I Let My Son Watch Scary Movies—and We’re Both Happier

As with all things when it comes to parenting, choosing when to let your children watch scary movies is up to your discretion. Here's why one mom let's her tween son watch scary movies—and how it's good for both of them. 

It started with Stranger Things. My husband, my son Henri and I watched the first season together and loved it. I was terrified, but Henri was cool as a cucumber. He’s always loved scary stuff. Even as a toddler, he was never freaked out by gruesome Halloween costumes or macabre movies such as Coraline.

There was only one occasion when he woke me up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. He was 4 years old at the time and he dreamed of a skeleton called Masterpiece. His retelling of it scared the bejeezus out of me, but he—having unloaded it all—managed to go right back to bed.

When the second season of Stranger Things came out, Henri and a group of friends got together to binge-watch it. I know some other parents gave us the hairy eyeball for allowing our 11-year-old to watch it, and frankly, I also questioned the appropriateness. But then something magical happened.

This pack of boys, who normally just played online, suddenly wanted to be like Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will—which meant riding their bikes to each other’s houses and going in search of adventures. It made my 1980s inner child sing with happiness. And it also made me realize that some scary things are okay.

But then came It, the Stephen King movie. He wanted to see it and I wasn’t so sure.