Meaning & use
parental guidance
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
A film or program rating warning that some scenes may not suit young children and that a parent should decide whether they watch.
Grammar: Uncountable and often capitalized as a rating: rated parental guidance.
Patterns
- rated parental guidance
- parental guidance advised
The movie carries a parental guidance rating because of mild scary scenes.
Parental guidance is recommended for viewers under ten.
The cinema displayed a parental guidance notice next to the poster.
noununcountable
Advice and supervision that parents give a child to help them make good choices.
Grammar: Uncountable: with parental guidance, not 'a parental guidance'.
Patterns
- under parental guidance
- need parental guidance
Young children need parental guidance when using the internet.
With parental guidance, she learned to manage her pocket money.
The school asks for parental guidance on homework habits.
Common combinations
- parental guidance advised
- The poster read 'parental guidance advised'.
- under parental guidance
- He is allowed online only under parental guidance.
- require parental guidance
- Some games require parental guidance for younger players.
- parental guidance rating
- The parental guidance rating surprised some parents.
- seek parental guidance
- Teens often seek parental guidance on big decisions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- parental supervision
- Supervision means watching over a child, while guidance suggests advice and judgment.
- PG
- PG is the common short form of the rating, used mainly on film labels.
- parental advisory
- Parental advisory is a warning label, usually on music, for explicit content.
Word family
Commonly confused: parental guidance or parental advisory?
parental guidance vs parental advisory
Parental advisory marks explicit content, usually music, whereas parental guidance is a film or television rating.
Practice
A film marked 'parental guidance' means that ______.
Choose one answer.
The label advises parents to judge suitability. It is not a ban, which would be an adult-only rating.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “parental guidance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.