Should Kids Watch Scary Movies?

A recent CT article, "Not Safe, But Good," explores the question.

In short, "scary" movies can be healthy for kids if done with caring, involved adult supervision. Of course this begs all sorts of questions... what ages? what sorts of "scary" movies (e.g., horror? slasher?)? That's where the real decisions are made.

Let's not forget about good developmental psychology either. We shape our children's fears, and we want them to have healthy ones and avoid unwarranted ones (e.g., monsters under the bed, grasshoppers).

There are certain elements of fear (among other aspects of life, obviously) that kids simply cannot process at certain ages. Those things need to be considered in making decisions about not only message, but also medium (TV, video, music, written/spoken word, art, illustration, interaction, etc.).