When I was growing up, there were two TV channels dedicated to kids: Nickelodeon and Disney. And really, unless you paid the extra premium for the Disney Channel, you had one channel that showed kids’ shows throughout the day, and other than that, you just had to wait for Saturday morning cartoons. (Yep back then you had to pay a pretty penny extra for it, as you would pay for HBO… once in a while, they would make the channel free to all viewers for a weekend to entice you into adding it on. I liiiiiiiived for those free preview weekends!) Because of this, it was fairly easy (I think) to keep track of what was on TV and for parents to have a good handle (via word-of-mouth or just watching with their kids) on what was appropriate for their children to watch.

Nowadays, there are too many kids’ channels to count and there are SO many children’s shows that it would literally be impossible to preview all of them to know what was and wasn’t appropriate for my little guy to watch. I swear I’m not a super Type A, Helicopter Mom, but I really do like to know what my kiddo is getting into when he’s watching something on TV. On top of that, Lil’ CB scares pretty easily, so I want to be aware of any show that could be potentially scary for him. Lil’ CB doesn’t watch a whole lot of TV, but I definitely what to make sure that what he is watching is worthwhile.

Enter Common Sense Media.

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Common Sense Media is fantastic and goes through several different categories: Educational Value; Positive Messages; Positive Role Models; Violence and Scariness; Sexy Stuff; Language; Consumerism; and Drinking, Drugs and Smoking. The reviews break it down so you know how much of each category is present in the TV show or movie (they also have reviews for apps, books, websites, music, and video games) and you get a good feel for what your child is in for. The review is further broken down into specifics within some of the more outstanding categories so you really know what to expect. They also give an age rating so you know how appropriate your search item might be for your child based on his/her age. I find that the age recommendations are pretty accurate, give or take a year or so based on your child’s comprehension and personality. For example, Planes and Frozen are recommended for kids ages 5 and up, but Lil’ CB enjoyed those movies at ages 3 and 4, respectively.

I also love that it gives an actual review, too. In each review’s “Is it any good?” section, the reviewer gives an honest take on the show, movie, book, etc, to let parents know how much they might enjoy it, too. For example, here’s a (hilarious) bit from the review about Planes, “Of course, that does not mean that kids won’t laugh and cheer Dusty on or that parents will want to fall asleep. ” And it’s hilarious because it was very true in our case!

One of the features I love most on the site are the filters you can use to find what you’re looking for. You can search by age or by age range, starting from age 2 all the way up to 17. For example, you can filter your search to look for movies for kids ages 3-5 to find something appropriate for your 4 year-old. You can further filter by topic and look for movies about dinosaurs for kids ages 3-5! There are also several Editor’s Picks  and Best Of lists you can browse if you’re not exactly sure of what you’re looking for.

There is an app you can get (for free!) on your iphone or android, which is great for when you are on the go or away from home. I have noticed, though, that sometimes that app isn’t updated as frequently, so you might not find the latest reviews.

Overall, I cannot say enough about this great site and organization. What a wonderful way to promote and educate parents about responsible media viewing!