Common Sense Media Adds Content Ratings For Children’s Podcasts

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that specializes in content ratings for children’s programming, is adding kids podcasts to its catalogue of reviews.

 Common Sense’s podcast review library will look at a podcast’s appropriateness and value for children up to 17 years old. Categories include educational value, overall quality of the podcast, and an overview of the presence of certain topics that may not be appropriate for children, such as violence, drugs, and alcohol.

 Common Sense is also releasing 15 curated listening guides for kids and families that group together podcasts based on themes like mental health, diverse characters and stories, and social-emotional learning.

“It’s very clear the podcast world is growing, but what’s less obvious is how impactful and innovative kids and family podcasts are and will continue to be as they expand and evolve,” Laura Ordoñez, Common Sense Media’s head of podcast ratings and reviews, said in a recent interview. “Our goal is to help parents and educators navigate the kids podcast space [and] to give them the tools they need to decide what podcasts work best for their kids, families, and classrooms.”