How to Choose Summer Movies Appropriate for Children

When children are out of school for the summer, the perfect solution to a hot day is a trip to a cool movie theater. However, choosing a movie that is appropriate for your children's ages and maturity levels is important in making sure the movie experience is a positive one.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find an appropriate summer movie by reading about local movies on a website like Fandango (see Resources below).

2. Click on a movie with a G or PG rating to view its synopsis and genre. A movie developed for viewing by children will be in the children's or family genre.

3. Watch the movie trailer to get a feel for the plot.

4. Seek out parent reviews on the Parent Previews and Movie Review Cafe websites before you choose (see Resources below).

5. Read a full, detailed review of any given movie by visiting the Kids in Mind website or the faith-based Plugged in Online website to determine whether it is appropriate for your children (see Resources below). These sites give a play-by-play of the general quality of a movie, noting any parts that children or parents might find troubling. The websites also detail instances of crude language and cursing, violence and bodily harm, drug and alcohol use, nudity and sexual segments and other issues that aren't deemed appropriate for children.

6. Screen a summer movie by going to see it without your children if you are still in doubt about its content.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid taking infants and toddlers to a movie theater, as their short attention spans and sensitivity to loud noises might cause problems. However, this may not hold true for movies designed for the preschool set, as they are often shorter and made to hold the attention of small children. Also, you can be sure that there will be plenty of other squirmy children in attendance, so you won't have to worry so much about keeping your children still and quiet.
• Do not choose movies with content that might be upsetting for younger children, such as the death of a family dog or scary evil characters.

Resources

• Local movies at Fandango
• Parent reviews on Parent Previews
• Parent reviews on Movie Review Cafe
• Professional movie reviews on Kids in Mind
• Faith-based movie reviews on Plugged in Online