Is E.T. OK for a 6 year old?

Likely fine. The perfect age. The friendship, the bike, and the goodbye land at full strength, and the tears are the good kind. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 7 year old?

Likely fine. The perfect age. The friendship, the bike, and the goodbye land at full strength, and the tears are the good kind. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for an 8 year old?

Likely fine. The perfect age. The friendship, the bike, and the goodbye land at full strength, and the tears are the good kind. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 9 year old?

Likely fine. Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 10 year old?

Likely fine. Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for an 11 year old?

Likely fine. Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 12 year old?

Likely fine. Nothing to manage. Worth the rewatch for the craft alone. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 13 year old?

Likely fine. Nothing to manage. Worth the rewatch for the craft alone. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Is E.T. OK for a 5 Year Old?

Q: Is E.T. OK for a 4 year old?

Depends on the kid. Mostly yes. The men in hazmat suits filling the house and E.T. turning gray on the table are the two moments that frighten small kids, and the second one is sad rather than scary. A child who can sit with a sad scene knowing it gets better is ready. One who cannot tolerate the possibility of a friend dying should wait a year. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

Q: Is E.T. OK for a 5 year old?

Depends on the kid. Mostly yes. The men in hazmat suits filling the house and E.T. turning gray on the table are the two moments that frighten small kids, and the second one is sad rather than scary. A child who can sit with a sad scene knowing it gets better is ready. One who cannot tolerate the possibility of a friend dying should wait a year. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial scores 29 on FilmScout's ScoutScore, in the Mild tier.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) · Rated PG · the answer, age by age

Written by FilmScout, reviewed by Ben Fedyniak · Updated August 23, 2026

ScoutScore · MILD

For most 5 year olds, E.T. is a yes, and for many it is the first movie they cry at. It scores 29 on the ScoutScore, in the Mild tier, from a government raid on the house and a long stretch where E.T. sickens and appears to die while Elliott begs him to stay. None of it is violent. All of it is felt, which is the reason the movie has lasted.

A ScoutScore is a living number. We re-check movies against the source and raise or lower it when we find something the first pass missed, so a score you see today can differ from one you saw last month.

Age by age

Under 6 DEPENDS

Mostly yes. The men in hazmat suits filling the house and E.T. turning gray on the table are the two moments that frighten small kids, and the second one is sad rather than scary. A child who can sit with a sad scene knowing it gets better is ready. One who cannot tolerate the possibility of a friend dying should wait a year.

Ages 6 to 8 LIKELY FINE

The perfect age. The friendship, the bike, and the goodbye land at full strength, and the tears are the good kind.

Ages 9 to 11 LIKELY FINE

Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible.

Ages 12 and up LIKELY FINE

Nothing to manage. Worth the rewatch for the craft alone.

By the year

The same verdicts, by the exact age you are asking about.

4 year old	DEPENDS	Mostly yes.
5 year old	DEPENDS	Mostly yes.
6 year old	LIKELY FINE	The perfect age.
7 year old	LIKELY FINE	The perfect age.
8 year old	LIKELY FINE	The perfect age.
9 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible.
10 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible.
11 year old	LIKELY FINE	Easy, and the divorce subplot that runs quietly under the story becomes visible.
12 year old	LIKELY FINE	Nothing to manage.
13 year old	LIKELY FINE	Nothing to manage.

Where the big moments land

The scenes below are the raid and the medical sequence. They come back to back, which is why the last half hour feels so heavy for young kids and so earned for everyone else.

1:19:16	Mute	E.T. and Elliott in medical quarantine
1:26:15	Mute	E.T. appears to die
1:44:34	Heads up	E.T. says goodbye and departs

These three are a sample. The full scene map, and live alerts that arrive before each scene while you watch, are in the FilmScout app.

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The bottom line

A goodbye a child can carry. It will make your 5 year old cry and they will ask for it again, which is the exact transaction the movie was built for.

Content map

How this movie's flagged content divides up. These are shares of what was flagged here, not a level: a movie with very little flagged content can still be 80% one kind.

Mature themes with scary and dark.

Scary and dark	28%
Violence and action	11%
Language and substances	28%
Mature themes	33%
All flagged content	100%

Direction is the kind of content. Reach is the ScoutScore, which is how much there is: green at the centre, yellow, orange, then red at the edge.

Scout every scene in the app.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial mapped moment by moment, with alerts that follow along while you watch.

Full scene report for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

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Every age guide

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