#The passion of christ movie for kids how to#
It would help if they put the violence into a theological context that the child can understand, such as "God let Jesus suffer to make up for our sins" or "Jesus suffered to teach people how to be gentle under attack." If parents do bring children over 10, they should be prepared to talk to children about the movie, before and afterward, Reeve said. "The level of disturbance may be exacerbated by the fact that this is Jesus being tortured - younger children being raised in Christian households may easily become distraught about vivid images of a 'good guy' being beaten and flayed," said Jay Reeve, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Brown University School of Medicine. But one child psychology expert said scenes where Jesus is whipped and crucified may be too disturbing for children under 8, even if they are familiar with the biblical accounts. Most children watching the film will be from religious families and will already know the story, he said. And with each new layer, there is another layer of meaning provided so the violence is understood." "The violence is set in a very specific context," Johnston said.
Because Jesus is brutalized in the movie, they will see him as a victim and they themselves will not feel confident, he said.īut Johnston contends that even young children will see that the movie begins with Jesus praying and contemplating, and will understand that he is in a struggle between good and evil. The movie's visual images will go to the front of a child's imagination and define their image of Jesus. "Children are not sophisticated enough, either morally or religiously, to make sense of the brutal images they'll see," Pruett said. Younger children will wonder why the other adults in the movie do not stop the horrible things from happening to Jesus, and they will be frightened, he said. "Kids in their teens are old enough to sort out the sheer brutality of this movie and understand the context of the violence. "I don't think any child under 13 should see this movie," said Pruett, who grew up as the son of a Baptist minister. He believes the film will traumatize children. Kyle Pruett, director of medical studies at the Yale Child Study Center, disagrees. Parents and clergymen should speak to children afterward, and open up a dialogue about what they have seen, he said.ĭr.
He believes parents can bring children as young as 7 to see the movie, depending on the child. Young people need to be "spiritually arrested" by the life of Christ, and the violence in the movie is purposeful violence that will help children gain faith and feel more secure, he said. "I think this movie is a wonderful teaching tool for children," Johnston said.
Pastors will be present at the screenings to speak to children about what they have seen. Jerry Johnston, a pastor of the First Family Church in Kansas City, Kan., has been vocal about encouraging children to see the film and his church has arranged youth screenings for middle and high school students.