Watching movies with kids can be extremely frustrating for parents. Afterall, you never know what will appear on the screen next. Of course, we all pay attention to movie ratings, and read the generalized content listing, but it’s difficult to know EXACTLY what will be shown until you’ve seen the film yourself. As a mother of two boys, I understand how important it is to protect children from subject matter that is objectionable or offensive. Listed below are websites that offer helpful information for watching movies with kids, and should be a part of every parent’s guide to movies.
Let’s say you’ve selected a movie that is rated ‘PG’ to watch with your children. However, in the movie content review, the words ‘sexual situations’ are listed. What exactly does that mean? Head over to the any of the websites below to find out.
Kids-In-Mind (http://www.kids-in-mind.com)
Why it’s good – Kids-In-Mind gives you details, not generalized information, about any movie and the content within. They won’t just give you basic information such as, “nudity”. Instead, they give the details associated with what type of nudity it is and how it occurs. For example, they may write something like, “A woman walks into the shower and drops her towel. She bends over to pick it up while the camera zooms out to show her……”. The site literally walks you step-by-step through each scenario, describing specifically what happens and how it occurs.
Kids-In-Mind uses a star rating system to indicate what is shown (or said) in the movie. They provide a 10 star rating system in three different subjects – Sex/Nudity, Violence/Gore, Profanity. The higher the rating, the worse the content. Then, each subject lists a detailed account of everything shown under that category.
Anything you may possibly find offensive or objectionable, is listed in the family movies reviews at Kids-In-Mind. From nudity, sex, suggested sex, drug use, drug reference, profanity, violence, gore, blood, and so on. This parents guide to movies even goes as far as to let you know which offensive words are used, how many times they are said, and which scene they are shown in.
What you may not like – In using this parents guide to movies, you are likely to get more information than you may want. When descriptions are given, they are detailed. Thus, if you plan on watching movies with kids, you are going to know a lot of the movie plot beforehand.
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews (http://www.screenit.com/search_movies.html)
Why it’s good – The Screen It! website is a helpful parents guide to movies, which lists any material that may be found offensive or objectionable to parents. The movies are listed in order of release date, which can be extremely helpful if you are looking for information for a movie that is still in theaters. However, if you’re wanting information for watching movies with kids at home, you may find the site difficult to search.
Screen It! provides family movie reviews that make watching movies with kids less stressful. Find a movie you want to review and click on the title. You’ll be able to see what type of objectionable material is included, and how severe it is. Ratings are given in several categories, some of which include Alcohol/Drugs, Sex/Nudity, Profanity, Frightening/Tense Senses, Disrespectful/Bad Attitude, and so on. Beneath each category you’ll find whether the content is ‘Mild’, ‘Moderate’, ‘Heavy’, or ‘Extreme’. Then, each category is detailed as to what was offensive and a how it was shown in the film. You’ll be given specifically what type of profanity is used, how many times it is said, and which scenes it will be shown in. Likewise for other offensive material.
What you may not like – Not all information is available free of charge. The website states that the ‘Subscribers Only’ section of the site allows users to, “Search for titles from every page and view lists of movies and videos sorted by alphabet, genre, MPAA ratings and our “Our Take” artistic scores.” Which leads me to believe these services are not readily available to other users.
More from Jennifer Wagner:
Make Study Time Fun and Productive for Kids
40 Free Things You Can Do With Kids
Making Dental Health Fun for Your Kids
SOURCE:
Personal experience
Jennifer Wagner – Yahoo! Contributor Network
http://www.screenit.com/search_movies.html
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
