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What Matters

(Rated TV-Y7, Educational, Where to watch: HBO Family)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    30-minute 60 Minutes for tweens and up.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Some news events are violent and will be shown in as mild a way as possible -- i.e. rock throwing, rather than grenades.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About What Matters

Parents need to know that this is a news program, and as such may include scenes of real violence -- usually limited to rock-throwing or the mildest footage of the event available, but still possibly disturbing to young viewers. It's also worth noting that these were filmed in the late '90s and some episodes may be out of date.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the events and issues shown -- violence in Northern Island, famine, dress codes, make-up. Families can also use this as a jumping-off point for discussing televised media and news. Can you believe what's being shown? What's fact, and what's opinion? If you wanted to find out more, what could you do?

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