iStockphoto/Valerie Loiseleux
Sponge Bob Square Pants, he’s that funny little cartoon sea sponge that any kid would love to watch on television, right? Not necessarily.
His cartoon often includes adult-oriented humor that can be confusing to young children, many of whom have a hard time separating fact from fantasy.
This is just a snippet of what www.commonsensemedia.org has to say about Sponge Bob in its television ratings for families. I would be happy if our television only tuned into PBS. Then I’d never have to worry about what the kids were watching. But as they get older, they soon bore of “Sesame Street,” “Barney” and “Dragon Tales” and start wondering what’s on all those other channels.
The fact is, I don’t have time to watch all those shows to see if I think they are appropriate. Luckily, there are a number of Web sites out there to help parents figure out what’s ok for their kids and what’s not. Here are a few of them and how they work.
Common Sense Media, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, seems to be the most all inclusive and easy-to-use Web site when discerning what shows to let your kids watch. They have color-coded buttons that let you know right away yea or nea. The green “on” button is a go for most kids, but there’s also a minimum age recommendation right next to it. The yellow “iffy” button means know your kid — what’s right for one 7-year-old might not be right for another. (“Sponge Bob” received a yellow pause rating but a minimum age of 6). And the red “off” button means not age appropriate. There is also a “decoder slider” which looks a little like a horizontal thermometer which shows at what age a show becomes appropriate.
You can search for a show by title or by genre from drama to game shows. There are also little boxes that rate the content appropriateness and include topics such as sex, violence, language and the message of the show, which includes information on social behavior, commercialism and drugs/alcohol/tobacco use.
More detailed write-ups on many shows are available from Common Sense Media as well as from adults and kids — anyone can post a review. Common Sense Media also gives each show a star rating to gauge how enjoyable the show is regardless of its age appropriateness — no stars means beyond bad and five means terrific.
The site also reviews video games, music, movies and books. You can also sign up to receive periodic e-mails with reviews on the latest releases.
The Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council, a national grassroots organization founded in 1995 to stem the flow of potentially harmful and negative messages targeted at children, has a family guide to prime-time television on its Web site. The guide is a comprehensive study of the year’s network prime time fare from a family-values perspective. Available is a brief background and thematic summary of every entertainment television show currently appearing on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, i and CW.
An easy-to-follow traffic-light rating system is used. Green shows are family-friendly and promote responsible themes and traditional values.
Yellow shows contain adult-oriented themes and dialogue that may be inappropriate for youngsters. Red shows may include sexual situations, explicit dialogue, violent content or obscene language. Shows highlighted blue have not yet been rated by the PTC.
The site allows you to search by night of the week, color or even glance the whole week in advance. A search can also be done to find a review of a specific television show.
On one particular Thursday night, there’s lots of red on the line up from “Criminal Minds” to “Grey’s Anatomy” to “Kitchen Nightmare.” “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader” get’s the green light but the review is cautionary.
“While this program is free of sex, language and violence, the idea of measuring an adults’ ‘lack of knowledge’ is something parents might be reluctant to expose their children to,” the review states.
The site is useful but only if your kids are watching prime time network television.
AOL television provides a synopsis of all television shows, though the write ups are not from a family perspective. It provides access to television lineups in your hometown — simply type in your zip code and television service — and included are standard television industry ratings (see sidebar). Each show can be clicked on for a full synopsis and you can highlight show types to get only family friendly shows. There is also a “Family TV” icon that lists recommendations for the week, though not all are totally family friendly from a pre-school or even elementary school perspective. “American Idol” rated TVPG was listed as was “iCarley” which my daughter, 9, saw recently and began asking questions about whether men could have babies. The site is useful but not always helpful when trying to really decide if a show is right for your child.
PBSparents lists PBS Kids programming and allows parents to find out what’s on a nd at what time. You can click on any show for a description and select a list of their kid’s programs. If you click on a show, you will get a detailed description along with what age it’s suitable for as well as the programs goals. “The Berenstain Bears,” for example, is for kids ages 2 to 7 and highlights positive family interactions and encourages positive social behaviors.
There is also information about how television and the media affect your child. Included are tips such as “7 Ways to Shape TV Habits” and “8 Ways to Make Your Child an Active Viewer.” This site is a great resource but only helpful if you have young children and no cable television.
The cable industry has put together this site titled “Cable Puts you In Control.” It explains how parents can use the cable set-top box and v-chip to control programs that come into the home. It also explains the industry standard television ratings and lists some cable shows that are family friendly.
The site is somewhat useful but the shows listed as family friendly are few and most have a rating of TV-Y7 or TV-PG. Very few are rated appropriate for all ages.