The Line of Reviewing Little Kids Material

Personally, it kind of breaks my heart when certain things that are aimed for little kids get treated unfairly by adult reviewers. (or teenagers for that matter) I wouldn't be surprised if it's been this way for almost 70 years or more since the start of television. It is a little different depending on the format. Some may offer things for both kids and adults. Others might go towards one demographic.

Film is hard to critique. I don't think critics have much choice to review the ones that they may not care for for the sake of their jobs. Especially in the case of family films, I think it's fair game depending on the film being talked. There are many aspects to talk about, and if judged right, may be looked at as a fair and competent review. Then you got guys Armond White who couldn't review anything and look to be anti to what others say of specific films. Everybody has their own tastes in what they like in theaters and on TV, and that's what makes it a hard format to talk about.

Television is a little different from film. You got channels that cater to specific demographics. On website forums and videos like YouTube, there is this huge thing on complaining about material, especially regarding kids cartoon channels. It does come off as borderline creepy if someone doesn't have children of their own or other family members kids. There is this generational cycle that occurs every time a new group of kids watch the new shows. The older group complains while the younger ones just watch. This keeps happening every time, and it was probably that way back in the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc... With the rise of the Internet the last 20 years, it makes it easier for ones to express their opinion in a very bad way about how networks don't cater to them. Case in point:

This guy on Toonzone here is very obsessive and wants things to be like the 90s again. The sad thing is that there are others like him. It's easy to see why these kind of networks don't care for these type of losers. Altering something that is for kids to be more for adults could hurt the final product.

Now video games vary. You got the critics and you got the user reviews. For the most part, the consensus is mostly on par with agreement. There are games that both sides will love and hate at the same time. Disagreements are seen, which is par for the course. Then you got games where it doesn't make sense. Especially for edutainment and ones aimed for toddlers. I think the problem is when users review them, they judge it like a regular game and give it an unfair score, bashing things that they don't realize is going to be difficult for a child. However, it's not like the area is hated unanimously. If quality is there, it will get some love. Look at the Carmen Sandiego games. They are looked at as educational, but fun because of the search for her. On the other side, there are titles like Mario's Time Machine that are edutainment disguised as games and hated for how they are managed. Still, critics are not going to be swayed by how users are regarding the games.

If only users knew what they were getting into before reviewing kids material.  You really have to think like a child and wonder if it will keep a child interested in the game they are playing. Otherwise, scores are going to be skewed in one direction for something that shouldn't be hated. Stop the hate.