Many families are finding it increasingly difficult to find appropriate TV shows for their children’s age group.
More often than not, you come across media that is deemed “age-appropriate,” but it ends up containing content you’re not comfortable with.
I’ve rounded up the best three websites that are designed to “shine a light on the world of popular entertainment, while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live.” (Pluggedin.com)
Why are age-appropriate media reviews important?
People, families specfically, are wanting more detailed information about the content that’s really in mainstream movies, videos, television episodes and games. The entertainment industry ratings will only tell you so much, oftentimes glazing over some pretty important details.
The 3 websites listed below go much deeper, diving headfirst into content and the meaning behind it, so you can feel rest-assured as a parent trying to navigate this media-crazed world!
Family-friendly TV and movie ratings
The 3 websites below are very popular for finding honest ratings and reviews. They’re not Catholic-specific, but used among many Catholic and faith-based families.
This is by far one of the most popular websites for TV show and movie reviews for children. Common Sense Media has been in the business since 2003, and is highly-trusted for their honest reviews of age-appropriate media.
“Our kids are on the front lines of a digital revolution. Devices, social networks, and media are changing childhood in radical ways.
We all want kids to grow up healthy and happy as the world accelerates around them.
Common Sense has helped hundreds of millions of parents, teachers, and policymakers navigate this accelerating landscape. Today, our mission to ensure kids’ digital well-being is more relevant and vital than ever.”
CommonSenseMedia.org
2.) Kids-In-Mind.com
According to Kids In Mind,
“The purpose of kids-in-mind.com is to provide parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a film’s content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether they should watch a movie with or without their kids, or at all.
It’s like a food labeling system which tells you what a food item contains. That’s it. We make no judgments about what is good or bad — or anything else. Indeed, we do not “condemn,” “critique” or “criticize” movies. And we don’t “praise” or “recommend” movies either. We advance no “beliefs” and we do not “preach” anything.
We are not affiliated with any political party, any cultural or religious group, or any ideology. The only thing we advocate is responsible, engaged parenting.”
Sounds good to me!
3.) PluggedIn.com
Plugged In is actually a branch off of Focus on the Family, which is a Christian-based family website.
“Plugged In looks at films through a biblical worldview filter, keeping families—especially those with children in the home—ultimately in mind.
Realizing the MPAA’s ratings system is greatly lacking (and often untrustworthy), we strive to be reliable “information providers,” highlighting both the positive and negative content elements, a requisite for discerning individuals regarding the making of wise entertainment choices.
While providing a numerical rating for each movie and varying colors of caution for broad age ranges in an effort to help categorize where a film generally stands within the cultural context, we refrain from telling people to view or not view a specific film.
Instead we outline content in categories such as “sexual,” “drug and alcohol,” “violence,” “crude or profane language,” “spiritual,” etc., then provide summation and perspective for that content, equipping families (and individuals) with information they can draw upon to assist in making media decisions.”
Websites That Give Honest TV Reviews for Kids
So there you have it! 3 trustworthy websites to help you make informed decisions on the television shows and movies your children are watching. What do you think? Are these websites helpful for you? My children are still a little young to get into big-name movies and TV shows, but I’ll definitely keep these websites in my back pocket for when they’re a little older.
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