Every week new movies, games, websites, TV shows, books and music are released into the wild. As parents, we want our kids to see some of these shows and read some of these books, but it’s difficult to know if they’re age appropriate.
Common Sense Media was created to solve the problem of knowing what’s appropriate and innapropriate for your children. Their mission statement says:
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.
We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation’s children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.
They thoroughly review each each entertainment piece and provide the information that parents need to know. They focus specifically on the moral messages, whether or not it has violence and sex, and how offensive the language is. They also specify the age they think it’s appropriate for.
A good example can be seen with the movie Coraline. Although it’s a stop-motion animation film that looks like it would appeal to children, reading the review would suggest otherwise. They report that the film has themes of violence and sex, and that children under nine-years-old shouldn’t see it.
