How to Rate Movies for a Child's Viewing

Remember when "adult" movies were ones with kissing? Today's movies are a lot more challenging for parents to monitor, but these guidelines can help.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• VCRs
• Televisions
• Microwave Popcorn
• Popcorn
• Movie Videos

1. Understand what today's rating system means. Beyond G, PG, PG-13 and R, many newspapers, magazines and Web sites rate films based on violent content, coarse language, nudity and adult themes.

2. Find out about the particular film your child wants to watch. Just because it has a PG rating doesn't mean you would allow your child to watch it if you knew more about it.

3. Know your values and stick to them. If you don't approve of living together outside of marriage, your ten-year-old shouldn't watch movies that condone such behavior (even if "everyone else is going").

4. Know your child. Is she liable to have nightmares about violent scenes from a movie? Is she more or less mature than others the same age?

5. Communicate your standards clearly. Your child should know your rules about movies - for example, to ask for permission before watching any movie that's not rated G - and should know what to do if presented with the opportunity to watch an unapproved movie.

6. If you are unsure about a particular movie, watch it with your child. Be prepared to leave the theater or stop the VCR if you think the content is inappropriate.

Tips & Warnings

• Suggest alternative activities when you must say no to a request to watch an inappropriate movie. Offer to take your child and a friend out for pizza or to a concert instead.
• Get ready to be unpopular. You may find that monitoring your child's movie viewing at all puts you in the minority of parents. But isn't your child worth the effort?

Who Can Help:

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on 8/2/2006 Kids aren't as immature as people think. Don't make them just watch G-rated movies until they're 18. Forbidding movies just makes them seem more attractive, keep that in mind.

Also, just because a kid sees something in a movie doesn't mean they will want to mimic it. Kids know the difference between movies and real life.