Parents will find making decisions about which films and video games are suitable for their children much easier from today, as the BBFC launches a new website specifically for parents and guardians. Parents BBFC – www.pbbfc.co.uk – provides detailed information about the content of ‘U’, ‘PG’ and ‘12A’ films and all video games classified by the BBFC, and why they got the classification they did.
David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:
“By providing parents with more information about the content of films and video games they will be in a better position to make informed choices about what their children watch and play. This is particularly relevant in the area of video games, where not all parents are as technology literate as their children. We have included all games, including ‘18’ rated games, on the site because we know that parents come under a lot of pressure to buy the latest big selling title. So now when they are told by their offspring that ‘it’s only a game’, particularly if it’s rated ‘18’, they can look at the new website and see what the game contains and why it got the rating it did.
“The well known and understood Consumer Advice – the short sentence about a film’s contents seen on posters, advertising and packaging – has proved both popular and helpful, but by its very nature cannot provide the sort of detailed information which parents would find useful. For each film the site will provide information about why the film got the classification it did, a synopsis of the plot, significant plot lines and how they might affect young children. This is particularly important when deciding whether to take a child younger than 12 to a ‘12A’ film, or whether the elements which moved a film from ‘U’ to ‘PG’ might be too much for a very young child. This website will take the guess work out of the family outing to the cinema and open up the world of video games for those who don’t know their PSP from their Wii.”