Should a 9-Year-Old Watch ‘The Hunger Games’? Why the Hell Not?!

I’m of the mindset that anything that gets kids reading is fair game, and sometimes it’s the deliciousness of something you know is a little inappropriate that makes you want to read more. In that vein, I started by reading Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy aloud to both kids this year so we could process the story in real time together. The movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson, follows the books fairly religiously, so it was helpful for my children to know what was coming—in terms of (spoiler!) Rue’s death, Glimmer’s violent demise and some of the troubling, existential themes. Note: One difference between the book and the movie is that the movie does not have the dead tributes return as wolves, which makes the climax less upsetting.

If your kid can’t handle the thought of children dying, do not let them see this movie! But if you decide to watch, rest assured that the violence itself is more implied than graphic. For instance, you see a lot of spears going through the air and people falling down, but you don’t generally see the actual blood or suffering. And the camera-work is often fast and jittery, upping the tension while avoiding showing true gore.

Surprisingly, the only time my daughter buried her head in my shoulder was during the kissing scenes! Having read the books and watched the movies when they originally came out, I forgot how much air time the “will-they-won’t-they” Katniss/Peeta plot gets. It’s actually more pervasive in the books—with many descriptions of kissing and some weird descriptions of Katniss stripping naked—but the film also hits the love triangle home, though you never see more than smooching.

The thing I liked most about the series was that it brought up interesting conversations with my kids about the parallels between Panem and our own world. Do real people live in marginalized societies where they are forced into dangerous and humiliating situations? Yup. Are there actual kids who are denied the pleasures and safety of a proper childhood? Of course. Are we on the brink of class warfare and political uprising? Maybe! If you do watch The Hunger Games with your kids, I strongly recommend pointing out these moments as you see them—from Caesar Flickerman’s Ryan Seacrest-like interview show to the Nazi-coded rounding up of District 12 children in the streets. It’s not exactly cozy movie-night vibes. But sometimes part of parenting is talking about the tricky stuff.