“When I was 11, I was seeking out the grossest stuff I could find.”
When I was 11, seeing people die in movies left me disturbed for days.
It depends on the kid.
It’s one thing to seek out grossness knowing it is on a printed page or in a movie or on the net/TV. It is entirely different to see what looks like your father’s decapitated, bloody head.
Long ago, we took my son to a movie. He was 9. I can’t even recall which film, but at one point he ended up in my lap, head buried in my shoulder, crying at something horrible on screen. He was in what I then called *goat boy* phase and nothing ever seemed to bother him, but that scene did.
Boys may seem to seek out grossness, but a lot of it is bravado and self-desensitization. They are also one way in a group of peers and another in reality. Telling that he screamed “Mommy”. Kids revert to younger stages when really affected. I’ll bet Barron usually calls Melania “Mom”.