Jason Fitzpatrick
If you’re looking to get more of watching a movie with your kids than a chuckle or two, here’s how to pick films that encourage character building.
Over at the Washington Post, Caroline Knorr—Common Sense Media’s Parenting Editor–shares a variety of tips for selecting movies that aren’t just entertaining for your children but also feature character-building elements.
For example, it’s tough to beat human characters when it comes to kids internalizing messages:
Although animated movies rule the box office, young children actually learn best when human characters demonstrate the lesson. Think of the 1960 Disney movie Pollyanna, whose lead character was so empathic that her name came to mean “someone who finds the good in everyone.”
If Pollyanna seems like a movie that is a bit on the nose, that’s also the point when it comes to movies intended to teach small children lessons. While older kids can handle nuance and character development with shades of gray when picking a movie for small kids, you want films that have very upfront and clear messaging.
For more tips, as well as example movies to go along with those tips, check out the full article here.
