7 Movies You Watched as a Kid That Your Own Kids Do Not Need to See

Year: 1982

Rating: PG

Tagline: "They're here."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: First, I just need to vent: THIS MOVIE WAS RATED PG. ARE THEY KIDDING? The way Heather O’Rourke says, “They’re here” (and then “They’re back,” because my parents are monsters and let me see the sequel), will forever haunt my dreams. Every time my television gets staticky, a cold sweat comes over me while my trembling fingers attempt to fix the television. Had I seen this movie a little later in life — not at around 5 or 6 — I think I would have been OK, but now as a grown adult I still believe that when the TV loses signal that ghosts are going to terrorize me and pull me through my bedroom closet. It’s a real problem.

When they should see it: Late teens at the earliest, unless they’re superheroes and remain unaffected by horror movies at a younger age.

Year: 1985

Rating: PG

Tagline: "The story of a rebel and his bike."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: Pee-wee Herman is the man-child you hope your kid will never become. After his new red bike gets stolen by Francis, the town’s spoiled, rich brat, he goes on an epic journey to find it in which he takes rides from creepy ghosts and criminals, gets on a motorcycle and crashes it, rides a bull and gets a concussion, and trusts a psychic long enough to get his wallet stolen. Basically he gets himself into a million unsafe situations in which his gullibility and immaturity play a huge role. It’s just a disaster.

When they should see it: They’re going to want to be able to use that “Tequila” dance routine in their college years (though I’m not sure how much you should encourage that), so if you really love this one and want to share it with them, save it for their teenage years.

Year: 1988

Rating: PG

Tagline: "It's the story of a man, a woman, and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: Greed, sex, and murder are the three words typically used to describe this film. If that’s not enough for you, spare your children for the sheer fact that this movie is completely insane — there are huge issues at play in Toon Town. I remember being thoroughly creeped out by the toons being mixed into the real world and the way the humans interacted with them. Also, Betty Boop is selling cigarettes at one point in a cartoon nightclub that’s only for humans. It’s too much.

When they should see it: Honestly, never. I don’t get this one. But if you’re into it, I guess just let them go through puberty first? Though that also seems like a bad idea because Jessica Rabbit. You’re going to have to make a personal parenting call here.

Year: 1993

Rating: PG-13

Tagline: "An adventure 65 million years in the making."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: It’s scary! Seriously, there are kids in this movie, but that doesn’t make it an OK movie for kids. I saw this when I was really young and even though you’re told that dinosaurs died a long time ago, here they are, scientifically cloned — the thought of which still frightens me — completely terrorizing these poor scientists and their kids (and farm animals). Everybody dies and it’s absolute carnage (spoiler alert, but not really).

When they should see it: In their late teens for sure, as it’s still a classic. (And because everyone should see every movie with Jeff Goldblum in it because he’s amazing.)

Year: 1991

Rating: PG-13

Tagline: "Dishes. Relationships. Wind. This guy breaks everything."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: Even though it's rated PG-13, the mere premise of this movie seems kid-friendly at first: it’s about an imaginary friend! However, Fred is anything but kid-friendly, as his childish antics cause more harm than good, and his real friend, Lizzie, is actually a grown woman going through a fair amount of difficult adult issues. The movie features a pretty endless stream of profanity, and even though Fred is supposed to be hilarious, his behaviors could be very frightening for a young child — like when his head gets stuck in the fridge and he manages to get himself out with a flat face and giraffe-like neck.

When they should see it: I watched this movie as a child and turned out fine, but it’s one of those films that you watch now and think, “Wow, this is messed up.” Because a majority of the plot has to do with Lizzie’s overbearing mother and her cheating husband — and because Fred has a serious potty mouth — I’d save this one for a teen.

Year: 1999

Rating: PG-13

Tagline: "I see dead people.”

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: The kid freakin’ sees dead people. During the whole movie. Everyone’s dead, even — spoiler alert/PLOT TWIST! — the young and handsome Bruce Willis. And it’s not, like, regular humans with normal clothes that are just dead, they’re all scary (besides Brucey). Throughout the film this poor 9-year-old kid gets locked in a tiny, dark closet, he’s forced to watch a dead little girl throw up under her bed and then a videotape explaining why, he briefly hangs out with a boy with a bullet-wound in his head who shows him his father’s gun, and ghosts walk around his own home all day, every day. I was scared of the whole world for a while after seeing this movie, thinking that anyone I was actually seeing could, in fact, be dead.

When they should see it: The movie, though brilliant, is extremely traumatizing. It’s rated PG-13, so you can follow the rating if you’d like, but I personally think only mature teenagers should be watching this. Also, the older they are, the more they’ll actually appreciate how intricate this film is.

Year: 1975

Rating: PG

Tagline: "Don't go in the water."

Reasons they shouldn’t see it as a kid: A giant great white shark rips apart a bunch of people innocently swimming in the ocean, so if your kids are like me, they will be afraid of bodies of water (even pools) for the foreseeable future — you just don’t come back from that.

When they should see it: This movie is truly gruesome, so I’d wait until you think they’re mature enough to handle something so scary and traumatizing. The fact that this movie isn’t based on a completely fictional premise, as sharks do exist, will not be missed on younger ones with vivid imaginations.