New Site Provides Moral Compass for Kids' Media

DiscoveryJourney.com Guides Parents toward Character-Building Books, Movies

Mesquite, NV (PRWEB) June 30, 2005 -- In response to parents growing concern over the epidemic of sexual content and violence in the media, DiscoveryJourney.com has developed a rating system that offers parents an at-a-glance Character Score" to help them select appropriate movies and books for their children.

Reviewers for the site evaluate the content of each childrens book and movie for positive and negative examples of the following ten traits: self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith. The more strongly a book or movie presents these values-oriented messages, the higher it scores. Points are deducted for negative behavioral influences, such as violence, bad language, nudity, sexual content, scary elements, and the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The result is a Character Score, ranging from zero to 100, that parents can use to select media that have integral values messages.

Brent Sitton, together with his wife, Susan, created DiscoveryJourney.com partly in response to their attempts to find appropriate television shows, movies, and books for their ten-year-old triplets. I dread the idea of my son watching sports programs because of the scantily-clad girls in the beer commercials," says Susan. Beyond avoiding media that has a negative influence, Brent says that they wanted to find books and movies that would reinforce concepts that they, as parents, held in high regard. How do you define loyalty to a five-year-old?" he asks. Saying that the key to teaching children values-oriented principles - such as courage, justice, and respect - is character-based education, Brent adds, At the heart of that is guiding children to watching, reading, and enjoying the right kind of TV, movies, and books."

The subscription-based service charges $7.95 per month for full access to online reviews of childrens books and movies. DiscoveryJourney.com also provides subscribers with Treasure Map, a monthly electronic newsletter filled with the latest reviews, as well as information and tips to supplement a childs literary experience.

Parents see DiscoveryJourney.com as a valuable tool to filter the messages their children receive from the media. Michelle Christian, a mother from San Antonio, Texas, uses DiscoveryJourney.com to gauge the appropriateness of her daughters reading material. As it turns out, there are a few touchy subjects that I need to discuss with her about the book shes reading," she says, calling the site a huge blessing for todays busy parents."

DiscoveryJourney.com Backgrounder

According to the Parents Television Council (www.parentstv.org):
•   ABCs Desperate Housewives is the most popular broadcast network television show with children aged 9-12, according to January 2005 Nielsen statistics.
•   Profane language is used once every six minutes on network TV shows, once every two minutes on premium cable shows, and once every three minutes in major motion pictures.
•   By the end of elementary school, children witness 8,000 murders on television and over 100,000 other acts of violence on television.
•   Three out of four family hour shows on the four major networks contain some sexual content.

According to a March 2005 poll by Time Magazine:
•   Sixty-eight percent of respondents said that the entertainment industry has lost touch with viewers moral standards.
•   Sixty-six percent of respondents said there is too much violence on TV; 58% said there is too much cursing; and 50% said there is too much sexual content.

According to a study by the U.K. Foundation for Educational Research:
•   Twenty-four percent of children under the age of four have television sets in their bedrooms.
•   More than 50% of children over the age of four have their own TVs.
•   Twenty-eight percent of children have computer games in their rooms.

The National Institute for Literacy found that parents have a major impact on their childs progress to literacy. It suggests that parents:
•   Share conversations with their child over meals and other times when they are together. Children learn words more easily when they hear them spoken often.
•   Introduce new and interesting words at every opportunity.
•   Be their childs best advocate by staying informed about their childs progress in reading and asking their teacher about ways in which the parents can help facilitate literacy.
•   Visit the library often with their children.
•   Read with their children everyday, and spend time talking about stories, pictures, and words.

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