Fellow Whovians, need advice for the kidlings!

[Seraph]

So, my daughters are becoming enthralled with Doctor Who. Or rather, the idea of it. They pretend to be the Doctor, and I swear I can't keep my sonic screwdriver out of their hands. /cringe.

Sarah, my older daughter, wants to watch it SO badly, but she is still only 5, and can get scared easily still. Sorta. We told her when she's 6, she can watch the show with us. That's in less than a month at this point, and I confess I'm vaguely regretting this. Every day I hear "I'm going to be six soon, and then I can watch Doctor Whooooooo!"

Her sister is really ticked off about this, has been pouting over the fact she can't watch it. (She's 4.)

I looked into letting them watch the Sarah Jane Adventures, but there's no legal way to watch it here in the US, short of handing over an arm and a leg for a DVD set.

I'm just still a bit worried it'll be too intense for Sarah, let alone Emily...and I'm starting to realize one can't watch it without the other. Oops.

So, whovian parents....how have you let your kid(s) watch the show? I'm just not sure how to approach this, but I know they're both dying to see it.



(Also, yes, they would DEFINITELY not watch a certain set of episodes, ex. Blink, The Empty Child, and the one where Amy attempted to DRAG the Doctor into bed. Good lord.)

[Dasota]

Depends on how sensitive your kids are, but there are plenty of episodes that are okay for both the kids. (The Slyveen come to mind, and we all know Nine is the best Doctor ever) Actually, aside from The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, I can't think of any of Nine's episodes that are holy crap scary.

Also, the old ones might be good episodes too. This is advertised as a kid's show.

As for separating them so the older one can watch but the younger can't, what about setting up special days for each of the kids on their own. Say Monday you and Sarah sit and watch DW together while Emily and Daddy do something together, and then say Thursday Sarah and Daddy do stuff together and you and Emily do something together

[AnaKhouri]

How familiar are you with the old series? Would they be as frightened by it, do you think? Or would they lose interest easier than the new one?

I have only seen the Eccleston series and some of David Tenant, but I have to say even what little I saw of the new series was very dark and disturbing in some episodes. But you know your kid and what she can handle, I don't.

My son is prone to nightmares and I definitely won't allow him to watch it (the old series, as it's the only one we're interested in) for at least a few years yet; the old Cybermen might be guys with haridryers plastered on their heads and painted silver, but they are still creepy Cybermen!

[Seraph]

As for separating them so the older one can watch but the younger can't, what about setting up special days for each of the kids on their own. Say Monday you and Sarah sit and watch DW together while Emily and Daddy do something together, and then say Thursday Sarah and Daddy do stuff together and you and Emily do something together

True...although Daddy immediately raised an eyebrow and was like "but...but...watching it without me?!"

How familiar are you with the old series? Would they be as frightened by it, do you think? Or would they lose interest easier than the new one?

I have only seen the Eccleston series and some of David Tenant, but I have to say even what little I saw of the new series was very dark and disturbing in some episodes. But you know your kid and what she can handle, I don't.

My son is prone to nightmares and I definitely won't allow him to watch it (the old series, as it's the only one we're interested in) for at least a few years yet; the old Cybermen might be guys with haridryers plastered on their heads and painted silver, but they are still creepy Cybermen!

I have not seen ANY of the older series, admittedly. My bad. ><

Sarah's not really prone to nightmares, and I think she could handle SOME of the scary parts...but her sis, not a freaking clue yet. Although, if I wanted to be totally honest....she's more hardcore than her sister. :|

[Dasota]

True...although Daddy immediately raised an eyebrow and was like "but...but...watching it without me?!"

Or, and I don't know how bedtime works in your house, but is Sarah's bedtime later than Emily's? And if so, is it later enough to fit in an episode? This way neither parent is left of of the Who watching

[Seraph]

Or, and I don't know how bedtime works in your house, but is Sarah's bedtime later than Emily's? And if so, is it later enough to fit in an episode? This way neither parent is left of of the Who watching

Same bedtime, actually. =/

[Kheldarson]

No kids, but here's what my parents would do for any movie that we wanted to see and they weren't sure about: they'd watch it first.

So if you have Netflix or a DVR or whatever, watch it first. Send the kids to bed, tell them you're going to watch it tonight and if it's okay, then you watch it the next day with them. If you think it's too intense for one of them, then you skip that episode and try again later.

That makes it fair, and let's you know what they'll be watching ahead of time.

[Andara Bledin]

I can't actually really remember any of the old series, to be honest, but I do think that it might be a better place to start younger kids, seeing as how the effects are rather less realistic, most of the time.

Plus... K-9.

^-.-^

[AccountingDrone]

I can't actually really remember any of the old series, to be honest, but I do think that it might be a better place to start younger kids, seeing as how the effects are rather less realistic, most of the time.

Plus... K-9.

^-.-^

True, I was in my teens when I saw the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker Dr Who stuff.

Hm, maybe The Ribos Operation - a sort of The Saint-like good guys steal stuff from the bad guys deal. And The Pirate Planet is the next season after that one, and also a sort of easter egg hunt.

I didn't follow the Doctor after Tom Baker, I saw the first episode with the blond punter and he just rubbed me the entirely wrong way. I started watching again with Chris Eccleston.

Hm, the Christmas episodes tend to be more kid oriented - A Christmas Carol one is good. It has a Scroogy old guy, and the scroogy old guy as a kid, and a damsel in a deep freeze. About the only real scary bit is an airborn shark.

[Kheldarson]

That shark was kinda neat though...

[Kal]

Some of the Dr who parts may be too scary for even a six year old, it might be worth trying to buy the Sarah Jane Adventures for now instead. Apart from the cybermen changing people (with the screaming) and unpleasant death parts, the weeping angels still freak out my ten year old.

Of course, I may have not helped with this issue as there's a large churchyard nearby that we only pass every few weeks (guide relocation due to school hall bookings) and there's quite a few angel statues in it. Including one that's resting its face in its hands whilst weeping on a gravestone. Every time we pass I go "I swear that angel wasn't there last time." or "Wasn't that angel at the other end of the church before?".
Doesn't work for over a second before she realises, but the eye rolls I get make me laugh.

[Amina516]

I can't lie. The slitheen freaked me out when I was watching the episodes alone in the dark, as did the empty child.....I'm 29. :/ that being said, I think with all the lights on and an adult to explain some things she might be ok.

ETA: I'm also a big baby, so keep that in mind

[KiaKat]

I was three or four when I started watching Doctor Who - the original series. Much more kid-friendly. I'd say definitely consider using those as a lead-in to the new series. Besides which, there are so many of the older episodes that by the time you get to the new ones, they'll be almost in their teens!

(seriously. Over 700 episodes of Doctor Who, and counting. I've seen probably 90% of them.)

[MoonCat]

The Pertwee and Tom Baker years were not that scary and dark, really. I don't think the Peter Davison ones were, either. And I didn't mind him at all. I'm pretty old school on this, I haven't watched most of the newer series yet. I can only get it online, and last time I tried it kept buffering to the point where I gave up on it.

But, really, I don't think those guys would be too scary.

[Seraph]

Yeah I'm definitely thinking she can watch some of the older stuff, and then maaaybe a few of the Tennant episodes. She adores him, thinks "he looks kinda like Daddy", and of course, he's "who Dr. Whooves is!"

So yeah, just going to read carefully here, lol.

Some of the Dr who parts may be too scary for even a six year old, it might be worth trying to buy the Sarah Jane Adventures for now instead.

Yeah, I think I probably will just get her one or two of the sets for Christmas, maybe see if I can find a few on streaming as a test.

I was three or four when I started watching Doctor Who - the original series. Much more kid-friendly. I'd say definitely consider using those as a lead-in to the new series. Besides which, there are so many of the older episodes that by the time you get to the new ones, they'll be almost in their teens!

(seriously. Over 700 episodes of Doctor Who, and counting. I've seen probably 90% of them.)

Yeah, amazingly enough, my father in law commented last week that he used to watch the Tom Baker era every night it was on, and my husband would toddle in there (he was five) and watch it with him.