Why My Kids Won’t Watch Squid Game, Play Roblox, or Use TikTok
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The other day my son came to me asking if I’d ever watched Squid Game.
Admittedly, I have not. But I have read several articles about it after having seen all of the hype online and knowing that this discussion would come sooner or later.
What I read made my stomach turn.
Just when you think mankind has reached the lowest depths of depravity, someone out there grabs a shovel and starts digging even lower.
Squid Game is TV-MA
If you haven’t yet heard of Squid Game, or haven’t yet read up on it, Squid Game is the newest popular series on Netflix.
This is no shock to me – seeing as how I’ve already sworn off Netflix due to their offensive content, and by offensive I mean straight-up child porn and blaspheming Christ just for starters.
And they aren’t letting up.
Squid Game is a South Korean series in which over 400 people agree to participate in challenges to win money; many of these participants are in serious debt due to gambling and are willing to do anything for money.
Anything.
And this is where this show takes a horrible turn.
One of the episodes depicts them playing Red Light, Green Light – a familiar playground game – except losers are shot to death.
The violence depicted in this show is nauseating.
And yet kids are watching it
Despite the Netflix TV-MA rating, kids are watching Squid Game.
Schools and parents everywhere are reporting that kids are roleplaying the Squid Game challenges on the playground; and they are being allowed to watch it despite the Mature Audience Rating.
But here’s the kicker:
Many of them are not learning about Squid Game from Netflix.
Squid Game is being marketed to your kids
We don’t have Netflix in our home, so this is definitely not where my son heard about it.
Fortnite players can join Creative Maps to recreate the Red Light, Green Light episode.
Minecraft has several Squid Game servers your kids can join.
Roblox has a Squid Game game kids can play.
You can even get Squid Game costumes and gear for your kids on Etsy.
It boggles the mind to think that not only are kids watching this level of violence and bloodshed, but that it is being openly marketed to them without protest.
Don’t be afraid to be set strong and firm boundaries
The conversation I had with my son about Squid Game has spanned over several days, and even led to a family meeting where we discussed even firmer boundaries around video games and YouTube.
As it stands, my kids know that they are not allowed to play Roblox or use social media at all.
Although a lot of their friends play Roblox, there were too many inappropriate games and I wasn’t at all a fan of the music my son was addicted to listening to.
In the end, we had a very serious discussion about protecting our hearts and deleted the app.
While they do have Facebook accounts, they only exist for them to use Messenger with a very select few friends and family members. They are not allowed to use Instagram at all (a simple perusal of the search feed is enough to make your stomach turn. Instagram is not for kids….and even adults should avoid the search feed!)
We have banned TikTok entirely — even TikTok videos on YouTube. (I believe the why behind this goes without saying)
As for YouTube, my kids know that they are only allowed to access YouTube in high-traffic areas of our home and only by using their Subscriber tab – not their home feed.
While they initially pushed back, further discussion helped them to understand that we are not being strict for the sake of being strict, but because God has called my husband and me to help protect their heart and spirit.
And this led to them setting their own strict boundaries. Which made me very proud.
Light vs. Darkness
Last night, I grabbed two glasses out of the cupboard to illustrate why we need to guard our heart. You can watch it below.
But this was a reminder for me, too.
You know, the TV-MA rating is deceptive; and over the past several days, researching and reading comments by parents about Squid Game has been very eye-opening.
While children may be more vulnerable to trauma by viewing this kind of violence, especially using games they are familiar with and play with their friends, it doesn’t mean that the darkness in these shows is any less dangerous for adults.
If a movie or show depicts evil, gratuitously or otherwise, it fills our heart with darkness – no matter how old we are.
No matter if we’re 9, 49, or 99, if we choose to entertain ourselves with evil; if we choose to open the door of our heart through our eyes and ears, we should not be surprised that we grow less sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Romans 16:19 says, “Be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil.”
Squid Game is not for Christians, no matter our age
We cannot be full of light and entertain ourselves with shows such as Squid Game.
While this may seem judgmental to you, I truly believe that my statement is firmly based on Scriptural principle. Light and darkness cannot exist together.
God hates violence. God hates portrayal of sexual immorality: fornication, adultery, and perversion of every kind. God hates foul language. God will not allow those who take His name in vain to go unpunished.
There is chapter and verse for each of these statements, therefore, how can we entertain ourselves with TV shows and movies with these elements; especially shows that glorify these sins!
And while this severely limits what we can actually watch, I wonder if that is a bad thing.
In the parable of the 10 Virgins, 5 were wise and alert, watching for the bridegroom while the other 5 fell asleep and were caught off guard and unprepared for his arrival.
All of the noise and entertainment we allow in our lives deadens our senses to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It lulls us into a spiritual stupor. It fills our heart with its darkness and leaves no room for the oil of the Holy Spirit to shine brightly in that darkness.
And one day, Christ will appear and we will be caught off guard, because we’ve been so busy being entertained by the world we have grown to love so much.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” I John 2:15
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Great illustration. Pouring darkness into light was impactful.
We didn’t allow our kids to watch TV and instead owned a lot of appropriate videos. No video games either after realizing how addicted they became to even a couple good ones. Many video games were violent and bloody back then and this Squid Game and the other things you mentioned are so much worse! This was a good article. I remember writing like this back when my kids were growing up. So much worse (but I said that!!)!!