Courtesy: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
We are in the heart of scary movie season. It’s a fun time of the year because we get to push boundaries. Being scared from the safety of your couch is good for your kids’ mental health. The jump scares, the slow burn buildup, the tense chases – they all trigger that fight or flight mechanism – a primal instinct that’s kept humans alive for thousands of years. Learning to face that feeling safely builds emotional endurance.
Of course, why should you take my word for it? Let’s hear from an expert.
Penn St. psychiatrist Dr. Ramnarine Boodoo calls it the “paradox of horror.” The shakes. The sweating. The nausea. The panic. That’s all normal. Though at first it doesn’t feel normal — but being scared has benefits.
Film frights become practice for real-life scary moments. You build a tolerance to being scared. It doesn’t stop you from feeling fear, but it helps you stay steady when it suddenly strikes.
That said, we have to be careful with what kind of content we expose our children to. Boodoo says, “Graphic material decreases empathy and increases aggression.”
And people who have experienced specific trauma may have a lower threshold than others. You need to remain aware of your child’s state during a scary movie. If it’s too much for them, no problem. Change movies.
It’s never too late to cleanse a palate. If the doll in Poltergeist causes crying, try Casper. If the hide-and-seek scene in The Conjuring results in a panic attack, try The House with Clocks in the Walls.
One thing we do in my house, which does not have clocks in its walls, is watch a short palate cleanser. Scares and tension can creep into bedtime if you’re not careful. I’ve found the following quick palate cleansers help my girls relax – even when we’re not watching horror, but a tense episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars.
Bluey – You know Bluey. She’s a lovable Aussie Blue Heeler pup who turns everyday family life into imaginative adventures. If you’ve watched, you’ve seen magic pixie dad Bandit shame us with his commitment to playtime.
Steven Universe – I can’t put my finger on why this show is so good. The music? The creative worldbuilding? The buoyant optimism? It’s likely the balanced combination of turbulent adventures and turbulent adolescence that makes it work.
We Bare Bears – Silly mishaps. Awkward charm. There’s a lot to like about We Bare Bears, which is about three brother bears navigating the human world.
Adventure Time – Watch with family or…by yourself after a “mood enhancer.” Adventure Time is about Finn and his magical dog Jake roaming a surreal post-apocalyptic land (not wasteland), mixing goofy quests with emotional depth.
Unikitty! – An off-shoot of The Lego Movie, about a sparkly unicorn-cat hybrid who leads her friends on zany misadventures. The glittery high energy will blast any semblance of horror from your child’s brain.
And if that doesn’t work, then you’re on your own. Sorry. No refunds for a free blog post!
Brendan
