Most Americans agree that decisions about what we or our children see and hear should be made by consumers, not by the government. Yet many parents feel unsure about their ability to take a strong hand in influencing their children's viewing, listening and playing habits.

Parents are actually more powerful mediators of the popular culture than they imagine. In Eron and Huesmann's cross-cultural study of TV effects in the1970s, there was one sample of children among whom the effects [of violent content on television] were particularly weak the kids growing up on Israeli agricultural collectives, or kibbutzim. The reason: When the kids watched TV, the adults talked with them about the content of the shows, including the social costs and meanings of violence. At the same time, cooperative behavior was rewarded and competition and fighting were condemned on the kibbutz. Any values communicated by television were understood in the context of the community's values.

Some families' values dictate that there will be no television in the house at all, no Nintendo, no VCR. The kids may watch TV or play video games at their friends' homes, they may complain-but they also seem to find other ways of amusing themselves. But the majority of American families don't opt out of entertainment technology in the home. For them, the commonsense notion is that the best way to guide kids' media consumption is to do just that: take note of what they're watching, help them understand it and set limits. But a thoughtful investigation of the effects of family interaction on children's experiences of television by researchers at the University of Hartford and Yale's Family Television Research and Consultation Center found that it's not enough to prohibit shows you don't like. It's not even enough to watch with your kids and comment on the shows. "All categories of fan-Lily talk about television are not associated with positive outcomes for heavy viewers of television," the researchers commented. "It is moral judgment and explanation about issues presented on television, rather than the simple act of underlining or pointing out content in a neutral manner, that characterizes the families of children who are skilled at comprehending several aspects of the medium."' In other words, say what you think and keep saying it, irritating as your kids may find it.

2. VOLUNTARY RATINGS

Although there is no substitute for watching a program or looking over your kid's shoulder while he plays a computer game, rating systems can help adults and kids make choices about which entertainment they should consume. Since as early as the 1930s, media makers have written and administered their own voluntary ratings systems.

Movies and videotapes

The Motion Picture Association of America's current rating system was introduced in 1968, replacing the highly restrictive Hayes Code. The rating board, whose members all have parenting experience and whose demographics reflect the country's, uses a number of criteria to evaluate a movie's content: theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, drug use, etc. The current movie rating categories are "G: General audience. All ages admitted;" "PG: Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children;" "PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13;" "R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian;" and "NC-17: No one 17 and under admitted." Advertising for rated motion pictures, including trailers, must also be approved and the rating included. According to a 1999 opinion poll, more than three-quarters of American parents find the movie rating system either "very useful" or "fairly useful."

Television

In 1993, the four major broadcast-television networks initiated the Advanced Parental Advisory Plan, the legends that air on the screen before a show that contains sexual or violent content. The networks also reprogrammed their schedules to air less violent shows in prime time. The following year, they agreed to conduct jointly an annual qualitative assessment of violence in programming. Shortly thereafter, the major cable networks signed on as well, as part of their Voices Against Violence initiative." In 1997, the broadcasters devised a more detailed system to work in concert with the V chip.

Audio recordings

The Recording Industry Association of America licenses a sticker for sound recordings, reading "Parental Advisory/Explicit Content." Use of the stickers is entirely voluntary. Recording companies and their artists decide when it is appropriate to apply the sticker. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers has worked with the RIAA to improve and standardize the Parental Advisory logo. NARM offers music retailers free posters and counter cards that describe the program. Retailers voluntarily display the items in stores to help parents understand the program. The way retailers choose to use the program are as diverse as the communities in which stores are situated. Some retailers sell no stickered product; some have an 18-to buy policy, and some simply display and sell the recordings with the sticker as they would any other recording.

Video games

The Interactive Digital Software Association empaneled an Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994 to review and rate interactive entertainment software. Its voluntary ratings, praised by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) as the "most comprehensive system of any entertainment medium in this country," designate games this way: EC: content suitable for everyone 3 or older; E: suitable for everyone 6 or older; T: suitable for people 13 and older; M: for mature users (17 and older) and AO: for adult use only. The ratings are complemented by short phrases that explain the content of the video game.

Voluntary industry efforts on ratings enforcement. For many years, the Video Software Dealers Association has promoted a program called the Pledge to Parents, to educate parents about motion picture and video game ratings and to help ensure that children do not rent or buy material their parents deem inappropriate. Under the program, participating retailers agree not to sell or rent R-rated movies or M-rated video games to persons under 17 without parental consent. Following the Littleton shootings, the VSDA re-emphasized this program to retailers and the public." The Entertainment Software Rating Board has supplemented the Pledge to Parents program with a high profile campaign to encourage parents to use the ratings when selecting games. In addition, the ESRB initiated a Commitment to Parents under which retailers are encouraged to uphold the organization's rating system and agree not to sell computer or video games rated Mature to persons under the age of 17, unless they are accompanied by an adult. Products rated as Adults Only will not be sold to persons under the age of 18.

In 1999, President Clinton and the National Association of Theater Owners (which represent the proprietors of about two-thirds of movie screens in America) unveiled a plan that requires teenagers to show photo identification for entrance to R-rated films. These voluntary programs help parents exercise control over the movies and video games their children have access to, while emphasizing the need for parents to take responsibility for what their children watch and play.

3. MEDIA LITERACY

A year or so ago, a New Yorker cartoon showed a computer scientist at her workstation telling a colleague, "I have in mind a V chip to be implanted directly in children." In fact, such a "chip" can be "implanted" in a child-and it is far more sensitive than any computer technology. It is called media literacy, the skills of viewing media critically through an understanding of their methods and messages and the way they fit in with the larger culture. Along with educating kids in these skills, we can cultivate their ethical and aesthetic discretion in making judgments about what they see and hear. Media literacy and moral judgments are learned at home, in the community and in school.

Media literacy is now being taught in classrooms from kindergarten through graduate school. All use the insights and methodologies of a new scholarly discipline, cultural studies, to understand texts from car ads to political campaigns, hip-hop songs to sports. Critical consumption of media doesn't mean just talking about what you like or dislike, or rejecting all the stuff teachers don't like, said Teachers College assistant professor James Albright. "Without being a wet blanket, we want students to get some distance on what they're reading and watching," said Albright. "It's easy to critique things that offend us. But we want them to look at the construction of pleasure, too-how their pleasures are being mobilized by the culture." Media literacy helps students identify the "pre-existing meanings" packaged in the media they receive, said Albright. "Then we want them to ask, What other meanings can we bring to this?"