Poll: Did your parents care what games you played?

[Sakash]

I was always surprised growing up when i heard one of my friends say that they weren't allowed to watch a certain show/movie, or play a certain game because their parents thought it was 'inappropriate'.

My parents were kinda strict on how long i stayed out, where i went, the sort of people i hung out with. But mostly they tried to make sure i respected them, my family and myself. That i knew the worth of a dollar, and just not to become a loser in general.
Which is why they laugh when they hear things like 'videogames make people violent'. They believe the reason why some kids go out of control is because of the parents and only the parents.

But OT: I remember playing and watching the mos violent and horrific stuff growing up (hell my dad sat me down to watch Hellraiser with him when i was 6, and would laugh when i would get scared), but they would always remind me that it wasnt real, it was make-believe and if you think that you could get away with doing the thing they do in movies or games then you really are an idiot.
So even now at 24, even with all the stuff i was exposed to i have to say im very well adjusted

So an fellow escapists have any similar experiences?

 

[Kevlar Eater]

My mom didn't really care what movies I watched, as long as they weren't overtly sexual. As for videogames, she did not care at all.

 

[Kae]

I was monitored for a while but when I turned 10 and realized that I always found a way to watch and play all the gory stuff they gave up, and after they gave up I stopped caring for all that gory stuff and started to look for what I actually enjoyed so it worked out fine

 

[PunkyMcGee]

my mom thought (and still does) that Mature rating means adult.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

My parents were a lot like your parents, except lately they've been going down the "videogames are bad" route.

 

[Dags90]

No. I saw my first rated R movie[footnote]It was The Craft, it's so bad it's good.[/footnote] when I was about 7 or 8 and saw Titanic in theaters as a kid. My after school care also had an arcade version of Primal Rage. I wasn't particularly interested in violent video games though and I've always found movies that try to use gore as horror kind of silly.

Edit: We did have a strict rule about always renting (90's!) at least one multiplayer game before any single player options could be taken. So in that sense they did care, just not about gore or anything like that.

 

[Kakashi on crack]

My mom checked the ESRB rating. As long as the words "strong sexual content" "Gore" and "Strong language" didn't come up, she didn't mind me playing it.

The sexual content thing because I had this rule applied to me until I was 14, the gore part because I play video games in an area where the rest of my family can see it, the gore makes her sick, and the language because we've been raised to only use language if its appropriate, and even then only if we are older.

I personally think people who are seriously effected by violent things really are either not thinking, or don't have the mental capacity (whether it be intelligence wise, or they are just plain crazy) to realize its a game. Now, that being said I feel violent games tone down our sensitivity to violent subjects, but even then, we have enough common sense to know that said violent things are morally "bad" and that we shouldn't do them.

 

[Berethond]

my mom thought (and still does) that Mature rating means adult.

Which it basically does.

 

[PunkyMcGee]

my mom thought (and still does) that Mature rating means adult.

Which it basically does.

By adult I mean pornographic.

 

[Marter]

For some reason, they cared more about movies than games. I could play GTA3 at age 12, but couldn't watch The Matrix until I was 14. (And The Matrix is 14A in Canada, go figure.)

After I was 14, they stopped caring at all about censoring my media enjoyment.

 

[Stryc9]

My parents didn't really care what I played for the most part. I had the shareware version of Wolfenstien 3D when 8. They only really drew the line at games like Leisure Suit Larry and Spellcasting 101.

 

[Soluncreed]

It always depended on what the game was. GTA was a big no, but I was playing Halo the day it came out. Unreal Tournament too.

 

[AnonymousTipster]

They cared when I was very young, but around the time I got to be 12 or 13 they left it up to my judgment.

 

[Julianking93]

No. They never care nor have ever cared.

They like the violent games. Hell, my mum fucking loves Dead Space right now[footnote]Sorry, EA. That ad campaign is void now ;D[/footnote] and all sorts of bloody games. Her favourite currently is Silent Hill 2.
So no, they've never really cared about the games I play, unless they themselves want to play it.

 

[Original Bubs]

My parents monitered which games I got through them. As long as they didn't provide me with the games they thought were bad, then they had enough trust to let me do whatever I wanted with elsewhere, which was really more restricting than if they had been constantly monitering me. That trust approach is a great for a guilt trip on a person like me.

 

[Astoria]

I think my childhood got a little screwy. At the age where kids start to get curious about playing more violent games and such my mind was way too occupied with family issues that were going on. By the time they were finished I was mature enough to handle these things so I think I skipped that whole grey area in childhood.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Not in the least. My dad let me play Doom when I was 5.

 

[Plurralbles]

Yes. Doen't mean I didn't play them.

 

[Dags90]

This is a fun topic for an old guy like me. My answer? I could play whatever I wanted. I even taught my mom how to play Pitfall. So there wasn't really any question of inappropriate content in those days.

I think this is also part of why my parents didn't care. The graphics even on the N64 were pretty lame for gore. It wasn't until the PS2 or so that blood spatter started to seem at all gory.