Websites to Help You with Media

I am cleaning out some of my files and want to keep this information but not the piece of paper. This is information I received while working for LDS Family Services.

Minimize the Negative Effect of Media On Families
Elder M. Russell Ballard
October 2004 General Conference

1. We need to hold family councils and decide what our media standards are going to be.
2. We need to spend enough quality time with our children that we are consistently the main influence in their lives, not the media or any peer group.
3. We need to make good media choices ourselves and set good examples for our children.
4. We need to have TVs and computers in a much-used common room in the home, not in the bedroom or a private place.
5. We need to use Internet filters and TV programming locks to prevent our children from "chancing upon" things they should not see.
6. We need to limit the amount of time our children watch TV or play video gamees or use the Interent each day. Virtual reality must not b ecome their reality.
7. We need to take time to watch appropriate media with our children and discuss with them how to mak choices that will uplift and build rather than degrade and destory

Elder Ballard further encourages us: "May God bless us with courage and wisdom in doing what each one of us can do to help turn the tide in the media away from darkness toward truth and light. And may God bless our families to be strong and true to the principles of the gospel."

Websites to Help You with Media
Movies

• http://www.filmratings.com/questions.htm CARA (Classification and Ratings Administration) website answering all your questions about the film rating industry.
• www.kids-in-mind.com This site list hundreds of the most popular movies and describes in detail what goes on in the movie. Caution: The detail is specific and uses words that may be offensive. This site also gives each movie a 1-10 scale rating in three areas: 1. Sex & Nudity 2. Violence & Gore 3. Profanity
• www.cleanflicks.com Choose from over 500 movies that have been edited for clean viewing. You can either rent or buy from this site.
  

Video Games

• www.esrb.orgThis is the Entertainment Software Ratings Board website. They are what the CARA is to the movie industry. You can look up any game made, whether on the computer or console, check it's rating, and see why it received the rating that it did.
• www.gamespot.com This site is the single most comprehensive site for video game reviews. It is a site for gamers to review or preview games. It is not a reivew site specific for parents looking for thematic content, rather it can be helpful to read what the "experts" say.
• There aren't many places yo can go tot get a good parental view of video gams, mainly because most games take approximately 70 hours to complete compared to a 2 1/2 hour movie. Before you buy a game for you or your child, I suggest you check the rating of the game, rent the game fro a couple of days and be present with your child while he/she plays the game. Then consider making a purchase.
  

Internet

• www.filterreview.com Comprehensive site for choosing an Internet filtering service.
• www.familyfirst.com Looking for some family friendly site to surf? This has thousands of recommendations. A good place to start when your kids first become interested in the Internet.
• www.enough.org and www.protectkids.com These sites are perfect for the parent who wants to learn how to keep the family computer from becoming a cesspool of seduction and filth. These site also have tools to help parents set up a contract with their children's computer usage.
  

Television

• www.fcc.gov/vchip By federal law the V-Chip is built into TV sets manufactured after July of 1999. The V-Chip helps parents "screen out" the programs with TV ratings they don't want their children to watch. Visit this site to learn more.
  

Other Helpful Sites

• www.sexandyoungamerica.com This site offers a plethora of information and products to hel pyou talk with your children about sex and all the temptations they face in today's world.
• www.familysafemedia.com This site has lots of products that can help with filtering and controllign television, video, DVD, video gam, Internet and even phone lines.
• www.nationalcoalition.org ir (770) 989-9754 Internet safety, faith outreach, victim assistance, education and awareness.
• www.moralityinmedia.org Excellent newsletter adn resources
• www.afa.net Helpful resources: What one person can do...fight back books, etc.
• www.ldsr.org Latter-Day Saint Recover. While not sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this organiation is centered on helping members who are caught up in sexual addiction and compulsion.