Netflix is the top streaming video service provider in the United States, as it provides television shows and movies to subscribers just about anywhere they are in the country. It is possible to stream the content from a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone, a computer system, television, video game device or just about any other piece of hardware that connects to the Internet. Of course, this also means it is easy for children to power on the device and access a program on Netflix that you might not want them to view. In order to prevent your child from accessing content you might not want them to see, it is important to activate the Netflix parental controls that are in place.

Although there are different devices your child is able to watch Netflix on, the Netflix parental controls Wii features are going to be the same as on an Apple TV, PlayStation, smartphone or another device. This is because you set up the account information directly through Netflix and not actually through the device. This way, you only have to create the Netflix parental controls once for an account and not a half dozen different times on every single system and device your child might try to access.

How to Setup Netflix Parental Controls

Follow these steps in order to activate Netflix parental controls:

1- Log onto your Netflix account on a computer system (it is not possible to activate all of these features on a different device)

2- Click on the name of the account-holder in the top-right corner to bring down the drop-down menu

3- Click on ‘Manage Profiles’

4- Here you can create an individual profile for each family member as well as edit or delete existing profiles

5- If your child doesn’t have a profile yet, simply create one by clicking on ‘Add Profile’ in the top-right corner

6- Once your child’s profile is created, just click the edit button next to it

7- You have 3 settings to choose from: ‘Little Kids’ typically for children under 12, ‘Older Kids’ for teens, or ‘Adults’.

8- Now click ‘Done’ on the right to save your configurations

You can also visit the official Netflix help section to know more about user profiles to set up Netflix parental controls.

It is important to create a profile for your child so that you can keep your content separate from while your child might watch. This also makes it easier for you to stay on top of creating the different Netflix parental control features. Previously, you had to lock out everything and then you would have to type in an activation code every single time you wanted to watch something. This often proved more frustrating than anything else, so many parents simply skipped setting parental control due to this issue.

With the new Netflix parental controls, your children will be able to watch the content that is most suitable for their age. However, you need to be aware that search results display all types of content regardless of the user’s profile. Although it would not be possible for your child to view this content, you might need to keep an eye on them even with the Netflix parental controls in place.

Understanding Television and Movie Ratings

Even with Netflix parental controls in place, you need to know more about the different television and movie ratings so that you can better judge and decide what kind of content is suitable for your children to watch.

Television Ratings

Television ratings are important to know about, as this is able to give you a better understanding of what is suitable in the content and what you can expect to appear in it. When it comes to television material in the United States, the rating system is broken down into TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-MA.

  • TV-Y means it is designated to be appropriate for all children. The material is designed for children between the ages of two and six.
  • TV-Y7 is designed for children that are above the age of seven years old. This kind of programming might have some slight fantasy violence and is usually associated with cartoons on television.
  • TV-G is a program that most parents are going to find suitable. The program is not going to have strong language and little to no violence.
  • TV-PG is a program that is going to have some material you might find unsuitable for a young child, although it is up to you to decide what is right for your child and what is not.
  • TV-14 is going to have some material that you are likely not going to want your child to see at a young age. It is going to have some violence, suggestive situations and possibly some cursing as well.
  • TV-MA is a television program that is designed specifically for adults. It is not a program that can be aired on broadcast television due to the swearing, nudity and sexual content, violence and other content that might appear in the show.

When watching a television program on Netflix, it not only is going to states the rating but also has a few random letters next to it. These letters are designed to designate exactly what sort of material is inside the television program. This way, if there is a specific element you do not want your child to see but are alright with other material it is easier to determine what might work for you and your child. These letters are broken down into D, L, S, V and FV. FV is fantasy violence and is specific to TV-Y7. D is short for suggestive dialogue and is not going to be found in TV-MA. L means coarse language, S means sexual content and V means violence.

Movie Ratings

In regards to movies, there are five different rating systems enabled in the United States. This is broken down into G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. Most of the material is going to be similar to what you might find in the ratings on television.

  • G stands for General Audiences. There is not going to be any content that you might find objectionable and it does not contain any sort of rude language either.
  • PG is short for Parental Guidance Suggested. This is slightly higher up than G as there might be a mild curse word or suggestive humour. However, outside of this, there is very little difference between the G and PG.
  • PG-13 is the newest rating of the group, and it is short for Parents Strongly Cautioned. The movie is able to use up to four explicit swear words, contains drug innuendo some strong and suggestive humour and moderate action violence. Until the 1980s, movie ratings went from PG up to R. However, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom received an R rating, so the producers and director requested a new rating be created in between. This is also why some movies made before the Indiana Jones movie actually contain nudity in it and are still ranked PG (such as Airplane).
  • The R rating stands for Restricted. In the movie theatre, nobody under the age of 17 without the accompaniment of an adult is able to see it. This content contains sexual scenes, prolonged blood and gore and explicit drug use.
  • The NC-17 rating is formally known as “X”, and while the name is different the rating is the same. Children have not admitted into these films even an adult. Oftentimes, these movies are going to show graphic violence, large amounts of blood, gore and sex, rape, intense sexual nudity and other content that is not deemed acceptable for children.

With these ratings, you should be able to make a better decision as to what your child is able to watch and what programming is going to be better left away from them. This way, you can decide whether or not they are able to watch certain content or if you would rather have it blocked out on their user account.

By activating the Netflix parental controls, you can make sure that your children do not gain access to this kind of programming. With this sort of feature, you can stay on top of what they are watching. Best of all, it is not possible to delete material from the previously viewed menu, so should your child find a way onto your own account, you can look into what they watched before. This makes it that much easier for you to always know what they are watching and what material they should not watch.

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