Movies for Teens: How do you Know Which Ones are Appropriate?

Last Updated on August 30, 2016 by Diane Hoffmaster

As of less than one month ago, I am officially the parent of two teenagers.  It's a rather scary thought, to be honest, and I seriously hope I don't screw it up somehow.  There are so many external factors that influence how our teenagers mature and very few of them do parents have any actual control over.  Teens get so much of their knowledge from peers, books, TV and movies that it's a wonder any of them become productive adults nowadays.  Have you seen what Hollywood is throwing at us left and right? Trying to decide which movies for teens are appropriate has become very difficult.

I tend to be a fairly liberal parent but I still want to know what they are watching. When I actually sit down and check out some of their favorite YouTube stars or glance at their top teen sitcom choices I am usually horrified.  This kind of stuff was not around when I was a teen!  Or, maybe I was just very sheltered.  When your kid asks you to watch a movie, how do you know if it is appropriate?  Here are a few ideas for screening those movies for teens that you may have questions about.

Base photo courtesy of Morguefile

Movies for Teens: Which ones are Appropriate?

•  Box Office Mom: This website allows parents to make an informed decision about what is appropriate for their children, pre-teens and teenagers. Not necessarily movie REVIEWS...but will tell you what types of content it includes.
• Common Sense Media: Allows you to sort by age and type of media.  Also a very good resource regarding current issues and hot topics surrounding kids and media.
• Your own village support system:  Ask your friends who's kids are the same age as yours.  Are their teens going to be seeing it?
• See the movie yourself:  I know, this one isn't always possible.  However, seeing the movie is really the only way to decide if it is appropriate based on your own personal value systems.
•  Kids in Mind:  They do not assign an actual rating based on AGE but provide three different ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE & PROFANITY.  The ratings are on a scale of 0 to 10, and they also explain in detail why a film rates high or low in a specific category.

Diane Hoffmaster

Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy.  She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire  but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time.  You can learn more about her HERE.