Iron Man 3: Is it Kid Friendly?

Iron Man 3 opens in theaters today. The movie is rated PG-13, however as I reported last week there has been some marketing to younger children resulting in the question of whether the movie is appropriate for them. I know my 7 year old wants to see the movie.

Last May when The Avengers came out, we decided our then 6 year old was not quite ready to see the movie. She was content to watch The Disney XD series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Since she was watching the cartoons, she is used to the fighting and suspenseful situations which was the main reason behind the PG-13 rating on The Avengers. Several of her friends had also seen the movie, we decided to allow her to watch the movie when it was released on BluRay. She loved the movie and was not disturbed by the violence.

Since then, she has seen Thor and Captain America which both had their ratings primarily due to violence and loved the movies. We held off on the Iron Man movies since they contained more questionable content than violence. With the impending release of Iron Man 3, we watched Iron Man and Iron Man 2 at home the last two weekends. With Iron Man & Iron Man 2, we did fast-forward through a couple of the less appropriate scenes.

Our plan with Iron Man 3 was to watch the movie without her and then take her back to see it if we deemed it appropriate. When I was invited to attend a free screening to review the movie, it proved the perfect opportunity to evaluate the movie.

Iron Man 3 is a comic book movie and contains the violence and suspenseful situations that go along with that. If your child is disturbed by this content, do not take them to see the movie. But, this is an Iron Man movie so there is more questionable content. IMDb offers a Parental Guide on their page for the movie. The Parental Guide reveals examples of potentially offensive content there is in different categories. I found their write-up to be fairly accurate and am going to refer you there instead of repeating the effort.

Read my review of the movie.

We have decided that we are going to take our daughter to see the movie. However, I believe it is a decision that each parent has to make - and it may vary by child due to their sensitivities. If you are in doubt, I recommend watching the movie without your child and making a decision.

Disclaimer: Walt Disney Studios invited me to a free screening of Iron Man 3 to facilitate writing a review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Free Comic Book Day

Saturday, May 4 is Free Comic Book Day! Participating Comic Book Stores across the country will be giving away free comic books to participants. You can find participating stores in your area and their rules on the Free Comic Book Day Website.



Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 4 is perfect timing with the release of Marvel's Iron Man 3 on Friday, May 3.

Just a note, it is worth looking through your child's comic book for age appropriateness before purchase. We have found some Avengers series have acceptable content for my 7 year old and others don't.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sweetheart Frame Build & Grow Workshop at Lowe's

Lowe's will be celebrating Mother's Day with their next Build and Grow Clinic. Kids will have the opportunity to make a Sweetheart frame on Saturday, May 11 in advance of Mother's Day on the 12th.

I recommend registering as soon as possible. The store nearest me is sold out and the other one in our town only has a few slots left.

They have not yet released their summer schedule, but I will share it with you when it is released. In the meantime, you can check the Home Depot schedule which offers building workshops the first of the month.

I took my daughter to a Lowe's Build and Grow event last spring and she really enjoyed it. I do recommend signing up now if you are interested as the session do tend to fill-up quickly (at least at my local store).

Summer Home Depot Kids Workshops

Home Depot holds a Kids Workshop from 9a-noon on the first Saturday of the month at all of their stores. The Kids Workshop is FREE and includes their craft, a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin, and a certificate of achievement.

The next several months will feature themed building projects at the Kids Workshop.

At the May Workshop, kids will build an herb planter with stickers from the EPIC movie and Team Energy Star and paint. The May workshop is Saturday, May 4, 2013. The workshops are designed for kids ages 5-12.

June's Workshop will be a Lawn Mower Pencil Holder presented by the Merlin Entertainment Group on Saturday, June 1, 2013. Kids will receive a Kids Go Free ticket offer to any Merlin Entertainments Group Attraction. Their attractions include LEGOLAND Theme Parks, LEGOLAND Discovery Centers, Madame Tussauds, and Sea Life Aquariums. This is a great deal if you leave near one of the venues or your summer travels will take you near one.

July will return to a movie theme with a surprise craft from the movie Despicable Me 2. The movie opens on July 3, 2013 in advance of the July 6 workshop. (Check out the trailer and look for the Despicablimp in a city near you)

We have not yet attended a Home Depot Kids Workshop, but we attended a Lowe's Workshop in the spring and my daughter really enjoyed it.

LEGO Star Wars Event at Toys R Us

Saturday is May 4, which Star Wars Fans celebrate as "May the Fourth Be With You". Toys R Us stores are holding a LEGO Star Wars event in honor of the day.

From noon-2p on Saturday, May 4 kids can visit Toys R Us and build an exclusive mini-version of Jek-14's Steath Starfighter which will be featured on The Yoda Chronicles which will be airing on The Cartoon Network beginning on May 29 at 8p.

We will definitely be tuning in for the new series. We are hoping to fit the Toys R Us building event into our weekend plans. If you are planning to attend, I recommend arriving early as supplies may be limited.


In the meantime, you can check out the first episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles on You Tube:
Part 1:
 
Part 2:
 
Disclaimer: Verify that your local Toys R Us store is participating. Information above was taken from the Toys R Us website.