Parental rules and monitoring of children’s movie viewing may have a protective influence on children’s risk for smoking and drinking, over and above parental monitoring of nonmedia-related behaviors.
The study, “Parental Rules and Monitoring of Children’s Movie Viewing Associated With Children’s Risk for Smoking and Drinking,” surveyed 2,606 children (9-12 years of age) and their parents on how often parents monitored their movie viewing and if they were allowed to watch R-rated movies. They were also asked if they intended to or had tried smoking or drinking alcohol. Results indicated that children were at lowest risk of smoking and drinking if their parents prohibited them from watching R-rated movies. Children were also at lower risk of smoking or drinking if their parents always accompanied them to the video store, find out what a movie was rated before allowing their children to watch it, and checked what movies their children watch at friends’ homes.