“As a parent of growing kids, I find that navigating popular culture is a never-ending and exhausting task. What is okay to let the kids watch, see and listen to? What kinds of television, music, movies and video games are being marketed to children today?

“It can be challenging to keep up,” blogged Danielle Bean at NCRegister.com recently.

“I am happy to have CultureGauge.com as a new weapon in my parental arsenal,” she continued.

“At CultureGauge.com parents have access to a Weekly Briefing that gives an overview of popular items in music, games, television, and movies that are currently being marketed to children and teens,” Bean explained. “It gives a thorough analysis of each of these items along with an overview of the ‘messages’ young people are likely to hear in the words and images.

“I like how in addition to a ‘caution rating’ for each item, there are also suggested questions for parents and kids to further discuss the issues brought up by media. These discussion questions are a great resource for parents who say Yes to some kinds of media, but want to continue having open conversations about the challenges some of these kinds of entertainment might present to their faith.

“I also like how the reviews of popular songs, movies and books pull no punches. They are honest about the good and redeeming qualities that are found in some otherwise objectionable fare, but unafraid to label certain products for what they are: toxic.”