“It’s not the PTC viewing hour or the government viewing hour,” said Jim Dyke, Executive Director of TV Watch. “It’s about family viewing - and parents in the one-third of U.S. households with children under 18 have all the information they need to make and enforce their viewing choices through ratings and blocking technology.”

What Parents Really Think

Kaiser Family Foundation Poll Results

• The majority of parents (65 percent) monitor their children’s media use.
• Parents believe they have more influence over their kids than the media does.
• Parents have an increased awareness of ratings (81 percent) and V-Chip (70 percent).
• Nearly 3 out of 4 (71 percent) parents who have tried the V-Chip say they find it very useful, a higher proportion than for any of the media ratings or advisory systems.

• 86 percent of parents believe that more parental involvement is the best way to keep kids from seeing what they shouldn’t see on television.
• 60 percent of parents disagree with the statement: “The current parental controls and ratings systems have failed. It’s time for government to step in and do more.”
• 87 percent of parents agreed with the statement: “Washington should make sure we have the information and tools we need to make educated decisions about the content we watch. But Washington should not make content decisions for us.”