It's not that the parents have a blanket rule against R-rated movies. But if the R rating is based on graphic violence or sexual scenes, they don't think he needs to see it. They've been to enough R movies that seemed more like an X, and found themselves shifting uncomfortably in their seats surrounded by kids who didn't look a day over 14. These are the movies they do not want him to see. But each time it comes up, it gets more difficult to stand firm.
Parents become battle weary.
And then you have a massacre of school children in Colorado. Among the myriad causes being bandied about in the national discussion of how two young high school students could be moved to plan and carry out such hateful, cold-blooded violence is the argument that children today see so many terrible things in movies, TV and video games that they become immune to it. I'm not blaming movies, TV and video games for what happened in Colorado. I see them as being among a complex list of factors that just happened to converge in the twisted minds of two young boys. But suddenly, it seems sensible to err on the side of caution when it comes to the video games, TV shows and movies you let kids of any age see.