Talk Back to the TV

To try to ward off the power of the marketers—who pedal toys, DVDs, junk food and a plethora of other products to kids—teaching children how to use the mute button when advertisements come on (explaining that the ads are trying to make the kids spend money on things they don't need) can help. Letting them know that they can control what they hear and see by turning off the volume can help diffuse the power of the ads, but it's not a foolproof answer. "If you're showing someone this gorgeous toy and then you tell them that it won't be gorgeous when it gets home, that goes right over children's heads," Cantor says.

Teaching your child to react to what he sees on the television critically, rather than passively, can also help cultivate some media savvy, other experts advise, particularly when images involving sex and violence come on the screen. Use scenes on TV as opportunities to discuss issues with your older children. "Start talking," urges Sharon Maxwell, a Massachusetts clinical psychologist who developed sex-ed curriculum for gradeschoolers. "Start making sense of the culture to the kids. Let them know what your values are. First matters. You want to have your ideas there first."

Parent-Friendly Media Reviews

The following websites offer detailed movie and TV reviews or products for parents:

• www.screenit.com: Offers extremely detailed reviews, measuring films and TV shows on 15 criteria ranging from the level of frightening/tense scenes and imitative behavior, to the level of profanity, disrespectful behavior, and sexual innuendo. (The content can be accessed for free by scrolling to the bottom of the home page and clicking the "No Thanks" option.)
  
  
• http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/moviemom: Author Nell Minow is the Movie Mom who offers reviews for Yahoo. Her reviews provide letter grades for overall appropriateness for children, provides age-appropriate guidelines, and measures the film by five other measures: Profanity, nudity/sex, alcohol/drugs, violence/scariness and diversity issues.
  
  
• www.mediafamily.org/kidscore: The National Institute on Media and Family offers movie reviews which provide age guidelines and assesses the media by seven measures, giving parents a red, yellow, or green light for viewing.
  
  
• www.clearplay.com: Makers of a DVD screening program that is installed on DVDs and works with regular DVDs that are purchased or rented. The program screens out portions of the film or movie based on 14 different filter settings. There are membership charges on an annual or monthly basis.