Movie Viewing, Children's

Movies—the first mass media—have been a widely accepted form of family entertainment since the time of World War I. Almost half of all families with children under 12 attend the theater occasionally, while 26% attend frequently and 16% infrequently. Only 17% of families never attend movies in the theater. In general 9-to-11-year-olds go to the movies more frequently than either 6-to-8-year-olds or 12-to-14-year-olds. Current technology is significantly increasing children's access to a wide variety of movies, often in unsupervised settings, and marketers are expanding the target audience by producing videos for infants as young as 3 months.

Children's movies are often conceptualized as family movies and considered to be nonoffensive, wholesome, and entertaining. However, current research, including content analysis of television and movies, indicates that children are routinely exposed to a variety of poor role models, which then may influence decision making and behavior. Nevertheless, some movies for children are wholesome and nonoffensive, and they remain an important and profitable source of family entertainment.

Technological advances have brought movies into the home, ending theater control and significantly increasing availability of movies to children. Research indicates that children today spend more time sitting at home using media than playing outside, including viewing about 40 minutes of videos daily. With the introduction of the video recorder (VCR), followed by DVD players, and with the ability to download movies onto a computer, children's access to all types of movies is possible. In addition, beginning in the late 1990s, companies such as Baby Einstein and SoSmart began to produce developmental baby videos targeting infants as young as 3 months. To date, there seems to be little research on usage or potential effects of movie watching beginning at such a young age.

Based on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) movie rating system currently in place, G-rated films are considered appropriate for children under the age of 8. They contain no sexual content, scenes involving drug use, offensive language, and minimal violence. G-rated movies are the most profitable for the industry, although far fewer are produced than R-rated films. Also included in the category of children's movies are those with a rating of PG, indicating that although these movies are considered appropriate for those children ages 8 to 13, parental guidance is suggested. PG movies may contain some profanity or violence, but no drug use or explicit sex.

Various studies indicate that the MPAA rating system is used and considered helpful by almost 70% of parents. It is important to note, however, that almost half of all parents set no rules for their children regarding what they watch on television. Of 2-to-7-year-olds, 32% have a television in their bedroom, and 16% have a VCR; for 8-to-18-year-olds, the numbers are 65% and 36%, respectively. It seems likely, therefore, that children's exposure to movies, often unsupervised, is increasing, thereby heightening concerns regarding the influence of movies in the lives of children.

Some scholars suggest that although the current movie rating system is helpful, it is not complete and is not informed by an understanding of child development. For example, younger children do not distinguish between fantasy and reality, do not understand beyond concrete information to abstract, and cannot put themselves in someone else's place to understand how they are feeling. Younger children are also less able to put together pieces of a story or to draw inferences from the narration than older children. These developmental issues are not considered within the current rating system.

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