How To Pick The Best Movies For Children
Do You Need Help Picking A Movie That is Entertaining and Age Appropriate For The Children In Your Life?
When my sons were young, I may well have been the most careful Mom on the block when it came to picking a movie for my boys to watch. We did not watch very much television at all and, when we did watch a movie, it was a special occasion. Therefore, I wanted the movie to be an excellent choice and to be AGE APPROPRIATE.
The first example that comes to my mind is Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is rated 'PG,' which means parental guidance recommended. On the surface, this movie seems like a fun, friendly choice and, as an extra bonus, it is related to Halloween, a subject for which we were always searching for movies that were appropriate for our children. We started to watch this movie and I was flabbergasted at the scene which takes place between Bill Murray and a ghost on a bed...I'll leave your imagination to fill in the details rather than be explicit here. Seemed like a wonderful choice but definitely, in my opinion, NOT.
A second example is when my ten-ish year old son was invited to a friend's birthday party where they were going to be watching horror movies. I fully understand that some tween boys and girls yearn to watch scary movies and horror movies. They really do want to be scared. However, most horror movies are NOT appropriate for children and I definitely did not want my son watching the movie choices that were being offered that afternoon. To complicate matters, my ten-year old son's brother had been invited to the party, too.
Anyway, this page is meant to be a resource to help YOU find the BEST MOVIES for your children. If you could you use a little help picking a movie, I know that the resources on this page will help you and your family find your next movie adventure as well as find some excellent movie resources that you will come back to again and again.
This page should also be helpful to the other people who want to buy a movie for the children in their life for whom they, too, only want to make an excellent, entertaining and appropriate choice. Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles, this page will help you find a movie gift for the young children in your life.
Click here to order your copy of Frozen on blu-ray or DVD or even both formats from Amazon.
Protect Your Children From Inappropriate Movies
- Check out the ratings of a movie BEFORE you bring it home.
- Know that the MPAA ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17) are defined by how much material in the movie is going to be objected to rather than on whether or not they are age appropriate. Use them as a starting point only.
- Remember, the information on the movie box is designed to SELL movies not to share the information you need to make a good movie choice.
- When in doubt, watch the movie BEFORE you show it to your children.
- Watch with your children. Don't present a movie and walk away.
- If you are watching something that you don't like, TURN IT OFF. That is what happened in my house with the Ghostbusters movie. I'm not sure at what age I would have found the scene mentioned earlier appropriate. My children are 17 and 18 now and I might still be uncomfortable watching Ghostbusters with them.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Ratings Explained
G means 'General Audiences. All ages admitted.' These movies are considered suitable for all ages. However, young children are often not ready to watch full movies and should watch material that is recommended for their ages.
PG means 'Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.' A movie that is rated PG may have some swear words, violence and/or tense moments.
PG-13 means 'Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.' A movie that bears this rating will have stronger language, nudity and sexual references and/or violence. PG-13 movies can cover a lot of ground; one may be suitable for your child and the next not. You need to be especially careful with this category of movies.
Family Movie Reviews - By people who care about the movies children watch.
- The Movie Mom
The Movie Mom (Nell Minow) reviews movies and DVDs to advise parents on what movies are and are not appropriate for kids. My children grew up partially on the advice of The Movie Mom. I love the fact that she makes an age recommendation, gives the mo - Commonsense Media
Common Sense Media helps parents choose what's best for their kids. Family Entertainment reviews and ratings for movies, television, video games, music CDs, books, and websites. Common Sense Media wasn't around when my children were young. There revi - Not Too Scary Movies For Tweens or Pre-Teens on Halloween
Your Tween will probably be clamouring to see a scary movie this Halloween and probably will want to do so without you around. Scary books are one thing, you can put them down and walk away but scary movies on the other hand...If your tween is lookin - How to Get the Most Educational Value Out of Watching a Movie
Movies can be an enjoyable and high-impact supplement to a homeschool curriculum if they are used deliberately. Rather than just tack on a relevant film to the end of your unit study, spend a few moments to plan how the movie will reinforce the theme
Have you seen a movie with children present when they should not have been?
The Best Family Friendly Movie Guide Books
The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies
It was with the assistance of the Movie Mom that my husband and I chose movies for our children. Of course, when we first 'met' her the internet was not so popular and we accessed her as an excellent, excellent resource through this book and her reviews on Yahoo. Now Nell Minow reviews movies as The Movie Mom on beliefnet.com. The book is dated but if you are interested in learning about movies that have been around for awhile you might still find her books helpful.
The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together - The Amazon customer reviews HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie guide to old movies.
The Best Old Movies for Families is a guide to older movies, which breaks movies down into three age ranges:
FOR THE LITTLE ONES AGED 3-6: This section includes fast moving movies that are fairly simple but not dumbed down. This section would include movies like Singin' in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby.
FOR THE ONES IN BETWEEN AGED 7-12: This section includes great stories with the characters in simple situations that turn out not to be quite so simple. This section includes movies like The African Queen and Some Like It Hot do the job well.
FOR THE OLDER ONES AGED 13+: This section includes movies that relate to contemporary movies and compares movies. For instance, without Alfred Hitchcock's work, there might be no Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I don't personally own this book but, given the 15 five-star customer reviews on Amazon, I sure would like to!
Talking Pictures: A Parent's Guide to Using Movies to Discuss Ethics, Values, and Everyday Problems with Children - Once again, Amazon's customers give this boo
Talking Pictures is a book that will help you get discussion going with your children. This book actually takes the movies and uses them as ways to discuss sensitive issues. It covers subjects like divorce, marriage, family, love, gender identity, social ethics, separation and loss, friendship, death, illness and substance abuse.
A Few Great Children's Movies
(Rated G or PG)
Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast is one of the best blu-ray movies available.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - A classic movie choice redone masterfully on blu-ray and DVD.
Toy Story 3
Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
More Family Friendly Movie Pages
- What is The Disney Vault? What Is Disney Releasing F...
Curious about Disney's Vault? Learn all about it and what movies Disney is releasing from it here on this page. - How To Have A Children's Movie Themed Birthday Party
My son's movie-themed birthday party was a total success! - Disney Planes Movie (2013)
Disney Planes is sure to appeal to the little boys in your life and you never know, it just might appeal to your big boys, too. - The Best Frozen Gift Ideas
Disney's movie Frozen took us by storm, captivating both young and old. On this page, we bring you some of the best Frozen gift ideas... - Disney's Beauty and The Beast Blu-ray Movie Review
Beauty and the Beast is an amazing Disney movie. Find out how the blu-ray version was received. - The Lion King Diamond Edition Movie Release
The Lion King was released from Disney's vault on blu-ray disc and DVD in 2011. What did the world think? Find out here. - Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-ray Mov...
Find out what the world thought when Disney removed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from the vault, remastered it and released it on blu-ray disc.
Will this page help you pick a movie for the children in your life?
Yes! thanks for the wise advice!
I appreciate this list of resources and your suggestions. My only son will be turning 4 in a few months and we want to make sure that any film he views is appropriate.
It's great to be able to use the web to screen what a child will see in advance...though we can't protect them from everything, there's no reason to subject a child to age-inappropriate viewing if it can be avoided through proper research. Great lens!
Yes I think it's great info for anyone.
Quite an informative lens!With Love and Gratitude,Jeremiah
Thanks for helping... I am not savvy about movies but my grandson loves them... so I need all the hints i can get in order to choose the best movies for a six year old.
Stopping back by to say congratulations on being listed on the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase!
Very helpful information to help parents and grandparents find age appropriate movies for the children in their lives. Congrats on being one of the top 45 on the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase list!
Very helpful suggestions ... Congratulations on being chosen for the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase. Happy new year!
Congrats on making it on the Giant Squid Showcase! Happy New Year!
Glad I found you here. Congratulations and all the best for 2011.
Wise advice here and some wonderful recommendations too. I feel children and their parents have unsuitable movies being pushed on them as 'family movies' when they are too scary or have more grown-up themes than the rating suggests. Congratulations on being included in the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase with this helpful guide.
Congratulations on being on the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase List!!
Oh Brenda, what a wonderful and important service you are providing here! Congratulations for being on the Best of List for the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase! Very impressive work and excellent guidelines!
Congratulations on being one of the 45 on the Giant Squid 2010 Showcase. Very cool. :)
Congratulations Brenda for being included in The 2010 Giant Squid Showcase by the SquidTeam! How cool is that! Happy New Year, Squidhugs from Kathy
Help finally in the choice of Children's movies I should've thunk of that!
Very informative. When I was growing my parents didn't have to be concerned about what movies were kid appropriate. We still had scary movies but they were the good old B rated ones which seem to pale to the ones that area out today. The scariest one I remember watching was "Invasion of the Body Snatcher".
Excellent advice and suggestions! I remember very well having to watch every movie before I would let my children see it. Now they are grown and I am embarrassed by the content of some of the movies we go to see. It seems like crude is now defined as funny.
I left a comment here but don't see it. You have excellent recourses to help you pick the right type of movie for children.
Excellent information on how to pick the right movies for our children.
Thanks for providing this excellent information and great resource for parents who worry about what movies their children should see.
In Toy Story 3 there are some instances of humour which would go right over a young child's head but may need some explaining to slightly older children, such as the moment when Ken (actually Barbie posing as Ken in a space suit) is spotted wearing high heels and another character simply shrugs at the sight. This could really take some explaining if you have a sharp minded youngster. If you are fussy about what children watch then you should always watch the movie first yourself without them present. It is a good movie but be prepared for that one.
This is excellent. I have two granddaughters aged 8 and 2, so finding movies to watch with them is a bit tricky! And I have discovered some real wrong choices. Thanks for all the advice.
A very thorough lens! And now I know what the American classifications are :) Here in England it is U, PG, 12 and 12A.
Nicely done..we don't have children anymore...but don't like to see most of the things that we avoided when the children were around ourselves..so still picky:-)
Great information here! I am real picky about what my kids watch, but sometimes, things slip through. I've even shielded them from a couple of Little House in the Prairie shows and a couple i wish I would have! lol!!!
I've seen most of these - they're great!
It sure will. Entertainment these days do need some scrutiny before we expose our kids to it. Nice guidelines
I was not as careful with my sons who are much older than their sister. But with my daughter I monitored everything she watched. You have done an excellent job in explaining the movie ratings.
Yes, this page will most definitely become a resource for us. We are all very particular about what movies and tv shows our grandchildren watch. Very often, their mom and dad will preview a movie before they see it, especially if there is any question about it. Parents need to be very alert about movies and television. Our precious children are exposed to too much too soon if we are not careful!
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