Heck, even softening things for the kids is a mistake. Kids are more than able to handle drama and tragedy and scary stuff. Heck, every day on your average elementary school playground is drama and tragedy and scary stuff...especially if you're a kid who has no real friends and gets bullied all the time. Kids sneak and watch PG-13 movies when their parents aren't looking (and sometimes R-rated ones too). Kids aren't as fragile as some adults seem to think. Inexperienced? Yes. But they're tougher than they look. Sheltering them from the bad and scary things in life does them no good. Teaching them that, yes, the bad exists along with the good, but you have to be able to find your courage and stick up for yourself and your friends when bad things do happen DOES help. It prepares them for reality, so they don't fall to pieces the first time anything bad happens in their lives or get their behind kicked while they huddle in a corner crying the first time they have to deal with a confrontation. Hiding the bad and the scary from kids only hurts them in the end...And for what? A few fewer nightmares and the protection of adults from the idea of their children gaining wisdom and independence to the point of no longer needing old Mom and Dad anymore. (Really, your kids will always need you...just not always in the same ways as they grow up. You just have to adjust how you approach them to their changing needs...and they'll let you know what they need from you at each point along the way, you've just got to listen to them instead of assuming that you already know.)
You know, whenever I hear the terms "Family Friendly," "Kid Friendly," and "Child Friendly," in regards to media, it almost always really means "Parent Friendly." It means parents can sit the kid in front of it and leave them alone without worrying about having to talk to their kids about anything, comfort them in the middle of the night from any nightmares, or answer any awkward questions later. In short, media that makes being more hands-off as a parent easier (for very busy, very lazy, and very conservative parents alike). The thing is, you HAVE to engage with your kids about the media they're exposed to and answer their questions and sooth their fears and teach them right from wrong and fantasy from reality. Just taking everything out of media that would prompt those sorts of interventions not only doesn't help kids (or parents, for that matter) in the long run, it also makes things more dull for everyone else.
