There has been a huge rise in children joining social media sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Although there are some great pros and cons against this, how young is too young?  Would you allow your children to join one of these sites?

First off, there are some pros to allowing children to join social sites.  In my own family, I am able to share pictures with my nieces and nephews.  They are able to stay on top of my daughter with us living 720 miles away.

I am able to communicate with them in the medium of their generation, online.  My oldest niece, who lived on the west coast her whole life, and I have been able to bond greatly through chatting and social sites.  Now that she is a grown woman with a child of her own, I love sharing stories and quick comments with her. (more…)

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These days, all over the TV, music, and movies, there is content inappropriate for most children to see, hear, or watch.  This is true, but there are many parents who go overboard on “protecting” their child.

First off, I am going to give you the basic run down on American movie and TV rating systems.  First off, TV:

• TV-Y (All Children — This program is designed to be appropriate for all children)

• TV-Y7 (Directed to Older Children — This program is designed for children age 7 and above.)

• TV-G (General audiences)

• TV-PG (Parental guidance suggested)

• TV-14 (Recommended for people 14 or older)

• TV-MA (intended for mature audiences)

• G (General Audiences- All ages admitted) (more…)

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Recently, I completed earning enough  money to buy a Xbox 360 Pro for myself.  I am limited in the amount of ’screen time’ I am allowed a day, and I wanted to discuss that with you.

Now, some of my thoughts on screens (TV, video games, computers, etc.) for kids.  First of all, I believe they are addictive.  Some studies have shown that video games are addictive, they release a drug-like chemical. Here is one article on the study of video game addiction.  I have seen kids at school who are addicted, it’s all they talk about or do after school (World of Warcraft is the most common addiction).

Also, there is a link between screens and obesity.  Sure, there are games like the Wii Fit that exercise you,  but how much of an exercise are they?  To me the Wii Fit doesn’t provide a serious workout, and most games in it are not as effective as believed.

I think screen time for children should be limited.  Screen time should be decided on a child by child basis, but on a school night anywhere from no time to an hour and a half a day is good.  For example, if a child is doing poorly  in school, limit the amount to a low number (for example zero to half an hour).  On weekends, up to four hours a day is a good amount.  I have noticed that kids who are allowed to use screens more get worse grades.  That is because instead of doing homework when they get home, these kids game or watch TV. Also, in class, these kids will think things like, “I need to level up my dwarf mega super warrior” or “What’s on Fox tonight?… oh, it’s that comedy show” instead of “Two plus two equals four”.

These addictions can cause physical injuries, too, such as the ones mentioned in an older Level Revel article, Injured by Living in a Virtual World (Thanks, Bea).

Screen time should be limited because there are many dangers lurking around the corner!

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We live in a time where anything can be learned almost instantly…the Information Age.  If I want to learn how something works, the rules to a game or even diagnose myself when I feel sick, I hop onto the Internet.  There are sites that teach you anything and allow you to connect with any of the earth’s six billion inhabitants.

When I was growing up, I had the local or school library and our collection of encyclopedias to learn new facts and world history.  By talking to my parents, elders and other older kids, I was able to pick up on tricks to do things more easily and even learn to fix my bike or whatever else I wanted to know.  Although all of this knowledge and wisdom was invaluable, I was limited to what these people knew (good or bad) and the currency/accuracy of the books in the libraries.

Today’s youth can learn nine different ways to patch a hole in their bike tire without ever asking a single soul.  They never even have to leave the house or the bedroom to write a single research paper even.  If they are truly resourceful, they can connect through the Internet to experts in the field they are studying.

However, does having all of this knowledge pose a safety threat to children?  My first experiences with the Internet in the late 90s were all ones I wouldn’t want my kids to experience.  I had friends who downloaded a book titled, The Anarchist Cookbook.  This book taught you how to make bombs, fake IDs, and gave young devious minds many more tips that we were not mature enough to grasp.  Luckily, my friends were smart enough not to try most of the suggestions.

There are still those sites out there today that show videos of people trying stupid things, teaching how to pick locks and build some pretty bad stuff with just a few clicks.  I am not trying to scare you or create mass hysteria banning the youth from the Internet.  Rather, I want to inform our children not to try this at home OR anywhere else.

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One constant battle that we face in our house is trying to decide what movies and shows are appropriate for our eight year old. Commercials, print ads, and his friends constantly are bombarding our son with previews of TV shows, DVDs, and movies.

My wife strongly prefers to preview the programs before Max gets to see them. This works well with TV shows. I generally can get a yea or nay on a show before the first commercial break.  DVDs have gotten easier to preview & judge thanks to the wonder that is Netflix.  We’ll get a movie from Netflix and preview a bit of it the night before we let the boys know it’s here.  If it’s a stinker, we send it back, and we’re only out a couple of days worth of movie watching.

Movies are trickier.  There’s only one way to preview a movie that is playing in theaters.  There is no way I’m spending two hours and $8.50 to watch a kids movie without a kid so I can determine whether or not I’m going to have to spend another two hours and $17.00 + snack money to re-watch the kids movie with the kid. That’s just not happening.

Sometimes I ask other parents, but I’ve found that the definition of ‘age appropriate’ can vary drastically from parent to parent.  That has proved relatively ineffective, unless I can find a parent who is on the same page as me AND has seen the particular movie I’m interested in seeing.

There are plenty of websites that will weigh in with their opinion, but you’ve got to get into sync with the mindset of the writer or it is even less effective than the parent-friend referral.  I’ve even found that within one website, different reviewers will have different standards and, therefore, different levels of helpfulness.

My personal favorite is www.pluggedinonline.com.  Part of the Focus on the Family organization, Plugged In tends to provide informative reviews with a minimum of disdainful opining.  For each movie reviewed, the site lists Positive Elements, Violent Content, Language, Alcohol, and Other Negative Elements.

Does anyone out there have any other good sources for checking out a movie before showing it to the kids?

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