Stranger Things from what age: the rating, season by season, and our advice to parents
Guide · Age · Parents
The show is rated “not recommended under 12” for its first three seasons, and “under 16” for the fourth and the fifth. But the heroes are twelve in 1983, and many children want to see it before. Here is what scares, season by season, and our landmarks for deciding.
The essentials
- Rating, seasons 1 to 3: not advised under 12
- Seasons 4 and 5: not advised under 16
- What is scary: the creatures, the deaths, the tension
- Our advice: 12 with an adult for seasons 1 to 3; 14 for the rest
Contents
From what age: the rating in France
On the French platform, the first three seasons carry the 12 pictogram, the fourth and the fifth the 16 pictogram. In the United States, the show is rated TV-14 throughout. The difference comes down to season 4: Vecna's deaths, bones broken and eyes sunken, are shown, where the first three seasons suggested more than they showed.
| Season | Rating in France | What weighs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | The Demogorgon, a child's disappearance, a death |
| 2 | 12 | Will's possession, the demodogs, Bob's death |
| 3 | 12 | The flesh monster, bodies that melt, Billy's death |
| 4 | 16 | Vecna's deaths, shown; the lab massacre |
| 5 | 16 | War in the streets, the children taken, the final battle |
The kids' T-shirt, to be part of it without watching.
In the shopKids' black Demogorgon Live T-shirt24,90 €See the product
What is scary, concretely
The show is not gory, except at moments in Seasons 3 and 4. What weighs on a child is something else: the disappearance of a twelve-year-old boy, a single mother, a friend who dies, and a tension kept up episode after episode. The creatures make you jump; the situations stay. A ten-year-old can take the Demogorgon and be shaken by Bob's death.
There is no nudity and no explicit sex scene; the language is sometimes crude, especially from Season 3 on.
Our landmarks
Twelve, with an adult in the room, for seasons 1 to 3: that is the age of the heroes, and children recognize themselves in it. Fourteen for seasons 4 and 5, which show what the first ones suggested. Before twelve, everything depends on the child: some love being scared, others no longer sleep. The right test is the first episode, watched together, with the option to stop.
Watching togetherThe show watches well across two generations: parents find their childhood in it, kids discover theirs. It is also the best way to calibrate: you see right away what the child can take.
The scenes to know beforehand
For the youngest, four passages are worth anticipating: the discovery of the body in the quarry, season 1; Bob's death, season 2; the melting bodies, season 3; and each of Vecna's deaths, season 4, including the first, in a trailer, from the first episode. Season 5, for its part, shows a town at war, but kills less.
And for the children who love it
Many eight- or ten-year-old children know the show through their older siblings, without having seen it: the T-shirts, the figures, and the Eleven or Dustin costumes are for them a way to be part of it without watching. It is often the right compromise while waiting for the age.
The Dustin figure, the younger kids' favorite.
In the shopLego brown Demogorgon mini figure14,90 €See the product
What can impress, season by season
| Season | Overall tone | The scenes to brace for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anxiety more than violence; the monster is little shown | Barb's pool; the lab of the last episode; the fake body in the quarry |
| 2 | A little darker, with Will's possession | Bob's death in the lab lobby; the exorcism in the cabin |
| 3 | Brighter, but more gory | The bodies that melt at the hospital; Billy's death; the rats |
| 4 | Clearly more violent | Chrissy's death from episode 1; Vecna's victims; the 1979 massacre; Eddie's death |
| 5 | The same intensity, with children in danger | The attack on the Wheeler house; the rounding-up of the children; Kali's death; the spider of the finale |
What is not in the show
For a parent, it is useful to know what the show does not contain. No explicit sex scene: the couples kiss, a season 1 scene at Steve's stays suggested, and that is all. Little very crude language, especially in the first seasons, where the kids swear like 1983 kids. No gratuitous violence between humans outside military scenes: the violence almost always comes from the creatures.
What remains, and what explains the stricter rating of the last two seasons, are images of deformed bodies, a few deaths filmed up close, and a heavy psychological tension, especially around Max in season 4 and the abducted children in season 5.
How to accompany a young viewer
Watching together changes everything. A child of 10 or 11 who watches season 1 with an adult, with the option to stop, lives a different experience from one who discovers it alone on a tablet. Warning before the key scenes, rather than skipping them, lets you talk about them: Barb's death or Bob's are moments when the show talks about grief, not only about fear.
A simple method: one episode per evening, never the last of the season just before sleep, and a pause of a few months between season 3 and season 4, which marks a real jump in maturity. For younger ones who love the universe without being able to watch the show, the animated series Tales From 1985, gentler, is a good way in, as are the figurines and board games.
The Demogorgon poster, for the brave.
In the shopKids' Attack of the Demogorgon hoodie61,90 €See the product
TakeawaySeasons 1 to 3: not advised under 12. Seasons 4 and 5: under 16. What weighs: the situations more than the creatures. The right test: the first episode, together.
Frequently asked questions
From what age to watch Stranger Things?
Not recommended under 12 for seasons 1 to 3, under 16 for seasons 4 and 5. We recommend 12 with an adult, then 14 for what follows.
Is Stranger Things gory?
Rarely: at times in season 3 and especially in season 4, where Vecna's deaths are shown. The rest suggests more than it shows.
Can a 10-year-old watch Stranger Things?
It depends on the child. The first episode, watched together with the option to stop, is the right test.
Are there sex scenes?
No, neither nudity nor an explicit scene. The language is sometimes crude from season 3 on.
What is the most violent season?
Season 4, from its first episode with Chrissy's death, then Vecna's victims and the 1979 massacre. Season 5 is of a comparable intensity, with children in danger.
Is the animated series suitable for younger kids?
It is gentler than the show, without being a version for toddlers: set in 1985 with the group in middle school, it keeps creatures and tension, at a much lower level.
Can you show the figures and the products to a child who does not watch the show?
Yes, that is often how the youngest enter the universe: a Demogorgon plush, bikes, walkie-talkies and waffles have nothing frightening about them without the images from the show.
Which season is the most suitable to start with a preteen?
The first: the monster is barely shown, the violence comes from dread more than from blood, and the heroes are the viewer's age.