Under federal legislation introduced yesterday, airlines that show adult-themed movies on overhead screens would be required to create seating sections to shield children from graphic content.

The legislation was prompted by complaints from parents and others who said airlines were increasingly showing movies and television reruns with sexual content and violence to in-flight audiences that include children, said a spokesman for Representative Heath Shuler, Democrat of North Carolina, one of two authors of bill, the Family Friendly Flights Act.

Andrew Whalen, the spokesman, said circumstances made it difficult for parents to do their own policing. “When you have a captive audience and a giant screen, how are you going to tell your 5-year-old not to look?” Mr. Whalen said.

Children’s advocacy groups and flight attendants assert that young people are subjected to movies rated R and PG-13 despite efforts by airlines to edit the films.