my son does not like to watch movies or television. this is fine with me. he will, however, watch things that are ANY SPORT or are purely humor and not dealing with emotional issues or confict between the characters. (such as tom and jerry, etc). i have not had to censor his movie/tv watching because he has no desire for it. nada. if he is at a friend's and they start to watch a movie, he will go play somewhere else or just not watch. when he was six i brought him to see the animated film brother bear". he announced very near the beginning "i'm done now. i don't want to watch any more". so, we left the movie. that also happened around that time with the dr. seuss movie as we thought we'd try again. now, brother bear has some sadness and conflict, but dr. seuss, not so much.
recently he read the book 'bridge to terabitia' along with his class. after they were finished, he brought home a permission slip that stated the class will be watching the movie, and it is rated PG. he gave me the slip and announced that he did not want to watch the movie with his class. i do know since he's read the book he knows the story and doesn't want to see it. he is also disinterested in talking about why he doesn't want to watch it other than "i already read the book, i don't need to see it", and "it's rated PG".
he has alwasy been very sensitive to people and the way they are feeling. empathy, maybe? - he cannot stand to see his sister upset or wanting for anything. if i am sad or upset he is instantly sad or upset. if i have the smallest disagreement with the hubs, he is upset. i do not believe there was any 'incident' that happened that would make him this way, i am thinking it's the way he is wired. he is also very hesitant in talking about his feelings in general (if the're negative ones) despite attempts by myself or his father. he does usually bring things up in his own time.
even if a show or movie does NOT have conflict, he chooses not to watch. maybe he doesn't want to be put in the situation that he could even possibly be uncomfortable with the story?
also... he loves to read. loves, loves, loves. it's not a strong enough word. he will read most anything, and for hours on end. i suspect it's partly because he can control the characters and situations somewhat in his imagination.
i recently had a conversation with a friend aobut this. she told me about a mutual friend (an adult male) who has the same issue. he cannot watch other people get emotional or there is conflict on tv or in a movie. therefore he does not watch them.
are you like this? do you know of anyone who does this? i just want to have a better understanding. as a child i was similar but he seems to be even more sensitive to things than i.
((in case you're wondering - i signed the permission slip for the movie and told him that the choice is completely up to him.))
also ETA: he is highly gifted, especially in math. we grade skipped him last year from 2nd to 4th and they would have skipped him to 5th but that would have been *too* much emotionally...
