At this point, it seems like everyone has heard about the recent Netflix hit Squid Game. Unfortunately for some parents, it looks like their kids have heard of the popular series as well. As a result, some kids are recreating their very own Squid Game endeavors at recess and schools are sending out a warning to parents.
The incredibly violent series follows a group of 456 adults that are forced into a life-or-death battle royale. The winner of the game earns the chance to win millions of dollars. While it makes for exciting entertainment, it isn’t exactly the best event to recreate during school hours. Now parents and educators alike are taking to social media to voice their concerns about kids playing Squid Game at recess.
In Florida, Bay District Schools posted this warning:
Ilea Faircloth, principal of Hiland Park Elementary School in Panama City, Florida (part of the Bay District Schools) said that students were hitting and kicking to copy the “elimination” portion of Squid Game.
“With our younger students, they didn’t know it was something they shouldn’t be doing,” Faircloth said to Fox News.
Luckily, there hasn’t been any actual death involved. Of course, kids are still reportedly behaving violently in these games – with some kids actually punching or hitting others to get the same point across. In response to this, as noted by Washington Post, Australian schools are asking parents not to let their kids watch the series. In Belfast, parents are being asked to keep parental controls on.
Central Bedfordshire Council also sent out an email warning parents, which said:
“There have been some concerning reports recently about children and young people ‘playing’ Squid Game whilst at school.
Squid Game is also being viewed via other platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and given the popularity of the games in the show, developers have made various mini-games based on Squid Game on Roblox and other gaming platforms.”
The email continued:
“We strongly advise that children should not watch Squid Game. The show is quite graphic with a lot of violent content.”
The council told BBC:
“Last week our education safeguarding team were made aware that some primary-aged children in one of our schools were behaving aggressively on the playground while replicating games from the Squid Game programme.
It was felt that these young children had seen clips of the programme, which has a rating of 15 due to its graphic nature, on social media.
Following the concerns raised, the team shared information about parental settings, and resources to support parents to keep their children safe online.”
Either way, adults are trying to figure out why kids are already aware of Squid Game. But with the internet the way it is, it’s hard to escape such trends. With Squid Game being recreated on larger games for children like Fortnite or Roblox, it’s nearly impossible to avoid. Especially since the games portrayed in the show are just darker versions of legitimate children’s games.
It’ll be interesting to see if there is any further action taken to prevent children from watching these types of materials, or to keep them from reenacting the show at school. Perhaps there is some discussion required to see what should be permitted, and Squid Game could have inadvertently been the perfect reason to do so.