History Main / CensoredChildDeath

* In ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeIIIRevengeOfTheSith'', during the 501st Legion's attack on the Jedi Temple, Anakin walks into the Council chamber, where a large number of younglings are hiding. One of them asks what they're going to do to survive...only for Anakin to ignite his lightsaber. Not to mention the likely ''hundreds'' of other children massacred by the new Empire.

A subtrope of DiscretionShot, KilledOffscreen and DeathOfAChild. Compare and contrast ImprobableInfantSurvival, as while the child survives, these depict a child not seen dying. Related to EmpathyDollShot, wherein a child's favorite toy is presumably all that's left of them.

'''''Note: If it's teenagers, then its not this trope, as teenagers have been known to fight back. A maximum age of 11 is accepted. And this is a DeathTrope, so expect unmarked spoilers.'''''

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'', there's a scene of a woman brought before Dio and begging her baby to be spared. Dio complys...by turning her into a vampire and her feeding on the child. In the manga, this was shown in clear and gory detail. But the anime version, even with being alright showing mortal blows, drew the line at showcasing this and instead had the woman feeds on the baby offscreen. Much of the fanbase were actually relieved for this and one of the changes they were more then happy to see omitted.

* ''Film/InvasionUSA1985'': While Hunter manages to stop a terrorist attack against a school bus in time, he's later seen surveying a destroyed carnaval ride that was the target of a different attack, with it all but being stated that children were killed off-screen.

** The 1977 Christopher Lee version had him point to a bag on the floor when one bride asks what they're suppose to eat. The brides quickly run over to it, grab the bag and leave.

* In ''Film/CountYorga'', a scene between Hayes and his girlfriend had them discussing about if the police would believe Hayes about vampires, with the girlfriend saying she would due to reading about a baby being found in the swamp, it's neck chewed up and drained of it's blood. There ''was'' mean to be a scene showing one of the brides doing this, but the scene was cut likely due to being too disturbing.

* As stated above, ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' has a part where the brides attempt to feed on Johnathan Harker when he ends up in their parlor. But are stopped by Dracula who still needs Harker alive/un-vamped for the time being. One bride complains if they're meant to have nothing that night. Dracula pulls out a "wiggling bag" and hands it to them. While we're never really given a detailed description of what was in it, Harker just manage to make out a "tiny gasp" when the women look in it, implying there's a child in there. But passes out before he sees anymore. Considering later on, a mother comes to the castle cursing Dracula and demanding the return of her child. Yeeeah...

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', King Joffrey Baratheon orders the City Watch to kill all of Robert Baratheon's known bastards which he considers them as threats to his claim for the Iron Throne. While most of these bastards are teenagers such as Gendry, the youngest is still an infant. When Ser Janos Slynt of the City Watch orders one of his men to kill the baby, he refuses causing Janos to do the deed instead in front the mother by grabbing a knife to stab the baby. The next scene cuts away to the mother wailing in terror as she watches her child die in front of her.

* As stated above, ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' has a part where the brides attempt to feed on Johnathan Harker when he ends up in their parlor. But are stopped by Dracula who still needs Harker alive/un-vamped for the time being. One bride complains if they're meant to have nothing that night. Dracula pulls out a "wiggling bag" and hands it to them. While were never really given a detailed description of what was in it, Harker just manage to make out a "tiny gasp" when the women look in it, implying there's a child in there. But passes out before he sees anymore. Considering later on, a mother comes to the castle cursing Dracula and demanding the return of her child. Yeeeah...

* In ''Manga/JojoBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'', there's a scene of a woman brought before Dio and begging her baby to be spared. Dio complys...by turning her into a vampire and her feeding on the child. In the manga, this was shown in clear and gory detail. But the anime version, even with being alright showing mortal blows, drew the line at showcasing this and instead had the woman feeds on the baby offscreen. Much of the fanbase were actually relieved for this and one of the changes they were more then happy to see omitted.

** In the 1992 ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' had the brides purring up to Dracula before he presents them with a baby. The three take it crowd around the baby giggling before we cut to Johnathan screaming.

* As stated above, ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' has a part where the brides attempt to feed on Johnathan Harker when he ends up in their parlor. But are stopped by Dracula who still needs Harker alive/un-vamped for the time being. One bride complains if they're meant to have nothing that night. Dracula pulls out a "wiggling bag" and hands it to them. While were never really given a detailed description of what was in it, Harker just manage to make out a "tiny gasp" when the women look in it, implying there's a child in there. But passes out before he sees anymore. Considering later, a mother comes to the castle cursing Dracula and demanding the return of her child. Yeeeah...

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

So the [[WouldHurtAChild Murderer]] attacks a family. He [[MoralEventHorizon kills the father and the mother]] and is left with the child. However, we never get to see the murderer kill the child. There may be a scream, but no shadow or gore, if any, gets shown to the viewers at all. This is a very common practice, especially in Hollywood and many Western films, for [[UnacceptableTargets very obvious reasons]] even in most violent movies, where child deaths are off screen. This is usually due to such onscreen deaths would result in censorship from the [[MediaWatchdog Media Watchdogs]]. This may also be due to the risks of the MoralGuardians complaining about such deaths onscreen. While there are some notable aversions, such aversions are rare to encounter in most works that contain children.

So the [[WouldHurtAChild Murderer]] attacks a family. He [[MoralEventHorizon kills the father and the mother]] and is left with the child. However, we never get to see the murderer kill the child. There may be a scream, but no shadow or gore, if any, gets shown to the viewers at all. This is a very common practice, even in most violent movies, where child deaths are off screen. This is usually due to such onscreen deaths would result in censorship from the [[MediaWatchdog Media Watchdogs]]. This may also be due to the risks of the MoralGuardians complaining about such deaths onscreen. While there are some notable aversions, such aversions are rare to encounter in most works that contain children.

* Zigzagged in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. In his opening scene, Freddy is shown with one of his child victims, but her death is only implied with her screams as the camera focuses on her doll being burned in a furnace. Later, Lori comes across the same little girl in the dream world... ''with her eyes gouged out''.

----
->'''[[JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf Statler]]''': I'm going to watch [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Asriel]] get killed by ComicBook/TheJoker!
->'''MediaWatchdog policeman''': MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere! [[OrwellianRetcon You are not supposed to see this.]]
->''Asriel Dies''
->'''Statler''': Aw, come on! You ruined it!

[[folder:Film]]

* Borderline example on an episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' ("Psychodrama", Season 2, Episode 4) and all the more NightmareFuel-laden for it: the MonsterOfTheWeek, a psychotic bank robber that forced his hostages to strip down and any children in the crowd to attack their parents (as a way to express [[FreudianExcuse his own hatred for his parents and what he wanted to do to them]] through an acting technique he learnt in prison (the titular "psychodrama")) pushes a kid to the ground ''[[CruelAndUnusualDeath and]] [[MultipleGunshotDeath empties his MAC-10 sub-machine gun into him]]'' in a rage when the kid refuses to strike his mother on one of his robberies. Garcia and the other BAU agents, who see this after the fact by watching the bank's security tapes (which also means that the kid is pushed just barely "[[InUniverseCamera off-screen]]" before being shot) are understandably horrified.

* In TheSims, the Social Worker NPC spawns to remove the child from the household, when the child is exposed to certain dangers (such of starvation) that would kill an adult.

* ''Film/{{Titanic}}'': Viewers get to see a 3rd class mother telling her children a bedtime story as their room fills with water. Viewers also see dozens of children and infants floating dead in the water, but no actual drownings are shown.