parent who knows their bible watches this with the kids. But, I don’t belive they should be deprived of seeing the truth about their savior.

Deacon Tony SFO
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I would watch it with any of my grandchildren who seriously wanted to watch it for more knowledge of what Christ has done for them.
MrS
 
My 11 year old son saw the movie twice, not much interested both times. He liked the scenes with the devil in it. Thought it was the coolest part of the movie. (God help me! :gopray2: )

My 7 year old son, liked the movie and asked alot of questions. Towards the end of the movie, when Jesus was carrying His Cross, my son went and got his childrens bible and showed us an empty cross at the end of the book. He was very serious when he told us that Jesus did not stay on the cross, but, as he put it,“Came back to life in the cave”.

My 11 year old liked the blood and violence 😦 , it was my 7 year old who had a better grasp of what the movie was about. 🙂 He even asked me once at church when he could receive the Precious Blood, WOW! and to think all this time I thought he was sleeping during Mass :sleep: Guess not! :angel1:

I say many Rosaries for my 11 year old and offer up ALL my Masses for him. In God’s time I pray he will come to understand.
 
My 6yo has been obsessed with seeing the movie ever since it was in the theaters. We didn’t even consider taking him to see it, but I selected a few scenes to show him on the DVD. I showed him parts of the Agony in the Garden scene, the scenes w/Jesus and Mary when Jesus was building the table and when Jesus fell, part of the scene where Pilate is questioning the crowd about Jesus (before he was whipped), a little bit of when he carried the cross and Mary came to comfort him., and the very end when Mary is cradling Jesus and then he rises from the dead. I felt it was OK for him to see what he saw under my supervision.

Interestingly, my 9yo, who is much more sensitive to violence, didn’t want to see it at all.

God Bless, Nicole
 
Depends on the child. I don’t think there is an across the board cut off age. My older 2 (16, 18) saw it. My 18 yr old, who liked Gladiator and The Patriot, thought the Passion was the most violent movie she’d ever seen. Our 13 yr old couldn’t watch the clips, much less the whole movie. She didn’t want to see it. —KCT
 
I was actually thinking of asking this question myself. My daughter who will be 9 this month, wants to see the movie. My husband and I saw it once in the theater and bought the DVD Tuesday. I have yet to watch it again myself, because the children have been around alot over the holiday weekend (staying up later). I do not want any of them to see scenes and become desensitized to it, as if it were just another violent movie (I don’t let them watch just anything, but they have seen all 3 Lord of the Rings). I want them to be able to have a complete understanding on an emotional level of the sacrifice our Savior made on that cross. My daughter is extremely soft hearted and loves Jesus very much already. I know she will be extraordinarily touched by the movie and part of me wants her to have that experience sooner than later. The other part of me remembers how hard it was for me for several days after I saw it with my adult eyes and understanding. I think I will take Mel’s advice and wait until sometime between 10-12 to let her see it.
 
I asked my 12 year old granddaughter if she thought she would like to watch The Passion when we got it since she loves watching Animal Planet and other wildlife programs, (which I find can be rather gory at times). She said she didn’t think so because she didn’t want to see Jesus suffer…
 
My 11yr. olds watched the movie with dh and I on Friday night. They had wanted to watch it, and had looked at the “coffee table book” about the Passion at the bookstore, the one with all the graphic pictures, so they knew that there was alot of blood. They did fine watching it, and they all said that it was sad about what happened to Jesus. In the beginning the subtitles were a little hard for them to read and watch at the same time, but soon they were ok with it. I also told them about the devil, and warned them beforehand when he was coming up so they could look away if needed. I think I was more freaked out than they were.

Nobody likes violence, but put in the proper perspective by the parents beforehand, and let them know they can look away at any time if it gets too much for them, I would think ALL 11yr .olds and up could see this movie.

Dawn
 
Someone mentioned that kids do watch alot of violence on the telly already and that is too true. A friend of mine who is 22 refuses to watch The Passion but has no problem in watching other violent movies. She told me that what happened in The Passion is real and matters to her and she cannot handle it, whereas other violent movies are not real so they don’t matter. I think that is the way my kids feel at the moment.
 
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