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Is 'Love Island' appropriate for children? Mum asks if it's OK for seven-year-old to watch

At what age should children be allowed to watch 'Love Island'? [Photo: ITV]
At what age should children be allowed to watch 'Love Island'? [Photo: ITV]

A mum has started a parenting debate online about whether it is ok to let her seven-year-old daughter watch ‘Love Island’.

It’s that time of year again, when the vast majority of the nation willingly give over their entire lives to the love and sex lives of a bunch of single strangers?

But how young is too young to be watching the, er, mature grown-up antics of the Islanders?

One mum has turned to a parenting forum to ask if she should let her seven-year-old tune into the dating show.

Posting on Netmums, the woman asked what the "appropriate" age was for children to be watching the series.

"At what age would you let your child watch Love Island?” she wrote.

"Is seven acceptable or would you wait until they were a teenager to allow them to watch the show?"

And parents were quick to wade in with opinions, sparking a debate about whether it is right for parents to let their children watch the post-watershed show.

Many users were horrified such a young child would be allowed to watch a programme with such adult content.

“Are you being serious no way should a 7 year old be watching it, that’s just silly!” one user wrote.

“No way I would ever let a 7 year old watch it. At a start they probably shouldn't even be up that late!” another agreed.

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Others pointed out that the show can often feature sexual scenes.

“Is seven acceptable? Absolutely not!!! Content far too adult for children,” another parent commented.

“The whole problem here is the words child and love island being in the same sentence,” yet another user added.

“Who in their right mind would let a 7 year old watch it???? My 7 year old plays with dolls, reads stories about fairies and unicorns.”

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Parents are debating if children should be allowed to watch Love Island [Photo: ITV]
Parents are debating if children should be allowed to watch Love Island [Photo: ITV]

However, some parents were more relaxed about letting their children watch the show.

"My girls are 13 and they're allowed to watch with me if they want,” one mum wrote. “They aren't that bothered. Seven is young though."

“Most of the girls in my son's class watch and they are in year 5 so 9/10,” another user posted.

“I think this is too young. I'd say about 12 or 13 would be ok. If all their friends are watching it, and they want to then I would let my daughter around this age. It's not ideal but at the end of the day, it's a tv show and I don't think it's too bad.

“Kids that age onwards aren't all naive,” the poster added.

It isn’t the only topic parents have been debating online recently. Last month a stay-at-home mum ignited a discussion after asking if it was reasonable to expect her husband to pay her a salary.

In May, a mum sparked a discussion about whether partners should be allowed to stay overnight in maternity wards after the birth of their baby.

And back in April a woman caused uproar on Mumsnet after complaining that her ex is an “idiot” and she is “worried about the impact of his influence” over her seven-year-old son.

Though the new series of ‘Love Island’ only kicked off on Monday, the show is already courting it’s fair share of controversy, including some criticism about the lack of body diversity among the contestants.