Common Sense Media Reviews Two HUGE "Teen" Entertainment Options this Holiday Season

    And guess what?? They are not necessarily appropriate for all teens and young people. If you have not used Common Sense Media, you need to. It is our family's go-to site before we watch a show, go to a movie, or buy a videogame. Even DirecTV now uses Common Sense Media as their source of "parental information". When you watch a show or movie on DirecTV and click on Parental Info, it takes you to the information that Common Sense Media provides. There detailed review gives a much better idea as to what age is the appropriate age to consume the media you are considering. Rated PG? PG-13? R? Doesn't matter. This site combines parent, kid, and expert reviews and gives you an actual age that is appropriate. But it also gives so much more. My favorite part is the question section where if you decide to let your child/teen watch the show or movie, you can help them process and debrief what they just saw. Helping a young person and their developing brain understand what they just saw and why the real world may or may not be just like what they saw is very important. So....long story short, check the site out at www.commonsensemedia.org


   So....what did they say about Hunger Games: Catching Fire? Click here to find out, but here are some of the bullet points:
     *Parents say age 13 is appropriate, kids say age 12 is appropriate

     *It ranks really high in the Positive Messages and Role Models category, but also very high in the violence category

     *While young readers have enjoyed the book series, the website has concerns that the movie violence may be "too dark" for some of the readers of the series.


  And what about Grand Theft Auto V?? Again, click here to find out more, but here are some of the bullet points from their review. Hint....it is totally not appropriate for some teens!
     
      *Parents say age 14 is appropriate, kids say age 15 is appropriate. (Did you catch that?? Kids actually have more concern than parents! That should tell you a lot about this game.)

      *A huge "Not For Kids" tag is all over this review. You don't see that often on this site.

      *It scored a "0" in positive messages and role models, but a 5/5 in Violence, Sex, Drugs, and Language.

      There are some parent questions/talking points a parent could use if they decide to let their child play this game, but you can see from the three bullet points above, no matter what the age, you should proceed with caution if you plan on allowing this game in your home with your children/teens.


   As you hit the Holiday season and decide which games to buy, which movies to take the family too, and which shows to catch on cable, please consider using this website. It is a great resource to families and kids. Happy Holidays!

Revisiting CommonSenseMedia.Org for the School Year

   If you are new to this blog, you may not have heard about CommonSenseMedia.org before. If not, you need to check it out. As a parent and as a counselor, I love it. The basic premise of the site is to review all forms of media (books, TV shows, movies, games, etc.) specifically to show what images, messages, and ideas might be communicated to your child if he/she watches or consumes that form of media. It is very specific and gives age recommendations for each media title. But even if you do choose to still let your child watch or read something that this site says might not be appropriate, it gives you some guiding questions to help your child make sense of what they just saw or read. So, the makers and contributors of this site (parents and kids/teens), understand that you cannot always control what your child consumes in the forms of media, but you can at least follow up with them and debrief so that the correct messages are sent and the child can see why it may or may not be appropriate or like/unlike the real world. I have placed several links below to help you explore CommonSenseMedia.org even more. Bookmark the website and use it as your growing teen may want to start seeing more adult movies, TV shows, or read more adult books or play more adult games.

(*Of note....there is a movement out there wanting the movie ratings system to be more like this website instead of their simple letter rating as parents and kids would know more about what they are going to view with this type of rating)

CommonSenseMedia.Org website click here. Also, towards the bottom of the page, they have a just released survey of teens and social media. Interesting information.

Past blog posts of mine about CommonSenseMedia.org:

   50+ Summer Activities by CommonSenseMedia.org click here!

  Blogpost I wrote to introduce parents to CommonSenseMedia. I included several current reviews at the time of shows students were telling me about. On some of them....YIKES!

  And of course, a blogpost specifically about the Hunger Games movie. Since it is now out on DVD, this is pretty timely again.