Would you allow your children to watch...?

Question

Band of Brothers?

I think it's pretty accurate as far as history goes and an amazing piece of work. Probably the best I've ever seen.

Would you let your children watch it? I let my son (he was 9 when I bought it) watch them with me and he is in awe. I think it's an incredible lesson for kids. Especially those who don't know any better. I've seen so much glorification of war that I feel it was important for my son to see that truth. My son has a good solid head on his shoulders though and can handle things like this. He's learned more then I could ever imagine having learned about war at his age.

What do you guys think?

You've made some really good points Ms_Placed.

Answer 1

I think Band of Brothers should be a school assignment in Middle School.

It's pretty powerful stuff for a 9-year-old, but if he can handle it, and it's not too far over his head, he should be fine. It's tough deciding, because certainly some of it is beyond a younger child's understanding, and important points can be missed, causing major misunderstanding later. Middle School is fully capable, with discussion, in my opinion.

Answer 2

You know your children, what they can understand and how they will probably process the information.

As a child who did everything in my power to find all info hidden from me, I know that a child will find ways to know much, much more than their parents think they do. I also know that war and ugliness are part of life. The only thing I could realistically do for my children was teach them what I believed, how to make good choices and to understand that they are responsible for the consequences of their choices. I wanted them to be able to face life as adults with no fairy-tale ideas about war, and everything else. I wanted them to work through these things while I was around to help them. To me, nothing is sadder or more preventable than an adult who suddenly is shocked by life, unable to cope because they have been sheltered as they grew up.

Don't misunderstand. I didn't shove their noses in to the awful things, but we watched movies like yours together and discussed them. We raised animals for food, and had many opportunities to discuss death and the many reasons we kill things, including each other. I tried always to be neutral, but made it clear how wrong I felt that war was.

My sons are wonderful men now. Neither has ever been in trouble except for a speeding ticket one received in a car with a broken speedometer. And to my horror, both joined the military! They learned a respect for the military from the movies. They learned how vital and potentially rewarding the bonding of military men can be. So, did I fail? I guess that I achieved a strange sort of success. Both are still alive. One is a civilian again and other will be soon. But the attempt to de-glorify war was only partially successful because they were able to separate the good parts of military service in their minds from the horrors of war.

I applaud your openness with your son. It will not backfire. Just know that he may see more layers to this than you are aware of.