FAQ's About the Parents' Choice Awards
What are the judging criteria used by Parents' Choice?
The General Criteria Are:
1. Excellent production values
2. Universal human values, i.e. products that:
* entertain and teach with flair
* stimulate imagination
* help a child grow socially, intellectually, emotionally, ethically, physically
* stimulate primary skills for lifetime employability, if applicable are free of bias (racism, sexism, ageism) and 
do not extol violence
do not extol violence3. Appeal to children
Who judges the Parents' Choice Awards?
Parents' Choice uses experts from all around the country: parents, teachers, librarians, pediatricians, psychologists, media critics and other professionals who are closely involved in the lives of children.
What Are the Different Levels of Parents' Choice Commendation and What Do They Mean?
The Parents' Choice Gold Awards are given to those books, toys, games, videos, software, magazines, audio recordings, and television programs that are judged as the highest quality, most appealing products in their genre. Criteria for judgments include the highest production standards, universal human values and a unique, individual quality that pushes the product a notch above others.
The Parents' Choice Silver Honors are given to excellent products that, like the Gold Award winners, are designed to entertain and help children develop universally ethical attitudes, and rigorous standards and skills. Silver Honors come in a high second with one or more evaluating groups. Silver Honors are highly prized-like the Gold Awards-for production and human values.
The Parents' Choice Recommended seal indicates that our committees found the product distinguished enough to give it a notch above our "Approval" rating. In other words, this commendation implies our approval and, even beyond that, our thorough recommendation for reasons of production, appeal and fulfillment of its clear intent.
The Parents' Choice Approved seals are given on the basis of the production, entertainment and human values they exemplify. A Parents' Choice Approved seal indicates a wholesome product that helps children enjoy developing physical, emotional, social or academic skills.
The Parents' Choice Classic Award is given to material that has earned our highest honors and that, for at least five years, has maintained its original excellence. The Classic Award indicates the product, program or experience has stood the test of time.
