• Legalistic. Media standards are dictated with little or no discussion. This approach often breeds rebellion. Young people bide their time and wait for the day to sample Hollywood’s forbidden fruit.

• Permissive. Teens are allowed to view whatever they desire. This inevitably leads to indecent exposure.

• Discernment. Youth are taught an internal standard for making wise entertainment choices.

We recommend the discernment approach because it encourages parents to take a proactive position, teens to think critically within clearly defined boundaries, and the family to practice togetherness.

What’s a fun and effective way to teach discernment? Movie nights at home. Grab some popcorn, watch a film together, then discuss what you saw. Deconstruct the movie so you can discover the messages it carries, both the wheat and the chaff.

For parents who would like to establish movie nights with their teens, we have provided information and suggestions to get you started.

• PG-13 ratings. A number of PG-13 movies have a considerable amount of good content with brief episodes of profanities thrown in. Why is this?

• Filter techniques. Learn simple ways to eliminate questionable scenes and language so you can glean content with redeemable value.

• Preparation. See each movie night as an investment in your teen’s life. Make it obvious to him that you have taken initiative to prepare for your time together.

• Discussion questions. Inspire your teen to be an intentional thinker about what he sees, rather than a passive spectator.

For your first four movie nights, we have provided examples to the following movies:

• Apollo13
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Little Women
• The Princess Bride