Select a Good Family Movie

Tired of watching junk with your family? Follow these steps and you can find a great film for everyone to enjoy! Save money on movies by looking for appropriate and enjoyable entertainment for the family.

Steps

  1. See a G-rated movie.
  2. Know the movie ratings:
    • G = General audiences (all ages admitted)
    • PG = Parental guidance suggested (some material may not be suitable for children under 10)
    • PG-13 = Parents strongly cautioned (Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13)
    • R = Restricted (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian)
    • NC-17 = No one 17 and under admitted. [Rare]
  3. Find what you're concerned about.
    • Violence- The lower the rating,the less there is. Unfortunately, even some G-rated movies have someone getting hurt, a scare for toddlers, & other very mild violence.
    • Sex-Kids movies do have someone liking someone else, sometimes a kiss. Fake nudity could be shown, like someone hiding behind something, naked.
    • Language- G-Rated and the Majority of PG-Rated wipe this out, except for name-calling.
    • Drugs- These don't appear often. When they do appear, its brief or in the background.
  4. Learn that if G is unavailable, then only rent/buy movies with a rating less than PG-13. Some PG-13 movies (such as Spider-Man) are OK to watch with your family. Remember that not all PG rated movies are suitable for the whole family. Sometimes even today. Remember, yesterday's R is today's PG-13. Talk to a video store clerk the next time you go to the video store. Talk to someone that works at the movie theater next time you go to the movies. Talking to anyone may also be helpful. Use parental review sites.
  5. Remember that if you are watching on TV, to read the review in the TV guide if you have access to one. This can indicate whether or not a movie is suitable for all the family. This can also indicate whether a film is good or not.
  6. Get a DVR so you can record a show you're considering letting your kids watch. This way, you see it first and know whether or not you want your kids seeing it. There may also be things that you want to talk to your kids about if you let them see it, such as language or violence. Then play it again off of the DVR when your kids are with you (if you decide to let them watch). You can also record a show playing while you're out of the house, away, of asleep.
  7. Don't torture yourself with bad movies. Once bad things enter your mind it is hard to get rid of them. What makes it different than when you're watching with your family?
  8. Contact your local cable store and ask them about the Tivo Kids Zone or Digital Cable's parental controls. These can block any program you don't want your kids to watch. Let's say there's a program with a lower rating than one of your approved shows but you still don't want your kids to watch it. You can block that program with one of those.

Tips

  • For more info about movie ratings, go to filmratings.com.
  • Whatever is around you will influence you. If it is a good influence that's good. However there are plenty of bad influences out there. Be careful to avoid them.
  • If you are looking to go see a movie in theaters, look for any label that approves appropriate entertainment in newspaper ads everyday. Some movies that are released on DVD can also have those labels.
  • Remember TV-PG is not always the same thing as PG. A v-chip can't block everything. Same thing applies to TV-G and G.
  • Make sure the show choice is going to entertain the kids. Some stuff that is G or PG may be enjoyable to adults, but bore the kids to death. G and PG does not signify entertainment meant for kids. They only signify that the film's content is okay for children. Most stuff that gets those ratings is meant for kids.
  • A useful web site for this is rottentomatoes.com. Finding a good family film isn't just about content, but it is also about the film's quality. Rotten Tomatoes doesn't just indicate the average rating of the film by film critics and give links to their reviews, but it also gives links to parental reviews. The average critic rating is measured by percentage. Any film 60% or above is certified fresh. Any film below 60% is certified rotten.

Warnings

  • If you are in Canada and you decide to see a movie, keep in mind that the Canadian movie ratings are provincial. The ratings in Canada are G(Same as in America), PG(Same as in America), 14A(under 14 requires an adult to accompany them), 18A(under 18 requires an adult to accompany them), and R(Not the same as in America and No children under 18 are allowed to see the film). Some provinces use the rating A to rate porn films. Do not assume that the rating in Canada have the same content levels as the American equivalents. For example a film that is R in the U.S may be PG in some provinces in Canada on rare cases. Quebec has a different system because the language is French.
  • No matter how trustworthy the critic is don't always rely on critics reviews either. Critics reviews are helpful though. Everyone has different opinions. Talk to people about good family movies they suggest.
  • If you are using the parental controls for Digital Cable, TV-MA is listed above R. The more mature the rating, the lower the rating is listed. In reality, TV-MA is not any less mature than the rating R.
  • Don't rely on movie or TV ratings. Movie and TV ratings are not always accurate. That's why there's parental review sites. For example, some movies that were rated R 10-20 years ago maybe PG-13 today. Rating systems encourage you to talk to other people about a shows content, so you can find out as much of the shows content as possible.

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