Safe TV: Tips for scream-free screen time

Most of us with children have experienced it. That moment when your child’s screen time turns into something more like scream time. They’ve stumbled across something inappropriate or upsetting and you’re left asking yourself what you should do... and how you can prevent it happening again!

Whether it’s TV or the internet, it’s almost inevitable children will eventually glimpse something they find confronting or upsetting. While much attention is rightly directed at dangers online, many children still encounter content that upsets them on TV.

Top of their list of upsetting viewing, according to research for the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) and NZ On Air, is animal torture and sex scenes. It’s enough to make any caregiver squirm. But, hearteningly for those who look after tamariki, the study confirms most kids know to change channels or click out of a website and tell an adult.

As most of us would probably suspect – or know from unfortunate experience – the impact of inappropriate content can reach well beyond the awkward moment when your child stumbles across it. The experience often manifests itself in children’s behaviour. A third have learnt inappropriate words from content they consumed, according to the research. One in five has gone on to have nightmares or sleeping difficulties, while a similar proportion have mimicked aggressive or age-inappropriate behaviour.

Caregivers have been changing the way they monitor their kids’ habits, in response to the dangers of modern media. Parents and caregivers are now far more proactive about managing kids’ content, with nearly all of us saying we have some sort of home rules in place. Around three-quarters supervise kids’ TV viewing, more than quadrupling the number six years earlier. Over this period, those who say they stop their children watching adult-only content soared from a quarter to half of all caregivers.

It’s an encouraging trend, but many of us who look after tamariki will admit it can still feel like an uphill battle. The good news is that help is at hand. There are some really useful tools you can harness to protect kids from harmful viewing. It’s worth taking a few minutes to get to know them.

These signpost what age a TV programme is suitable for – kind of like road signs to prevent a wrong turn into harmful viewing. Knowing the labels helps you decide if a show is appropriate for you and your kids. Labels are shown at the start of most shows and after ad breaks, or on the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

Look out for shows with a G classification – these are likely to be suitable for young ones.

PG marks shows where parental guidance is recommended. These can be screened at any time.

M, 16 and 18 classifications signal content that’s unsuitable for kids.

Bear in mind, though, that news, current affairs, sports and live programmes don't have classifications.

After the classification label, you’ll also see symbols or written advisories that tell you what type of material a programme contains (coarse language, sexual, violent or distressing content) or if it’s likely to disturb kids or be outside audience expectations.

A written warning might say something like: 16, content contains coarse language, strong violence or scenes some viewers may find distressing.

Free-to-air TV

A timeband is the time of day shows of a certain classification can be screened on free-to-air TV. If you get to know the timebands, you’ll know what to expect at any time and can protect kids from anything unsuitable.

An important time to keep in mind is 8.30pm, often referred to as the ‘watershed’. On free-to-air TV, children's normal viewing times usually run until this time (though times differ during weekends and school holidays to reflect when tamariki may be watching). Timebands for each classification are as follows:

Pay TV

Pay television uses the classification labels, but it doesn’t have timebands. This means pay TV channels such as SKY may show programmes at any time of the day using classifications and advisories, and caregivers are encouraged to use the next tool in the toolkit – parental locks…

As a parent or caregiver, you could be forgiven for thinking life would be easier if you could simply block out TV content that isn’t suitable for your kids. The good news is that you can. Parental locks let you block specific shows or (on SKY) individual channels. You can spare your children a close encounter with adult content by blocking PG, AO, M, 16 and 18 certificate shows.

Of course, no tools will ever be completely failsafe or replace the personal guidance you can offer your kids. It’s worth taking the time to talk to young people about what they watch, how it makes them feel and what upsets them. Different children respond differently to various kinds of content, and what’s fine for one may be upsetting for another.

And if, despite your best efforts, they do catch sight of something upsetting, talk to them about it. It’s never an easy conversation, but you’re not alone. Check out Parenting Place’s guides on how to talk about dodgy content and helping kids make sense of the news.

Check out the BSA’s quick-guide video for scream-free screen time here.

Article written and supplied by Pete Barnao, Communications and Engagement Lead at Broadcasting Standards Authority.