Effects of movies on children's emotional health

Parents are in a dilemma when it comes to deciding what films they should allow their children to see. They know intuitively that some viewing experiences are entertaining while others are potentially harmful. The authors have been viewing films and talking with parents, educators, and mental health professionals for several years to try to answer questions posed by these conscientious but frustrated parents. This article, the first published regarding our findings, describes the history of today's movie rating system, which represents an early but inadequate attempt to offer parents guidance. A recent film, The Lion King, will demonstrate a developmental approach to thinking about movies for children. This method uses current research on the effects of movies on children and knowledge of child development to predict reactions of children in particular age groups to elements in a movie.