Are Parental Controls Enough?

Parental controls. We know them well. We see them often. But what do they actually do? And, when they’re turned on, do they really do the job?

Let’s say your family has a streaming service and you let your kids watch shows on their own because you have parental controls set up in the background. You know that to access those controls, you must have a password so your kids can’t turn it off, even if they wanted to. So why do you hear questionable content coming from your television screen? The same screen that’s supposed to have a safeguard.

That’s just it. Parental controls are good as a baseline, but they are too broad, only taking into consideration the overall rating of a show or movie. They also don’t take into account a family’s individual needs. Generic controls evaluate the entire movie and not its components. You see, factory made controls are “one size fits all” even if that’s not true for every family. So, why do we trust a one size fits all system when it comes to the development and exposure of our children?

One parent may be against foul language – all foul language. Ranging from cuss words to more socially acceptable derivatives of cuss words. Another family may not like provocative dancing or innuendos in their children’s movies; and those types of films do exist. But, guess what? Parental controls most likely won’t catch it.

Parental controls are not designed to figure out gestures or off color jokes unless they’re in certain movies that are already blocked due to a movie rating. Parental controls are designed to completely eliminate the option of watching movies with whatever movie rating you choose. But, you know what? A number of movies have a PG-13 or even an R rating that you might actually enjoy as a family, the only problem is, there might be a few cuss words or maybe a kissing scene that you find inappropriate and you want to skip. But otherwise, that particular movie is family friendly. Parental controls don’t have the option to skip over a particular scene or bad word. And they most likely never will. Conversely, PG movies are becoming more and more likely to have some form of inappropriate gesture and distasteful joke in them that a movie rating filter wouldn’t be able to catch.

So, next time you let your kids choose a movie or show when you’re not around, remember that parental controls only get you so far. Think about what values you want to instill in your family and what you can do to take control of that part of your life.

We’re all impressionable but what our kids see will stick with them forever; whether or not they realize it. We can and should take charge of what enters our homes.