To see or not to see

Last night it rained like crazy, so my twelve-year-old’s Little League game was postponed until tonight.  To keep him occupied, I pulled out my humongous binder of DVDs, and asked him to pick out a movie that he and I could watch.  After detouring him away from such classics as Donnie Darko and The Butterfly Effect (hey, I like a movie that makes me think…) he settled for Clue.  Now, for those of you who are not familiar with this comical film from the ’80s, it’s basically a film adaptation of the classic Parker Brothers board game.  It’s rated PG.  It has such amazing actors as Tim Curry, Martin Mull, and Christopher Lloyd playing the beloved characters from the board game.  Ok, so we start watching the movie, and as I’m making up some popcorn, my boss (the twelve-year-old’s dad) and my eldest charge (eighteen-years-old) come in, sit down and watch the movie with us.  

That sets the scene.  I go downstairs for some time to myself since the other adults were home to watch the movie with my charge.  From my room, I can hear them all upstairs laughing about the movie.  I went to bed thinking that I’ve just scored in the whole “Super Nanny” gig.

This morning I get a call from my boss while I’m waiting for my sixteen-year-old charge to finish her ice skating session.  Apparently, the twelve-year-old had some major issues with Clue, and was so scared by it that he couldn’t sleep, and when he did finally get to sleep, he had nightmares.  This is a PG movie from the ’80s, people.  Today, he’s in a foul mood from lack of sleep, and he refuses to go try to take a nap.  Hey, the kid’s gonna be thirteen next month, I can’t really force him to sleep.

Here’s the issue: he wants me to take him to see Dark Knight.  His dad is completely ok with letting me do this.  I’m not.  It’s not that I don’t want to see the movie (I really, really, really do….) it’s just that he had nightmares over a movie that was soooo not your typical nightmare-inducing movie.  He’s a bear today.  How in the world am I going to take him to see a movie that is dark and a bit twisted with a guy in smudged clown make-up?  (I have nothing against the late Heath Ledger… he still makes my heart go “pitter patter” even to this day.)  I know that the whole reason he wants to see it is because his older sisters and his soon-to-be older step-sister and same aged step-brother have all seen it and love it.  Kids all grow at different stages… I don’t know what to do here.  When is it okay for the nanny to put her foot down and say to the parent, “Hey, your kid shouldn’t do this.  It will really screw him up.”?