Wikipedia
Okay…
Open mouth... then open my own ears.
A couple of Fridays ago, I posted about movie review sites you could utilize when attempting to find ratings and information on movies you think you want your kids to see, but aren't sure they should.
I posted some good resources. So good, in fact, that I had to use one on the fly!
Here's the scenario:
Impromptu mom/son date night.
Cool mom says 'let's go see a movie'!
Mom checks into movies, consults friends, picks appropriate one
Mom's plan does a big ole' backfire in the theatre parking lot…
There, on the marquee, listed next to the 'kid' movie I was planning on taking my little man to
was "Maze Runner".
Before you judge me, this child (unfortunately) has seen much worse with his father (you might know how this goes if you are a divorced mom). Enough said.
Back to the review, movie and date…
I was excited, surprised and scared.
He wanted to see a movie I'd not screened yet, or even looked up online!
What do I do!?
I did what I told other parents to do!
I pulled out my smart phone and punched in 'commonsensemedia.com'.
Standing there I looked it up!
So, then of course, at that precise moment, I now had a decision to make.
It was Rated PG-13.
Annnnd….clearly it was reviewed as a movie for kids 13+.
He is 10.
Would I take him to see it? Or keep with the plan of seeing Box Trolls?
Well, in our case, he'd already read the book. (At his 17 yr. old sister's suggestion because he is such an advanced - middle school level - reader.) It seemed somewhat of a no-brainer after I researched the movie review. It told me he would most likely not be scarred or taught something inappropriate.
Afterwards, we were able to use the CommonSenseMedia.com topic of discussion suggestions.
We were able to connect. He was able to ask questions if he had any. He was allowed to bring Kitty.
We did a full comparison about the characters in the movie versus those in the book.
We had a lot to discuss regarding guns, safety, play vs. real and yes of course, the Grievers.
(I think I was the one who needed some counseling after that.)
He said, 'It was AWWWEEESSSOOOMME'.
He told me that he can't wait to see The Scorch Trials (slow down dude… we 'Mom' just got through this one).
This experience, while tough to make a decision on, was a good one. I dove in to see what he was enthralled by and at the end of the night it reminded me of the time my daughter read Hunger Games and when that movie came I made sure we went to see it. (Here is my review on that one.)
Is this movie for you and your child? I can't say. But you can go to:
www.Commonsensemedia.com and find out!
The point?
Not every parent can parent the same.
What's good for us, might not be good for you and your child.
And vice versa.
This is why, when we are unsure about something, we use tools like this to do our homework
and then go with our gut.
and then go with our gut.
The perks?
Getting involved.
Staying in touch.
Using it as education.