I remember showing “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared” to my niece when she was six
Just the very first video:
She liked it, lol. Even when it got all dark, she just didn't react to it at all. If I remember right, she only went "Ew," at the bloody cake they slice near the end. Looking at the comments on that video, a lot of them remark on feeling bad for any children who watch the video thinking it's going to be like Sesame Street only to get traumatized once the tone shifts. But I think Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared is more likely to be scary for grown-ups than children. As adults, the whole cheery children's sing-a-long theme with puppets juxtaposed with violent, disturbing imagery is going to be unnerving for us, but kids are simply going to be too young to really understand it.
But don't go by what I wrote about my niece's reaction to it, check out this video of kids aged 5-13 reacting to the above video:
Notice how the older kids are the only ones actually getting creeped out by it? The younger kids may say it was creepy and/or weird, but they don't seem nearly as unsettled. Because, again, they don't quite get it yet. To them, it might be weird and a little eerie. But traumatic? You be the judge.
[media=https://youtu.be/9C_HReR_McQ]
She liked it, lol. Even when it got all dark, she just didn't react to it at all. If I remember right, she only went "Ew," at the bloody cake they slice near the end. Looking at the comments on that video, a lot of them remark on feeling bad for any children who watch the video thinking it's going to be like Sesame Street only to get traumatized once the tone shifts. But I think Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared is more likely to be scary for grown-ups than children. As adults, the whole cheery children's sing-a-long theme with puppets juxtaposed with violent, disturbing imagery is going to be unnerving for us, but kids are simply going to be too young to really understand it.
But don't go by what I wrote about my niece's reaction to it, check out this video of kids aged 5-13 reacting to the above video:
[media=https://youtu.be/oXQYd8BDmug]
Notice how the older kids are the only ones actually getting creeped out by it? The younger kids may say it was creepy and/or weird, but they don't seem nearly as unsettled. Because, again, they don't quite get it yet. To them, it might be weird and a little eerie. But traumatic? You be the judge.
