When you were growing up, your parents probably had a few TV channels and a video store to keep an eye on. Today your kids can reach thousands of movies and shows on any screen in the house. So how do you protect them from harmful content without becoming so strict that it backfires?
Brett McCracken, a senior editor at The Gospel Coalition and the author of several books, including The Wisdom Pyramid, takes up that question in this 2022 article. He doesn’t hand you a list of approved titles. Instead, he offers ten tips that help you think it through for yourself.
Three ideas stand out. First, look past the rating and the number of swear words to the values a story carries, because even a cartoon for preschoolers has a view of the world. Second, borrowing a line about Aslan from Narnia, he points out that “safe” and “good” are not the same thing: some harmless shows are hollow and cheaply made, while some excellent stories contain moments that make a parent pause, and which serves your child better depends on their age and maturity. Third, ask what a story teaches your kids to love. Many children’s shows celebrate loving yourself, but Christians are called to love God and their neighbor.
He also has practical advice for everyday family life, from not letting a streaming algorithm do the choosing to watching together instead of alone on separate devices and making room for time without screens.
The article is practical and balanced, useful for parents of young children and teenagers alike, and for children’s and youth leaders who plan a movie night or get asked which shows are fine to watch.
More from Pulse
- Should a Christian Watch Anime?
- Elemental Movie Review with Discussion Questions
- 3 Lessons from Strange World
- Morality and Ethics in Video Games
This article by Brett McCracken first appeared on The Gospel Coalition. Pulse published a German version in January 2024 (in German).
