Finding the Right Movie for My Kids

Finding the right movie that is age appropriate has been a task for my wife and me.  We would get the video from our local library (yes our library - Newton County - has a fantastic collection of old and current films).  We would then watch the video to see if our kids should be allowed to watch it.

My daughter has restless nights when watching some movies.  My son doesn't believe in boundaries.

For my son, we have steered him towards adventure films like There Goes A Bulldozer.  The character Dave is funny and very instructive. 

For my daughter, we watched lots of old Disney movies and cartoons.  Then we find out she loves Harold Lloyd - my favorite silent film star.  He is the greatest comedian of all time.  Of course now she also watches a lot of girly movies - Barbie and such.

Getting to a good genre for my kids was trial and error, but today I use two online tools that are crucial in determining if a movie should be seen by my kids eyes or even my eyes:

Dove.org - Dove does a very good job in outlining films and television movies and I like their easy to understand review chart.  Here's a link to their review of The Last Airbender as an example.

PluggedIn.com -  This is Focus on the Families review site of TV, movies. games, and music.  This is a thorough site for finding movies worth your time and money.  The Twilight Saga: Eclipse for an example of their reviews.

Using both of these sites has cut our research down.  We can now review a movie online and the make the call as to whether our children will have a chance to watch the film or not.  Maybe I am a little old fashion, but what my kids feed their minds with matters to me.  Hope these links add a little relief to your searches.