# WARNING to parents whose young children watch Amazon Prime TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587 "2017-11-14T03:34:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/1 "2017-11-14T03:34:43Z")
Class action lawsuit, anyone? There’s a horrendously violent/scary piece of garbage called _Let’s Play With FGTeeV_ that not only is not blocked by Amazon’s parental controls, but Amazon _suggests_ it to kids, right next to suggestions for _Caillou_ or _Mr. Rogers_. Unbelievable. My seven year old daughter watched several episodes before I cottoned to what was happening. Thanks, Amazon: where can I sign to get my little girl’s innocence back? :mad: And I’m far from the only angry parent. The reviews are full of livid one star screeds. A sampling: > [@](#): > > “This show is absolute garbage. My 4-year-old was watching this and saying something about shooting my wife in the head. You would think with a show featuring a kid close to that age that it would be appropriate for that age group, but it isn’t.” > > “This show came on with the line up of ‘kids shows’ and it traumatized him. He has been having nightmares of “bindy”, a monster with horns, hurting kids. So idk why this is considered a kids show. I’m trying to figure out how to block it” > > “This is not a kid show or family friendly. I walked into the room as the dad in the video shoots his approximately 5 year old son in the head. > My four year old was watching this and it is right next to all the other kid shows. I’m livid that this is considered a family show.” > > “This family needs to disappear not only from Amazon but from YouTube as well. If there was a way to Survivor Vote them off the internet I want it. It is not entertaining, fun or family oriented. Please Samantha and Vincent just go away for the good of humanity.” Indeed, it’s bad enough that my daughter accidentally watched this–but WTF is the father who stars in the videos thinking, subjecting his very young son to this crap? :dubious: Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is the minority of commenters who defend this show and watch it with their young children: > [@](#): > > “My kid has been watching these guys for a long time. I watch it with them, yeah it’s not my cup of tea, but it’s a clean and funny YouTube family gaming show. > I’m shocked about how harsh people are on these reviews. This is just the direction kids entertainment is going now, and this is one family that is doing it right.” > > “Have been watching this show for about 3 years with a boy who is now 8. Great fun. Don’t know who these people that are giving it 1 star are watching. How about let’s let kids be kids. Some parents just don’t have a clue.” It’s “clean”, I guess, because they don’t use profanity. :rolleyes: They do, however: pick up Mickey Mouse’s severed head (complete with X’s in place of his eyes); machine gun a cute cartoon character to death and then stand there and continue filling the body with lead so they can watch it bounce; and get tied up by a super creepy decaying cartoon guy who tells them they are “sheep” to be “sacrificed” to his “lord”. Yup: good clean, wholesome fun. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/2 "2017-11-14T04:22:05Z")
Sounds interesting, I’ll be sure to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/3 "2017-11-14T04:31:05Z")
It’s a guy playing video games with his kid. The first game they play is Bendy and the Ink Machine, a horror game. I haven’t played it, but it sounds more like a teenager game than a game for 5 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/4 "2017-11-14T04:58:05Z")
oh my nephew watches this all the time …its a “lets play” they play all sorts of video/pc games and are pretty funny … his favorite “lets play” guy is DANTDM tho ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/5 "2017-11-14T05:03:19Z")
Celtling is a huge DanTDM fan. I wouldn’t want her watching this one though, and she’s 10 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/6 "2017-11-14T05:19:45Z")
So I watched Season 1 Episode 1. That’s 20 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. It appears to be some guy with a child in his lap playing a video game and doing a tedious running commentary on the game. I can’t quite figure out what the objective of the game is. It seems to be just running up and down a bunch of hallways and collecting some random objects. I guess there is a leaking “ink machine” at the end of one of the corridors. Every once in a while a two-dimensional cutout of a black cat named “Bendy” appears around a bend in the hallway. The guy yells like he’s about to be killed and scares the child when this happens, but the cat doesn’t do anything. Then they get to a room where a movie projector displays a film called “Expired Twinkies” containing random abstract images and the guy screams like he is getting his head chopped off and scares the child once again, but they just leave the room and nothing happens. Then the ink machine springs a leak or something and starts a flood and they go to another floor. I see nothing objectionable to children in this episode other than the utter waste of time. I’m not going to continue watching this dreck to see if it gets worse. Can someone please point me to a specific episode that will traumatize the children and maybe explain why? I’m not seeing it, but I just watched the first episode. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/7 "2017-11-14T07:40:15Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Can someone please point me to a specific episode that will traumatize the children and maybe explain why? I’m not seeing it, but I just watched the first episode. I only watched a few episodes myself, and you’re right: not all of them are particularly objectionable. OTOH from what people are saying in reviews, I haven’t seen the worst of it either. But here are three time markers you can go right to, and if you think it’s okay for 4-8 year old kids to watch this kind of thing, let’s just say that I wouldn’t nominate you for Parent of the Year. It certainly seems like the kind of thing parents are trying to avoid when they set parental controls! Episode 1.18, at the 8:54 mark (this was what I happened to see which raised alarm bells). Oh look: it’s the severed head of beloved cartoon character Mickey Mouse! And not “detached, but still talking like nothing is wrong”. Severed, as in dead: X’s in the eyes, and tongue lolling out. From there, I worked backward to see what other potentially objectionable content she had seen. 1.4 is a humdinger. From 5:10-5:35, a first-person crowbar is used to whale away on some cute cartoon animals, and at the end of that stretch there is a horror movie-style jump scare. From 6:26-6:50, the crowbar has been exchanged for a machine gun, and multiple cute critters are dispatched (including one that they keep riddling with bullets even after it’s just a corpse bouncing around, and the dad does a little dance about this). At the end of that sequence the players are killed by one of the cute animals, and a “YOU’RE DEAD” appears on the screen in a sort of “Halloween” font. 7:15-8:00 serves up lots of gross skeleton-zombie creatures (which when injured drag themselves along the floor toward the screen), a jump scare, lots more machine-gunning, and at the end a closeup of the skull and gross bones of one of them. Then there’s 1.3, “Dad Captured”, from 11:44 to, say, 14:25. There’s some twisted, freaky shit in this sequence of the player being captured and made ready to sacrifice to some sort of demon lord. Plus some freaky black creatures swarming at the camera and so on. And that serial killer guy with the tattered mask? Bravo to whomever designed that look: gave me shivers. Now, keep in mind that I bought my brother-in-law a copy of “Redneck Rampage” when he was in high school. And I wouldn’t care if my high-school-aged older kids watched these videos, or even when they were a few years younger. But 7 is too young, and the kid IN the video is younger yet! Not cool. I mean, I Googled this game (known as BATIM for short), and the general consensus seems to be that it should be restricted to 13+. Even on Reddit and other gamer boards, the most I saw was a couple people arguing that maybe you could go down to age ten depending on the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/8 "2017-11-14T10:33:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Class action lawsuit, anyone?.. By all means, contact your attorney immediately. :rolleyes: mmm ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/9 "2017-11-14T11:22:14Z")
You roll your eyes, but look at the national freakout that happened when Janet Jackson’s nipple was momentarily visible (THINK OF THE CHILDREN!) How is this not far worse? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/10 "2017-11-14T12:32:31Z")
If a parent wants a babysitter, he should hire a trustworthy, living, breathing, human. Twenty years ago when my kids were little I sat watching Barney and Baby Bop with them. It was horrible (for me) but I was able to interact and discuss what they were viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/11 "2017-11-14T12:56:42Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Celtling is a huge DanTDM fan. I wouldn’t want her watching this one though, and she’s 10 years old. My kids dragged me along to the DanTDM live show when it came through here. Now that’s two hours I wouldn’t mind back. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/12 "2017-11-14T13:44:04Z")
@ **SlackerInc** : Why are you letting your young daughter watch television without you monitoring the content? I find your outrage a bit ironic. I raised four boys; they never watched TV where the content couldn’t be monitored. I was particularly insistent that Ed, Edd, and Eddie not make an appearance. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/13 "2017-11-14T20:31:50Z")
If I wasn’t monitoring the contents, I would still be blissfully unaware. But when you have two young children with autism, and other household responsibilities, you cannot look over their shoulders at every moment. Amazon parental controls are supposed to keep anything wildly inappropriate off the screen. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/14 "2017-11-14T20:56:44Z")
My daughter watches YouTube. Sometimes weird shit comes up that is ostensibly for children but causes me to raise an eyebrow. If it’s bad I change it. Sometimes we rely too much on iPad Youtube to babysit her but I still monitor it somewhat. I’m not going to trust “parental control” that relies on algorithms to do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/15 "2017-11-14T21:49:24Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > @ **SlackerInc** : I was particularly insistent that Ed, Edd, and Eddie not make an appearance. 😛 Why? Just curious, I never watched the show. I’ve noticed kids shows in general can be a lot more intense than they used to be when I was growing up. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but there’s stuff in _Steven Universe_ that after a while of watching I just said, ‘‘Oh, here’s the obligatory existential horror moment.’’ Like that time Steven’s body started [growing cats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmoHkWZgjUg). That was some Cronenberg horror shit right there. Same with _Gravity Falls_, and [Weirdmageddon.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_t-aOeiFa0) Bill was a legitimately creepy villain. Both excellent shows, but rather disturbing at times, and I’m a grown-up. Perhaps we’re just living in an era where it’s harder to shock children. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/16 "2017-11-14T22:09:24Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’ve noticed kids shows in general can be a lot more intense than they used to be when I was growing up. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but there’s stuff in _Steven Universe_ that after a while of watching I just said, ‘‘Oh, here’s the obligatory existential horror moment.’’ Like that time Steven’s body started [growing cats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmoHkWZgjUg). That was some Cronenberg horror shit right there. That’s a little freaky, but I’m going to assume you didn’t look at the stuff I cited (maybe you don’t have Amazon Prime?). The difference between what you linked and what I pointed to is as big as the difference between \*Goosebumps \*and _Saw_. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/17 "2017-11-15T00:40:15Z")
How in Prime do I find a specific season? I wanted to see your examples. I clicked several at random and one where a field full of Bendys were fighting a bunch of cartoon cats. They were using guns and metal pipes. Ended up with a field of dead toons. Didn’t look too bad to me. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/18 "2017-11-15T01:06:00Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > @ **SlackerInc** : Why are you letting your young daughter watch television without you monitoring the content? I find your outrage a bit ironic. > > I raised four boys; they never watched TV where the content couldn’t be monitored. I was particularly insistent that Ed, Edd, and Eddie not make an appearance. 😛 Funny, that was one of the ones I would not allow. That and Barney are the ones I recall. I decided Barney was not only a terrible show but conditioning the kids to join a cult later in life. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/19 "2017-11-15T02:16:16Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That’s a little freaky, but I’m going to assume you didn’t look at the stuff I cited (maybe you don’t have Amazon Prime?). The difference between what you linked and what I pointed to is as big as the difference between \*Goosebumps \*and _Saw_. Well, I’m not likely to intentionally watch something disturbing. But yes, I have Prime. I’m taking your word for it that it’s disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-to-parents-whose-young-children-watch-amazon-prime-tv-shows/801587/20 "2017-11-15T02:19:27Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > How in Prime do I find a specific season? I wanted to see your examples. I clicked several at random and one where a field full of Bendys were fighting a bunch of cartoon cats. They were using guns and metal pipes. Ended up with a field of dead toons. Didn’t look too bad to me. First go to this page: > **[Watch Let's Play with FGTeeV | Prime Video](https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Play-with-FGTeeV/dp/B073GJ6X52)** > > Gameplay from the FGTeeV gang. Then, just below the fat grey bar at the top, is a little light grey box that says “Season 1” [as shown here.](https://imgur.com/a/Ms9qq) Click on the box that says “Season 1” and a drop-down menu will appear. Select the season you want from the drop down menu.