television guidelines

We've all come across that little black box posted at the top left hand corner of the screen, with a [TV-Y7] or [TV-PG], although at our age we don't pay much attention to it.Television guidelines enable parents to screen appropriate shows for their children. This filtering system is designed by producers and television networks. But what does it all mean? Well I've found the answer at, of course, http://www.tvguidelines.org/. It goes into detail over each rating, breaking that little black square into two segments: audience and content label. The content label seems like common sense, I sort of assumed Y7 was in reference to children seven years of age and older. But what I didn't realize was exactly what elements in a [Y7] show set it apart from a television show rated [Y]...

"It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements in this program may include mild fantasy violence or comedic violence, or may frighten children under the age of seven."

This is the difference between Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Square Pants.