One psychologist is advising against letting kids watch Squid Game. Dr. Robin Gurwitch from Duke University Medical Center told People Magazine that kids should not be watching the Netflix mega-hit. “This is not something young children should be watching. There’s nothing redeeming or positive here for children,” she said. That seems pretty succinct. But, there was also a larger conversation about the mental effects that violence and other subject matter could have on children. When it comes down to it, every kid is different, but with the program rated for mature audiences, it might be best to have younger viewers skip the phenomenon. More tricky is how Squid Game is already all over social media and obviously being talked about in some school settings. It’s hard to stop the train once it’s left the station. One of the better pieces of advice concerning the show comes from the Doctor as well. It’s wildly more constructive than just not acknowledging it.
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“Start the conversation very simply: ‘There’s been a lot of talk about that new show Squid Game. Tell me what you’ve heard about it.’ That way you get an idea of where the child is coming from,” she explained. “Then, ‘What do you think about it? How did that make you feel?’ Have a discussion about what this was all about and how do we treat others and what is appropriate with our friends when we play games.”
The moral panic surrounding the show is a never-ending series of anecdotes about banning costumes and trying to crack down on a small number of fights at isolated schools.
“We understand that different types of costumes have different types of experience and historical connections, and it’s hard to single out one particular type of costume and say that’s not allowed,” White Plains superintendent Joseph Ricca argued against banning the costumes. “One of the things we’ve been hearing about in school districts all across the country, is children coming to school and playing squid games on the playground. It’s never appropriate to play at harming one another and that really is the guiding principle here.”
Communal d’Erquelinnes Centre in Belgium actually put out a helpful statement about their student population trying to emulate the show as well. Encouraging that dialogue between parents and students can go a long way.
“As a result, some children are trying to replicate show scenes at school but what sounds harmless (who didn’t play Red Light/Green Light as a kid?) is not actually harmless because the game in the television show includes ‘elimination’ (death) and we are seeing kids trying to actually hurt each other in the name of this ‘game,’” reads their post on Facebook. “Please make sure you’re aware of the content your children are accessing online and that you talk to them about NOT playing violent ‘games’ at school… We don’t want anyone to get hurt and we don’t want to generate discipline referrals for students who don’t really understand what they are re-enacting.”
Did you watch the show? Let us know in the comments!
