IN Focus - Parenting in an age of Unlimited Entertainment ( March 2026 )

Title: Parenting in an age of Unlimited Entertainment

Intro

Nycil Romis writes about parental focus needed with regards to the entertainment their children are exposed to. 

Highlight

I remember discussing a moral reasoning situation in a Gen Z classroom where majority found it difficult to understand the idea of not taking revenge when wronged. If that is the case, where do we even discuss the application of the concepts of holiness, love, hope, forgiveness and friendship in day-to-day life?

Article

The world of entertainment brings together the raw and the refined, blending goodness and evil in ways that strongly capture attention. It not only conveys the values of a civilised society, but also explores rebellion, emerging themes, and socially forbidden ideas. People have always been fascinated by evil themes in entertainment – whether it is portrayed through villains or the so-called badass heroes. This fascination explains the massive fan base of characters like the Joker, John Wick or James Bond who blur the lines between good and bad. 

Meanwhile, some themes explicitly deal with dark magic, occult, and other disturbing content, often presenting them as attractive or normal. Curiosity further compels us to explore what is forbidden, hidden, or morally ambiguous. Also, entertainment media often hides darker ideas within humour, glamour, and heroism, making them seem acceptable or ordinary to viewers. All of this in an age of unrestricted access to entertainment, intensifies both its influence and its reach.

In a world driven by multi-million box office successes and viral content, protecting children from the influence of evil in entertainment is not an easy task. Shutting down entertainment media is neither practical nor effective and may even backfire. This raises an important question: What can parents do to safeguard their children? 

The parental role, therefore, lies largely in helping children engage with media thoughtfully and safely, rather than passively absorbing it. This role progressively changes as children grow older, gradually equipping them with the ability to discern what is healthy and beneficial. This means that parents are on this journey together with their children. Just as children are not left alone to figure out games, rules, or boundaries by themselves, they should not be left alone to navigate the complex world of entertainment. 

By being actively present, parents help children understand limits, make sense of experiences, and gradually develop the confidence to make wise choices on their own.

Guiding young children – Defining values with structured access

For younger children, parents function primarily as gatekeepers of media exposure, carefully regulating access and limiting exposure to dark or disturbing themes. During this stage, children should be actively exposed to goodness through media, like stories of kindness, courage, empathy, cooperation, forgiveness and moral repair. 

Age ratings, content warnings, and review websites can serve as useful guides, though they are not sufficient on their own. Phone locks, parental controls, and clear screen-time limits are essential in preventing unguarded and excessive media use, as unsupervised access can easily lead children to inappropriate content. 

Since children are still developing the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality, it is better to expose them to stories/games with symbolic villains depicting good and bad clearly, and with immediate consequences. As they progress in age, exposures can also widen, but with the active presence of adults, where they can emphasise accountability and consequences. This helps in shaping values and moral understanding, probably more powerfully than any other modes of education. 

Guiding Adolescents – Setting limits and active reasoning

Adolescence is an age of strong peer influence. Here, one cannot continue solely the role of a restrictive parent. ‘Why not me?’ would be a frequent question parents face during this stage. 

Rather than rigid rules, parents need to set reasonable limits and support through conversations on what they watch, play or follow. These conversations encourage reflection, shaping their internal moral compass, eventually helping them to make healthy choices. 

Limits must be clearly explained, especially why certain content is unacceptable. Here, rather than blind rules, it is always better to use logic and reasoning. The labels of ‘bad’ and ‘dangerous’ often push children to explore them. 

Along with these, parents should keep an open eye on the media exposure of their children, without making children feel constantly watched. Monitoring from a respectful distance allows parents to notice patterns, preferences, and possible concerns.

Importance of watching/playing together

In the case of both children and adolescents, one of the most effective strategies is co-watching or co-playing, though not always possible. In fact, if parents are able to set such a pattern right from childhood, children find it easier to discuss their concerns with them. 

From my own experience, watching/playing together with children and discussing the characters opens up natural conversations where it is easier for the parent to point out problematic elements. Children also learn to see things from multiple viewpoints. 

Selecting entertainment together and discussing both its strengths and concerns helps children develop critical thinking, rather than passive consumption. Over time, when they are given the freedom to choose, they will use these experiences to guide their decisions. Even when adolescents select content based on peer influence, watching it together with parents, followed by reflective conversations, often helps recalibrate their understanding. Such follow-up discussions restore perspective, enabling them to critically evaluate their choices and see beyond what is ‘viral’. 

Addressing the subtle normalisation of evil

One of the major challenges in dealing with entertainment media today is the issue of the subtle communication of evil. Manipulation, revenge, cruelty, and moral compromise are often portrayed as normal, justified and even admirable. 

Here also, open discussions with children are crucial in gaining the right perspective. We never discuss the subtle messages communicated through entertainment media on a variety of ‘normal and cool’ themes, and children absorb them without being aware of them. 

I remember discussing a moral reasoning situation in a Gen Z classroom where majority found it difficult to understand the idea of not taking revenge when wronged. If that is the case, where do we even discuss the application of the concepts of holiness, love, hope, forgiveness and friendship in day-to-day life? Moral lessons and catechism lessons happen without immersing into the day-to-day reality, while media at fingertips attracts our children with submerged cool, normalised ideas portrayed in normal daily lives, which are never questioned/reflected. Therefore, parents need to help children question and reflect on these subtle ideas, making them less vulnerable to fascination without judgment.

In a world where dark content is increasingly admired as viral, popular, and unavoidable, the task of parenting is not to eliminate exposure, but to shape understanding. Children do not lose their way because they see evil; they struggle when they are left alone to interpret it. With a combination of reasonable limits, co-watching and open, reflective conversations, parents can guide children to discern rather than go by blind fascination.