Tigger’s got them triggered.
After a fourth-grade class in Florida was shown the slasher film “Winnie the Pooh: Honey and Blood” by their math teacher this month, experts are warning that horror movies can terribly upset young children.
“While it may be a thrill for an adult to see a horror film, for kids, it can produce severe anxiety, panic. It can increase stress, and it can even lead to depression,” mental health counselor Catherine Del Toro told USA Today.
“Their brains are not fully developed, and so they’re not processing things the same way that we do.”
Because every child is different, it’s important to consider their personality, their exposure to frightening films, and their potential reaction to the material.
“Some kids can watch scary stuff, and they’re OK,” psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis told USA Today. “Some kids will not be able to sleep for about a week. It varies.”
Psychotherapist Chelsey Cole recommends weighing the pros and cons of having your child press play.
“Is watching this movie going to cause harm? Is it going to be helpful in any way?” Cole wondered to USA Today. “If the potential negative side effects outweigh the good, that’s probably not worth it.”
She added: “But is it going to be a scary movie, but one that would bring up an opportunity to have conversations about hard subjects or what to do in dangerous situations? Then maybe it is worth it if your kid can handle those sorts of things, and they’re developmentally ready to have those conversations.”
But sometimes macabre movies slip through the cracks — perhaps at a sleepover or after a parent has gone to bed.
Or in a math class.
This month’s “Winnie the Pooh” scary screening “seriously affected” the students, with some of them begging for the film to be turned off, according to reports.
20 to 30 minutes of the unrated movie were shown — angering parents.
In these cases, experts advise initiating honest and emotional conversations with children about their fears.
“Empathizing is always the first place we start, that it really scared (them) to see that, so we’re not going to make fun of the kid. We’re not going to minimize,” Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a clinical psychologist and author of “Growing Feelings: A Kids’ Guide to Dealing with Emotions about Friends and Other Kids,” explained to USA Today.
“You can never go wrong by reaching first for empathy.”
Kennedy-Moore also recommends proving to children that whatever evil monster or terrifying situation scared them isn’t real.
“Find a YouTube clip or just talk them through it, and ruin it for them. Emphasize this is not real, no one was hurt, some people like this stuff because of the thrill… but you don’t have to like it,” she counsels.
As Halloween sneaks up on us, it’s increasingly important to monitor children’s media exposure.
Said Sarkis: “We can’t promise kids that we’re always going to be able to protect them, but we can say that we will always look out for their best interest and always try to protect them from things.”