Two Experts Tell How to Pick the Right Tape for Your Child : Cassettes: Research is the key for parents sorting through the maze of new titles on the market.

Summer vacation is a great time of the year for kids, but a tough one for many parents, who have to deal with them all day, every day.

How do you keep youngsters entertained? Kidvid is one obvious solution.

Among the flood of new titles in the stores: Strand VCI’s “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends,” the Lyons Group’s “Barney’s Campfire Singalong,” Legacy’s “Super Speller Strategy,” MCA’s “Rock & Read” and Hanna-Barbara’s “Raiders of the Lost and Found” (featuring Yogi and his crew). Family Home Entertainment’s animated “The Red Shoes” is due July 12.

But walking into the children’s section of a home-video store, facing shelves full of mostly unfamiliar titles, can be an unnerving experience for many parents.

Which ones will the kids like? Is this one too sophisticated? Is that one too violent? Who’s Barney and the Backyard Gang? Who’s Lamb Chop?

Even for longtime parents, it’s hard to keep up with all the new titles. For new parents, it’s tough to know where to start.

Here are some guidelines from two experts on children’s video: Loretta MacAlpine, children’s video writer for the trade journal Video Insider, and Nancy Steingard, vice president of acquisitions for HiTops Video, one of the industry’s foremost kidvid companies.

Reviews. Regularly reading reviews of new children’s videos in women’s and family magazines and in newspapers is one of the best ways to keep up with the flow of new product and to help form judgments. MacAlpine recommended Family Circle, Redbook, Woman’s Day, Parent’s Choice Magazine and, particularly, a New York-based publication called Children’s Video Report.

Word-of-mouth. “Parents should talk to other parents and find out what they’ve seen and watched,” Steingard suggested. “Find out what they recommend. They can often tell you about content and that will help you make judgments.”

Outside sources. Often, teachers and video-store personnel are good sources, MacAlpine said. “Pre-school teachers sometimes have seen a lot of videos,” she added. “Check with video-store people and find ones that know the market--whose judgment you can trust.”

Libraries. According to MacAlpine, some libraries have children’s cassettes--often for free. Library personnel will probably have screened the titles and most likely can offer guidance in making selections.

Video companies. The market is flooded with companies putting out kidvid titles. But there are a handful of companies whose track records suggest that you can be fairly certain of getting quality. Disney, MacAlpine said, is the company best known for first-rate kidvid. Others that usually put out high-quality product, she said, are HiTops, Celebrity, Hanna Barbara, Family Home Entertainment and Random House.

Awards. Some cassette packages bear stickers showing that the title has won an award. “If it’s an award given by a recognizable organization--one that you’ve heard of and respect--you might be more inclined to give that one a try,” Steingard said.

Synopses. The descriptions on the back of the video box can be helpful. “Don’t just trust the pictures on the box,” Steingard warned. “They can be flashy and misleading. Take time to read the copy on the back. Sometimes it can be a decent guide. But read it with some skepticism because some of what you’ll read is just hype. But some of it is fine. Sometimes that’s all you have.”

According to MacAlpine, about 80% of the kidvid titles are animated. If you don’t want your child to watch animation, you really have to sift carefully through the titles. In many cases, the non-animation pickings are very slim.

MacAlpine advises parents to be somewhat adventurous in their selections and to take advantage of the incredible variety in the kidvid market. Her rule No. 1 is to avoid renting or buying what kids see on Saturday morning TV.

“They can see that every week,” she said. “Look for original programming, for what they can’t see on TV. . . . The real advantage to being familiar with what’s on the market is that you find out about that interesting and different new video--one that you might overlook if you didn’t know to look for it.”

Most kidvid titles, Steingard said, are in the $10-$15 range. But often you’ll find some that are well under $10. Beware of the cheapies, she warned.

“When you see something that costs $3.99, who can resist it?” she said. “But unless you know about the title, you may get burned. There are a lot of fly-by-night companies out there exploiting the market. You may get it home and find that it’s horrible quality. Ask yourself, ‘Why is it that cheap?’ Generally because there’s something wrong with it somehow.”

What happens if you do make a poor judgment--if, in spite of all your precautions, you buy a cartoon for your 3-year-old that’s somewhat violent and more suitable for a 7-year-old?

MacAlpine suggests screening whatever you buy before showing it to your kids. “Particularly with small children, take the time to check it out first to make sure it’s not too sophisticated and violent for them,” she suggested, noting that the recommended age range listed on the cassette shouldn’t be regarded as gospel. “You know your child. Maybe there’s something in the video that’s OK for other children but not yours. Maybe there’s something that’s perfectly fine for an 8-year-old but for not for your 3-year-old.

“You may say you don’t have time, but aren’t your kids worth that extra time?”