Research has established a link between media and children’s feelings of fear (see our post from Wednesday for a full overview). Scary media content, whether fictional (like cartoons) or real (like news programs) can cause both immediate and lasting emotional distress in children. However, “scary” can mean different things at different ages (see our post from Monday for more details by age). 

A horror movie with scary visuals and sounds will likely scare most children, but there is a variety of other content that may also cause a fear reaction in your child. Remember that what scares one child may not affect another in the same way, so it’s important to consider your child’s own personality and sensitivities, as well as their age, when choosing appropriate media for your child. Here are some specific examples of what your child may find scary and how you can help them cope.

Specific Examples of What’s Scary (and How to Cope) by Age

Early childhood (ages 2-7)

At this age children have an active imagination but cannot yet distinguish between fantasy and reality. They are especially afraid of transformations, scary appearances, and darkness. A few examples of scenes and characters from popular movies that particularly scare children in this age range include:

• Frozen when Elsa creates an ice monster that helps her build her castle. 
• The Lion King when Scar is consumed by flames and falls off a cliff.
• Snow White when the evil queen transforms into a witch and creates the poison apple.
• E.T., because the alien’s general appearance scares many children in this age range.
• Finding Nemo when Marlin and Coral are attacked in the opening scene. 
• Zootopia when the predators become savage and appear frightening. 
• The Wizard of Oz when the Wicked Witch appears or when the monkeys chase Dorothy.

For young children, the most effective coping strategy is to remove the child from the situation, cover their eyes, or turn off the TV when they express that they are afraid. If you’re aware ahead of time of specific scenes that scare them, you could fast forward through it. You can offer a comforting object or snuggle with your child to help calm their nervous system. You can also try to talk to your child about their experience, but know that explanations and reassurances may not immediately help them overcome the feelings of fear at this age. It is difficult to ease children’s fears after-the-fact since the scary visuals and sounds leave a big impression that quickly forms to memory. If your young child does see something too scary, here’s how you can talk about it:

1. Validate their feelings. Avoid saying things like “Don’t be scared!”. Rather, recognize their experience. For example, “I can see you’re feeling worried. Do you want to tell me about it?” Listen and repeat back their expressed feelings.
2. Provide reason. Explain to the child why what they saw was frightening. For example, “That ice monster was really big and loud. I can see why that scared you.”
3. Reassure their safety. Describe why the content they saw is not a threat and that they are safe. Say things like, “That ice monster is only in the movie, not here. Monsters actually aren’t real, and Mommy would never let anything like that near you. You are safe, it’s my job to keep you safe.”
4. Give them tools. Remind your child that if something feels too scary for them, they can use their words and tell an adult, look away, cuddle their lovey, etc.
5. Redirect. Shift the discussion to something positive to break potential ruminating thoughts. If possible, try to create a rich sensory experience in a different setting that will adjust and hold their attention. Take them to their room to read their favorite story, sit at the kitchen table and draw together, go outside for a bike ride or to blow bubbles – whatever you and your child enjoy!

Middle childhood (ages 7-12)

By middle childhood, children can understand implied danger and potential threats to them, like spooky music, suspense, and evil characters. They also begin to fear more realistic dangers like natural disasters, illness, and crime. Children in middle childhood are particularly afraid of news stories about interpersonal violence, environmental danger and war. Some examples of movies that may scare children in this age range include:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has a number of especially frightening scenes with dementors and werewolves. Many of the Harry Potter movies include themes (like death, evil, dark magic) and characters (such as werewolves, giant snakes, ghosts) that children in this age range may find particularly frightening in a lasting way. 
• Jurassic Park has a number of dark and suspenseful scenes with threats of danger.
• The Lego Movie scenes including Lord Business and his henchmen.
• Jaws when the shark fin appears below the water implying an immediate bodily threat.
• Jumanji: The Next Level includes many dangerous situations and frightening creatures.

By middle childhood, children are able to process verbal explanations. You can follow the script from above and offer a more detailed explanation of the content that your child found scary (for example, explaining that the scary incident is unlikely to happen where you live and why) and help them talk through their fear.

Adolescence (ages 12+)

By adolescence, children are most afraid of abstract social concepts like loss, health, environmental concerns, personal safety, and failure or rejection. Content that is meant to scare adults will scare adolescents, particularly those with teen lead characters that the child can identify with. Some examples of media content that may scare a child age 12 or older includes:

• The Fault in Our Stars main characters face cancer diagnoses and treatment together, and deal with themes of illness and loss. 
• The Day After Tomorrow features catastrophic natural disasters with extreme destruction, and includes themes about the urgent dangers of climate change.
• Inception blurs the lines between dreams and reality and exposes viewers to psychological and emotional struggles, as well as psychological manipulation.
• The Hunger Games series is composed of dystopian teen stories of survival competitions and civil war.

Similarly to middle childhood, in adolescence children benefit from verbal explanations to help process their fear. You can also help them talk through their fear to understand what personal fears may be underlying. For this older age group, it also might be helpful to break the fourth wall and explain how some media is designed to be scary. For example, you can talk about how movies are written to sometimes make you feel immersed in a different world or how directors and actors have different styles.

General Tips for Avoiding Scary Media for All Ages

• Limit exposure to television and movies that are intended for adults, particularly the news.
• Do not let the TV stay on in the background when an adult is not actively monitoring. 
• Help your child differentiate what is real from what is imaginary by talking to them about what they see on the screen.
• Avoid having a television in your child’s bedroom (this is one of the strongest predictors of children having a fright response to media).
• Try to pre-screen movies your child wants to watch to look for scenes, characters, or themes they may find scary depending on their age. 
• Check ratings on shows and movies, but don’t solely rely on them and a deciding factor for whether or not your child can safely view the content. Research has found that themes in G-rated movies (like Finding Nemo and Lion King) scare kids as well.
• Don’t assume that just because you don’t find it scary that your child also doesn’t. Things that seem harmless to you (like robots, fantastical creatures, transformations) may be fright-inducing for your child. For example, many children report being terrified of E.T. because of how he looks, even though he is a “good” character in the movie.

Food for thought: Do you have a memory of a fear from something in the media as a child? Does the experience match up with the developmental stage you were in? Did your caregiver take any action to help you cope with the experience? How do you plan to support your child if they tell you they saw something scary?