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Sunday, March 30, 2008

Movie Ratings For Kids

When it comes to what Curtis and I watch on TV or in the movies, we have guidelines. Not just for our selves, but for our children as well. Okay, so we only have 1 kid and she is only 6 months, but we are planning our rules and guidelines for all those future kids. We do this because I feel pretty strongly about movie ratings. I believe that if Hollywood can actually stand up and say that they feel no one under 13 should see that movie, then we probably shouldn't. I don't know about you, but I don't think Hollywood usually sends the best messages and standards, so if they have set a bar then I think that I should at least follow their standards.

But their is still problems with Hollywoods ratings because certain kids are more mature or certain movies really aren't rated fairly. Like "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" it is rated PG-13, but still written for younger children. Would I let my kids under 13 see it, probably, because it is PG-13 for adult concepts such as fighting for your life and witchcraft type fighting scenes, not nudity and swearing. The movie doesn't have any sex, drug use, or horrible language.

It is hard for parents to decide what a child should see when the movie industry can lump movies like, "Harry Potter", "Austin Powers", and "I Am Ledgand" all into the same catergory. Austin Powers has sexual jokes and contant filled throughout the movie, but then I Am Ledgend would give some children nightmares. So, Hollywood has set their standards and yet, they are still sometimes off. So how does a parent help keep their children away from seeing filth, but at the same time letting your little angels (sometimes devils) enjoy movies and slowly start letting them see movies more age appropriate? Well, I have an awnser for you...... http://www.kids-in-mind.com/.

Curtis and I love this website. It is completely free and allows adults to go online and see why each movie was given its rating. It break everything down into three main standards; sex & nudity, violence & gore, and profanity. An individual can sit down and see exactly how many swear words, which ones even mild words like idiot. What kind of nudity, everything from cleavage in a low cut shirt to how graphic a love scene. Every movie is profiled by these categories with a scale of 1-10 and a written explanation in detail. At the bottom of the movie page, they have even posted a summary of the message behind the movie and what you can learn from it.

We have even used this website for ourselves many times to help us avoid some of the movies that we might not want to see. So, if you are a parent, wife, husband or even just an individual that has been wanting to be more informed about what you and your family is viewing, simple go to Kids In Mind and check out the flick for your self.



40 comments:

  1. This looks like a great site - I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

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  2. LOVE this site and will pimp it on my blog. In the most innocent sense of the word. :-)

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  3. Looks like a great site. Thanks for the tip!

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  4. Great site, thanks much!

    I Am Legend SPOOKED me out. I would never let my kids watch it :)

    Heidi

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  5. I'm with family adventure-I Am Legend gave ME nightmares.

    I have used this site and it is so helpful!

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  6. I'm definitely a gentle movie kind of girl, and completely chickened out of seeing I am Legend - too much for me, so the site sounds heaven sent!

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  7. Hell, Jumanji freaked me out.

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  8. Thank you for posting this! I'll definitely use it for myself, because I really hate movies where people throw up. (I was really annoyed with JK Rowling when she made Ron burp up the slugs, because I just KNEW they were going to put it in the movie - and of course they did. So I know when not to look.)And of course it will be helpful when it comes to the kids watching stuff. ;)

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  9. thanks, I am going to check this out.

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  10. I'm always quite amused when people expect Hollywood to set "standards" - it's such a contradiction. Personally, I don't believe in allowing any corporation to raise my children.

    Also, I quite enjoy non G-rated material myself. But knowledge is always powerful, and it's great that there's a site like this to keep us in the know. Thanks for the resource!

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  11. ♥ I'm afraid I'd have nightmares from I am legend. That looks like a good website!

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  12. That is a great idea.
    The hubby and I have rented some animated kid movies that were rated PG and we are so disgusted with the language sometimes. Even the G rated movies say things like, "You idiot!" or "You're stupid!". It drives me nuts. It is getting harder and harder to find a movie that I approve of for my boys.

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  13. Thanks for this. I have a whole post written (in my current junkyard, never posted) about how I let me kids watch some things some would never dream of and others that I would never dram of letting them watch. I feel like a hypocrite, but I think it depends on the child and parents.

    KEEP BELIEVING

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  14. What a great idea. Now that DD is older, she polices her own viewing. She is very easy as she hates anything too gross or scary and will leave a room if it comes on. When she was younger I always watched movies before I would let her watch them. Just to make sure. This is MUCH nicer!

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  15. Thanks for this information. I use to use screen-it, but they got all greedy and started charging for their information. I will definitely be checking this site out!
    I left you a little homework on my blog...now get to it!!

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  16. That is good to know! Thanks for sharing this!

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  17. Thank you for this wonderful information. I think that there are so many bad movies out there. There are some that we haven't been able to finish. We have everything from teenagers to toddlers so we can't always watch a movie together. Some movies should come with a warning that it isn't worth watching. I'm going to check out the link for sure. I've been voting on your site for Transformers 2. I just found you and I love your blog!

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  18. I love that Web site and have used it for years. You're right, the range of what is PG-13 is amazing. We stuck to the rating system with our kids, even when our friends would like their young kids watch R movies... made us unpopular with our kids, but I bet they will do the same thing with their kids (when they have them... years, many years from now.) =)

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  19. Thanks for the tip! I have to admit that we are not big movie people and never really have been, but when our kiddos (years from now) want to start going, it would be nice to have a way to check on what they are watching.

    Thanks for the tip! :-)

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  20. Thank you for this website! Seriously, you are a wealth of information! You should get paid to write these reviews!

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  21. Movies are so hard these days! Thanks for the tip!

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  22. Having a four-year-old you actually realize there is a difference between G and PG, we can't even watch PG movies yet as he often is just too emotional. Some G's even scare him. Thanks for the website.

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  23. Thanks for the tip! We will definitely be using this from now on. Our kids are a little young but like you said, it's even good for me and my husband in choosing movies that we want to view. Thanks again!

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  24. I was just checking out http://www.pluggedinonline.com/
    this weekend to see what was appropriate for my mature but still 7 year old. I am always looking for informative sites like this. Thanks!!

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  25. Cool...thanks for the info..will check it out.

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  26. I think I'm just gonna keep the darn tv off and get my kids a library card, spoken like the true reading teacher and nerd that I am.

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  27. What a great link. My friends took my 4 year old daughter to see Horton this weekend and I was desperately trying to find a website that broke the movie down like that.

    It's bookmarked for next time!

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  28. Great site. I'm adding it to my bookmarks. I'm like you--I have awhile to go (7 month old!), but it is never too early . . .

    You know, I just watched Barnyard yesterday and it kinda scared me. It was scary for a cartoon . . . NO, I am not the sensitive type either. At least, not THAT sensitive.

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  29. I'll have to check this site out, thank you for tyhe link :)

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  30. What a great post and thanks for the link to the website! I remember when Batman 2 came out there was all the hype from McDonald's for the toys and stuff but there are scenes in there too disturbing for little kids (which is what the kids' meal was targeted for back then) to see. We wouldn't let my son go (he was about 7 at the time and he was so disappointed but ... It's really tough trying to figure some of these things out but sounds like you've got a good handle on it!

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  31. great info! I wish that was around when I was raising my boys!( although computers weren't) I agree with you entirely on the rating system! We used to tape movies( vcr days) and then edit them for the kids! It was a lot of work, but they were able to watch.. for example.. Batman without any thing too scary. ( Like Nicholsons demonic laughing)

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  32. what a great site! too bad i have so many other factors in my children's lives who have sabotaged my rules of decent movie going, like ex spouses and aunts and uncles!!

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  33. Cool - thanks for the rec. I appreciate it! My mom wanted to take my 2 year old to the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie last year and I had to prove how inappropriate it was for a toddler... this web site would have been very handy! It's amazing how they spell out all the little things that might make parents question the appropriateness. Love it!

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  34. Looks like a wonderful site. i am off to check it out.

    you are full of great little secrets my friend. Keep them coming!

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  35. This is another great site along the same lines for movies, TV shows, music, and games:

    Plugged In Online

    There's a ton of detailed information for everything they review - they even go so far as to count the number of swear words. So whatever your standards are, you'll know exactly what you (and your kids) are going to see.

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  36. Thank you so much for this link. I have tried using Yahoo's mom movie review, but have not always been happy with it. With my girls getting older, I really need a review from moms that know!

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