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for Parents101
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TV Watch for Parents101
It’s the start of a new school year, and you’ve worked hard to make sure

your kids are ready for it. They’ve done all their summer reading and the backpacks

are filled with school supplies. You’ve been focused on preparing your kids for the

school year, but have you prepared yourself for the new television season?

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Popular shows will be returning as well as new ones. With so many channels and

choices, it is important to sort through which programs are suitable for

your children.

TV Watch for Parents101

In order to help you take control of what your family watches on television, TV

Watch has created an easy guide to help you brush up on the basic tools and

information. But don’t worry—you won’t be up all night cramming because learning

how to make your television family friendly can be done with a few simple clicks of

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the remote.
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So study TV Watch’s Television Tools for Parents 101 and take control of television

content!

for Parents101
Parental Programming 101 is divided into three simple chapters:

CHAPTER ONE: Learn the Ratings

CHAPTER TWO: Manage Your TV Lineup
CHAPTER THREE: Use Technology to Enforce Your Decisions
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for Parents101
The TV ratings system gives parents information about the age-appropriateness

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and content of TV programs. Understanding the TV program ratings are helpful to
understanding what type of show you are viewing. These ratings appear on the top
left hand corner of your television screen at the beginning of each program and
intermittently throughout the show, usually after commercials.

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Other ways you can find TV shows’ ratings include:
• Information or program guide that comes with your TV, cable or satellite service
• Local newspaper listings
• TV Guide
• Broadcast and cable networks’ websites

TV Watch for Parents101

Each TV rating has a brief description to help you understand the type of content
you will be viewing. Here is a breakdown of the TV Program Ratings and their
descriptions:

All Children: This program is designed to be appropriate for all children. Whether
animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically

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designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2–6. This program
is not expected to frighten younger children.

Directed to Older Children: This program is designed for children age 7 and
above. It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the

for Parents101
! developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality.
Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy violence or comedic
violence, or may frighten children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish
to consider the suitability of this program for their very young children.

Directed to Older Children-Fantasy Violence: For those programs where

fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative than in other programs in
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this category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV.

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! for Parents101
General Audience: Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages.

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Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children,
most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains
little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or
situations.

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Parental Guidance Suggested: This program contains material that parents
may find unsuitable for younger children. Many parents may want to watch it with
! their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the
program contains one or more of the following: moderate violence (V), some sexual
situations (S), infrequent coarse language (L) or some suggestive dialogue (D).

! for Parents101
Parents Strongly Cautioned: This program contains some material that many

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parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age. Parents are
strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are
cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended. This
program contains one or more of the following: intense violence (V), intense sexual
situations (S), strong coarse language (L) or intensely suggestive dialogue (D).

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Mature Audience Only: This program is specifically designed to be viewed by
adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17. This program contains
! one or more of the following: graphic violence (V), explicit sexual activity (S) or
crude indecent language (L).

for Parents101
Additional Information: Content Descriptors

Content Descriptors provide additional information about the content of TV shows

and are sometimes added to the program ratings: violence [V], fantasy violence
[FV], sexual situations [S], coarse language [L] and suggestive dialogue [D]. One or
more letters may be added below the age-based audience label.
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for Parents101
The TV program ratings provide a good starting point for parents who are making

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TV viewing decisions for their families. However, the ratings aren’t the only way
parents can monitor and control what their children see. In fact, a recent TV Watch
survey shows that parents use a variety of measures to enforce their family’s
television viewing rules and monitor what their children watch:

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• 57 percent of parents do not allow televisions in their children’s bedrooms
• 75 percent of parents only allow TV viewing in rooms where they can easily see
and hear what is being watched.
• 67 percent of parents place specific time limits on the amount of TV their children
watch.

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• 62 percent of parents only allow TV viewing during certain hours of the day.
• 57 percent of parents monitor what their children watch by sitting with them as

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they watch TV.

New technologies are additional resources for managing your children’s access to
appropriate content. DVDs and DVRs allow parents to proactively choose
appropriate programming for their kids while steering clear of questionable content.

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Whether you are using the program ratings, watching with your kids or employing
technology, actively monitoring what your children watch will help you feel more in
control of what is displayed on your television screen.

for Parents101
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for Parents101
In addition to approaches such as television time limits and using DVDs, you can

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always use blocking technologies to enforce your decisions. Blocking technologies
serve as filters for your television, blocking unwanted content from being viewed on
your television screen.

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It is simple to activate these controls on your TV. The tools differ slightly depend-

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ing on whether you have broadcast TV, analog cable, digital cable or satellite TV
service. The good news is, virtually everyone has some level of easy control at their
disposal to automatically control the TV content allowed in their home:

• O ver 180 million TV sets equipped with the V-Chip have been sold for the 110

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 million TV viewing households since 2000
• 86 percent of TV households get TV from cable and satellite providers that

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include parental control options.

TV Watch offers two easy tutorials to help walk you through setting your blocking
technologies. These tutorials are Easy as Toast and 1-2-3 Safe TV, both of which
can be found on the TV Watch website, www.TelevisionWatch.org. Easy instruc-

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tions to set the blocking technology that is best suited for your household are also
listed below.

The V-Chip
One of the most available blocking technologies is the V-Chip, which is a tool that

for Parents101
enables parents to automatically block programs by TV ratings. The V-Chip is a
standard feature in all TVs 13” and larger, built after January 2000.

To set the V-Chip, simply press the menu on your remote control, select V-Chip (or
parental controls, smart lock, ect) and follow the onscreen prompts.

The V-Chip works based on the TV ratings system that you learned about in Chapter
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One. The TV ratings work “top down”, so, for example, if you want to allow shows
rated TV-PG and below, select TV-PG. Everything above this rating, TV-14 and
TV-MA, will be blocked.

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Analog Cable

TV Watch for Parents101

In addition to parental controls such as the V-Chip, standard cable customers with
a set-top box are able to block unwanted channels.

If you have a set-top box, you’ll find parental controls in your cable settings menu.

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Typically, you must set a PIN, select the ratings, channels and/or times you want

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blocked and turn the parental controls on.

If you don’t have a set-top box, you can ask your cable company to block a channel
for you. For specific instructions, contact your cable or satellite provider.

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Digital Cable
If you have digital cable, you do not need to set and activate your television’s

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V-Chip.

Under your menu options you can block and restrict content by channel, TV rating,
MPAA movie ratings, time and individual programs. Some options even allow you to
control how long your kids can watch.

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The steps for setting parental controls may vary from provider to provider. Most
providers will walk you through the process with on-screen prompts.

To learn more about the steps specific to your service, you can contact your local

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cable provider.

Satellite
Satellite companies also let you block by channels, MPAA movie ratings and time.
On the settings menu, you typically select profiles and then decide whether you
want to block by MPAA rating, user or hours. Easy on-screen instructions will show
you how to use these parental controls.
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Understanding and using blocking technologies may seem confusing or a hassle at
first, but is actually quite simple. It only takes a few minutes to set up and recalling
how to use the tools is easy to remember. Using blocking technologies is almost like
riding a bike—once you have it down, it’s nearly impossible to forget how to do it.

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CON C L U S I O N

TV Watch for Parents101

Whether you are learning the basics for the first time or are just brushing up,
understanding how to effectively manage and control what your family watches will
make watching television less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone.

While tools like the program ratings, blocking technologies and DVRs may seem

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overwhelming at first, they are actually quite easy to use. The more frequently you

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use them, the more empowered you will become when making television viewing
decisions, thus allowing you to control what your family watches with ease.

For more tips on making TV content decisions for your family, visit
www.TelevisionWatch.org today!

TV Watch for Parents101

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for Parents101
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