How to Decide if a Movie is Good for your Kid?

Children love to watch movies. However, they don’t have a clue about what is suitable for them and what is not.  As a parent can we allow them to watch everything that comes their way? Or should we choose good content for them so that they do not get exposed to anything inappropriate?

How do we (adults) decide if we want to see a movie? Should we look at a star rating (and read a couple of reviews)? Is that a good way to go for children? In the following few minutes, I will like to take you through the points you must consider before deciding if your child should see a movie or not.

Film Rating/Certification Agency Rating :

Most countries will have their motion picture content rating systems classify or certify films based on suitability for the audience. Most of them will take into account matters typically deemed unsuitable for children and give age recommendations against their rating/classification system. This will help you pick up at a glance which movies may or may not be suitable for your child. However, to navigate these rating systems, you would need to understand the lingo as a parent. I have discussed below two such systems from the USA and India.

1) MPAA Film Rating

Motion Picture Association of America rating system is used in the United States of America and it tells you about the suitability of the content of the movie for certain audiences. Most Hollywood movies have an MPA rating which helps you decide which movie may not be suitable for your child. Given below are the symbols and their interpretations.

	G – General Audiences All ages admitted. Nothing that would offend parents for viewing by children.
	PG – Parental Guidance Suggested Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give “parental guidance”. May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.
	PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.
	R – Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.
	NC-17 – Adults Only No One 17 and Under Admitted. Clearly adult. Children are not admitted.

2) Central Board of Film Certification Rating (India)

All Bollywood cinemas and all movies screened in India have a central film certification board certification. Only movies certified as U  are suitable for children under 12. This will help you filter out what isn’t suitable for children ( U/A, A, S). Given below are the symbols and their interpretations.

Symbol	Meaning
	U: Unrestricted public exhibition (Suitable for all age groups)
	U/A: Parental guidance for children under age 12
	A: Restricted to adults(Nobody allowed under the age of 18.)
	S: Restricted to a specialized group of people, such as engineers, doctors, or scientists

So, if you are familiar with these rating systems you can weed out all the movies that would not be suitable for your kid. You can keep only G-rated or U-rated movies on your list.

Is Relying on Ratings Enough?

Now that once you have filtered out which movies are not good for your children, you can go for more in-depth scrutiny. Studies have shown that the government rating agency has gone more lenient over the years in terms of violent, sexually explicit, or potentially offensive content. So, even if the rating agencies indicate that a movie is okay for kids, it makes sense to make some effort to decide if you want your child to see the particular movie.

You can either watch the movie beforehand or make an idea from the promos and trailers about the following points. You can also take the help of ratings from reputable independent third-party rating agencies like commonsense media.  However, despite all your efforts, I strongly recommend that you should view the movie together with your kid (at least the first time) so that you can guide your kid in case something unexpected comes up.

Desirable Qualities of a Movie for Children

The following qualities in a movie that makes it worthy of seeing by your child.

1. Age appropriateness:

The movie you choose should be appropriate for the age of your child. Some movies are for toddlers, some for older children, and some for teenagers. Though rating agencies will give some idea, you know your child best – for all 4-year-olds are not the same.

Think whether the storyline or the message is simple enough for your child to follow? Would your kid understand it? Is the language appropriate for age? Are there any scenes that would be too scary or disturbing for them?

For example, Most superhero movies come with a strong positive message – good prevailing over bad. But this bigger picture of the ‘positive message’ may be beyond their ability to comprehend and go over their heads. What they take away are violence and fighting.

Also, do keep in mind that age-appropriate introduction of unpleasant emotions like loss of a loved one – like a friend, a pet, a sibling, parents, or grandparents under parental guidance may in fact help to improve emotional intelligence.

2. Educational Value:

Though movies are mostly for fun, it is desirable that the movie might have some educational value. Also, as they enjoy, a good movie should challenge their curiosity and imagination.

For example: 

1. In the movie ‘ The Little Mermaid‘: Your kid can learn the names of various sea animals.
2. In the movie  ‘Happy Feet’: Your kid might pick a point or two about conservation and environmentalism and global warming.

3. Positive Messages

The movie should preferably have a positive message to deliver.

Let’s take the movie “Shrek” for example. Staying true to yourself, looking beyond appearances, and the power of friendship some positive messages the movie delivers.

Another example: In the movie, ” Megamind” Kids will learn the concept that where there is evil, “good” will rise to face it and (hopefully) defeat it. Also, in one part, Roxanne (a strong woman Character) asserts that it’s not how someone looks that matters but the content of their character and their actions.

4. Positive Role Models & Representations: 

Children tend to idolize their favorite characters. It would be great if there are characters in the movie that represents role models who are pro-social, and promote positive traits. You do not want your kid to idolize a character that is disrespectful, untrustworthy, and resolves conflicts through violence. Do you?

For example: 

The movie “Shrek’ has many positive role models. Princess Fiona is a strong character who challenges the prim ‘n’ proper princess stereotype. Shrek seems bad-tempered and rude, but he has a tender heart and is ultimately trustworthy, loyal, and brave. Donkey is a dedicated friend and many other characters demonstrate the qualities of integrity, perseverance, and teamwork.

5. Positive (or Neutral) Language:

Children learn a lot of vocabulary from movies. Therefore the movies they watch must have a positive (or at least a neutral) language. Foul or rude language is a big no-no.

 

Un-desirable qualities of a Movie for Children: 

Children learn quickly and have an inherent habit of imitating. You don’t want these young minds to pick up something inappropriate and that they would not understand.

1. Violence & Scariness:

Violence and scariness may leave children disturbed and sometimes may give them nightmares. Even if sometimes it’s not scary, ‘cartoon violence’ may lead your child to pick up these actions and assume that it’s a way to go.

For example: 

Donald Duck and Tom & Jerry’s series is full of cartoon violence (though not scary).

Frozen 2  Has lots of flashback to battle that involves battle and murder. Enormous Earth giants are initially frightening (especially when they throw boulders at people). Younger children can get scared.

All superhero movies though generally considered okay for children is full of violence.

The bigger picture of the ‘positive message’ may be beyond their ability to comprehend and go over their heads. What they take away are violence and fighting.

2. Sexy Stuff

Many movies may contain subtle stuff that may not be age-appropriate for your child. Examples are being in a relationship, kissing on lips, hugging, some inappropriate touches, language implying sexual stuff, etc.

3. Foul or Rude Language:

We discussed earlier that children pick up the language very fast. If the movie contains foul or rude language they will pick that up too. Obviously, mainstream movies meant for grown-ups contain such words.  I am not talking about that here. But movies we think fit for children also contain some language that you may not find appropriate for kids.

For example: 

The Movie Shrek contains some strong language for a kids’ movie, including “damn,” “ass,” and “crap.”

The movie ” Megamind” contains some use of rude words/insults like “butt,” “loser,” and the like, plus “oh God” (as an exclamation).

The movie “Despicable me” has mild insults and minor swear words like “suckers,” “stupid,” “poop,” “shoot,” “butt,” and “loser.”

I am not suggesting what is acceptable and what is not. I am just saying that you need to be mindful of these things and set your own language limit which you think is okay/ not okay with your kid.

4. Consumerism

Children’s movies have become massive marketing ventures. It all started with Star wars in 1977 giving rise to a large range of licensed toys. it has become a norm today with each movie tying up with licensed toys and related products for sale. Movies can coerce your child into consumerism in two ways:

• In the movie: sometimes inside the movie, they may blend promotional content which may tempt children to buy certain things. this could include chocolate bars, soft drinks, fast-food chains, etc. Though this is less common, the latter has become an evil truth of life.
• Outside the movie: Though most movies will not have direct promotional content in the movies, they will have extensive promotional tie-ups offscreen. This has become an unavoidable ‘evil’ as the most successful and good movies have ‘ offscreen consumerism’)

Nevertheless, as far as practicable, you may keep the child away from movies that have a high consumerism quotient.

5. Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

You want to make sure that there is no portrayal of drinking drugs and smoking in the movies that your children see.

Please let us know how do you decide on these things? Do you decide yourself or rely on some other rating agency? Don’t forget to leave your comments.