You've seen the sticker: "Parental Advisory Explicit Content." That black-and-white blip on music packaging and in online music stores might be small, but it comes with some major baggage. In fact, it's been almost 25 years since the label was first used, and yet many parents still don't know exactly what it means. Here's the lowdown.

The parental advisory labeling system was created in 1985 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It lays out general guidelines for whether or not an album is inappropriate for kids. An album gets the label if it contains "strong language or depictions of violence, sex or substance abuse" to such an extent as to merit "parental notification." However, the RIAA goes on to state that the "context of the artist performing the material, as well as the expectations of the artist's audience" and "contemporary cultural morals and standards" should be taken into account. In short, the decision to label an album is subjective and depends largely on context and what's generally acceptable as moral.

The label program itself is voluntary on the part of record labels and not required by law. So just because an album doesn't have a sticker does not mean it's automatically kid-friendly. Likewise, stickered albums might be just fine by one parent, but absolutely offensive and inappropriate to the next. It all depends on your values system and what you consider offensive.

For example, take Pink's recent album, Funhouse. Her label, Sony BMG's LaFace Records, chose to put a "strong language" warning on the cover. (It's Sony BMG's policy to add additional information, including language warnings, to the basic explicit content label.) The singer does use some expletives, but to some parents, her strong, independent image might be preferable to that of an objectified Britney Spears. In the end, it's your call.