It's hard to keep current on movies, books, games, and tv shows for kids. Media is constantly changing.
It's easy to just allow our own kids to participate in what their friends are reading, watching and doing--assuming their parents have checked things out.
But, that is not always the case. And what some parents think is appropriate for their kids, is not always what you choose as appropriate for your own.
That's why it's good to do the extra legwork and check things out for yourself.
Here are some awesome sites that I have found to be helpful to me:
Plugged In--This is a site by Focus on the Family that reviews movies, videos, music, tv and games. One of the things I love about this site is that they give a thorough review.
When reviewing a movie.....They list the positive elements, spiritual content, violent content, sexual content, drug and alcohol content, crude or profane language and other negative content.
Here's an example----In violent content, they list every violent act. I mean EVERY VIOLENT ACT. They would even consider getting smacked with a pillow a violent act.
OR
to be even more clear--In the movie Despicable Me, under the category Crude or Profane Language, here is what they list:
"Oh my gosh," "oh, poop" and "he's gonna kick your butt" are among the villainous statements.
Now, here is what I love about this... They aren't saying that you should or should not let your child watch this movie. They are just giving every available detail so that you, as the parent, can make an informed decision for your family.
Anyway--it's a really great site to check out.
However--they don't give reviews of books. And lots of kids read books (hurray for them!!!). If you haven't previewed the book, it's not easy to really judge a book by it's cover. So, here is another site to look into to:
Here is a description from their website:
Media is fun and our kids love it. We also know that kids now spend so much time absorbing its messages and images that it has become "the other parent" in their lives. We started this organization because we know families need trustworthy information to help manage their kids' media lives.
Two great tools for you. Let me know what you think.
