Poll:What are your thoughts on children playing M rated games?

[Miss G.]

I don't like it, but that's because I hate hearing 9 year olds in CoD lobbies.

Honestly though, all the game stores around here actually card people...that is: they do what they're supposed to do by going with the game rating system and attempting to keep under-aged kids from playing M-rated games. Now I don't think an M-Rated game is going to turn some kid into a murderer (as we all know almost all the evidence on the subject says it won't), but still I can't help but heave a sigh when I'm standing in line behind a mother buying her 11 year old kid Grand Theft Auto.

But then again, to be honest I really just don't like kids in general.

My thoughts are its mostly fine, depending on what the game has that warrants the M on the box and if the child has proven they can handle what that rating entails. Otherwise, kids should get age-appropriate games; its what the rating systems are for.

I agree that the problem is ignorant parents/guardians who get these games for their underage kids and then wanna get them banned or something, as if they would take their little kids to see an R rated movie under the same circumstances. There was a soccer mom who did just that and took her 3 year olds to see Hell's Half-Acre since it was filmed in her town and was absolutely shocked at the gore and brutality against children in the film (its an R rated movie called Hell's Half-Acre, what did you expect, fluffy kittens and puppy-dogs?) and then had the audacity to personally harass the film maker because it scared her kids. She's like that with video games as well and it really rustles my jimmies when like-minded parents go blaming stuff on mature-rated media that their kids more than likely wouldn't have access to in the first place without these adults blindly buying it for them. If you need to be carded to get something that your small child wants, you should STOP right then and there and really think about why. Ask the guy who's carding you if you're still confused.

 

[omega 616]

Here are some more hypocrites, "games don't cause violence but don't let little Timmy play them, he'll go psycho!"

I was playing resident evil and the first ever gta before I was 10 and I was not even phased by it. Watch the games violence bull shit episode, little kid plays fps games then gets given a real gun and cries... His mum is the one saying he knows the difference between fantasy and reality, she knows better than the people in this thread!

I don't know why you contradict yourself but stop, pick a side... Games cause violence, yes or no. Sound like David Cameron in here "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"

 

[clippen05]

Heavily depends on the game. For example, my parents were fine with me playing Halo and Call of Duty 4 and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 when I was in middle school, but when I asked to get GTAIV they said no. (I later bought in on Games on Demand... I'm such a rebel)

Violence (Not heavy gore) and Mature Language are somethings I'd be okay with having one of my children experience at 12; let's face it, kids learn curse words fast. And as for violence, well, kids are exposed to that quickly too. But sexual content, gore, and drug use should be held off till maybe age 16? I think the ESRB system should be reworked if you ask me. Games with minimal gore like Halo and Call of Duty I think should be made teen rating, but games like GTAIV and Saints Row should stay at 17 or maybe 16.

Maybe that's an American perspective though. Most would say sex is less harmful then violence. In that case, I would just make everything rated T except for games that go extreme in the categories; they would stay M or Ao

 

[AntiChri5]

However, it really comes down to the child, the game, and the rules and restrictions the parents have. I do think parents should be well-aware of what their child is getting into, and the child should at least be partially monitored for any inappropriate behavior (or exposure to inappropriate behavior), but, on the whole, I think this should be taken as a case-by-case basis, not on a universal level. I mean, I know parents who let their younger children play so long as they (the parent) is playing with them or monitoring them, and those kids are more well-behaved than half the adults playing the game.

Everything that needs to be said, right here.

This is something we can't really have a standard for. Too many different kids, too many different parents. What works for one won't work for others. All we can really do is stamp a vague guide on the front to give parents a basic idea, then let them decide.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

The OP should have included that no under 18 person are allowed to vote here,
because that is obvioulsy what has happen here, according to the voting results.

 

[CymbaIine]

I think their parents should sit down and play it for themselves first, truth is parents will mostly just say Yes/No to be done with it and not be further burdened by parenting.
It's still no fool proof way but it is better then the state of things now where 90% of parents don't check or know about age ratings.

That's exactly what I do. As a lot of people have said it depends on the child and the game.

As for keeping kids away from these things until their mid teens, well good luck with that.

With all the smart phones and tablets nowadays parents have got little chance of monitoring their kids viewing once they hit high school. Even if I am tech savvy and vigilant little Johnnys Mum might not give a toss/have a clue and he's taking his porn/violence filled i-pad into school for all to see.

I'm not saying parents should abdicate all responsibility, just they should be realistic.

 

[DragonStorm247]

Aside from maybe the higher tier M rated games and really little kids, I really don't think we give kids enough credit. Understanding the difference between reality and fantasy is an extremely basic concept, I've personally had it down since I was about four. I may be under seventeen anymore, but I remember when I was, and I remember how the arguments how games were supposedly bad for me were frankly just absolutely insulting.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

I was killing hookers and stealing cars in GTA when I was like 9 years old and I turned out just fine. I'm pretty damn sure most kids can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. I know I could.

 

[spartan231490]

Let's, as a society, let parents do their fucking job and not micro-manage it. Raise your fucking kids right, don't expect society to do it for you.

 

[Mrkillhappy]

It really depends on the game for me because some games such as MGS2, Devil May Cry, Deus Ex, and TF2 I would have little problem letting a 9 year old play. Something like the Splatterhouse reboot or Manhunt not so much. Though I would also factor in how the child handles violent media (example if they are already violent or not).

 

[Bertylicious]

I watched Total Recall as a child and got really freaked out by the bit where they're in a vacuum and their eyes are all bugged out. I had to go sleep in my mums bed.

It was important though as it gave a firm foundation for not being a pussy about watching someone have their arms ripped off in an elevator, which was a significant handicap for 8 year old me whenever we went to shops and I was scared of getting sucked under on the escalator. I knew I'd be safe as long as Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't there.

so in conclusion; hyper violent action films should be mandatory for kids

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Anything negative we say comes back at us, since I guarantee all of us have owned or played an M-Rated game before they were the targeted age.

About everyone turns out fine with it. I can't let the vocal minority sell out the entire demographic.

 

[AT God]

If a parent is aware of their child's maturity and believes they can handle it, I don't think it is wrong, but I think they need to be at least 10, preferably older.

I got my first M game when I was 12, it was Half-Life 2 (primarily for the Counter-Strike: Source that came with it).

Prior to that, I had only played M games a few times, (one being Counter-Strike 1.5)

My first experience with an M game was GTA3 and I personally had a few bad dreams about it and didn't play it after that. I was way too young to play it, my older brother had rented it and I snuck in a few plays and had nightmares about the extremely realistic headshot effects where people would have their heads vanish and then stumble around spurting ketchup until falling down.

Also, you shouldn't be allowed to own a microphone until you are an adult, I started playing online games that had headset support when I was 10 and ten years later I still don't use a microphone.

 

[freaper]

I was pretty horrified by blood and gore in movies when I was younger, however, games didn't seem to have that effect on me. As long as the parents know their child, and understand which games he or she can tackle, let 'em have at it.

 

[krazykidd]

Personally, I'm fine if a 13-14 year old plays M rated games as long as they know the difference between reality and fantasy and the parent knows what game they're buying their child. I don't believe 9 year olds should be playing M rated games.
So yeah, what are your thoughts?

Why would you care , is the parents of the kid in question says it's okay . I mean isn't that what parents are for?

OT: i don't care . If it was my kid it would depend on his maturity ,and if i was a parent if i judge it's okay from him to play a game , no one can tell me otherwise .

 

[Robert Marrs]

Depends on the game. Halo for example does not really deserve the rating it gets so I let my brother play it. That and skyrim. But at the end of the day if you have enough common sense to teach a kid the difference between fantasy and reality and you know not to give them a game that you think might scare them or be to violent just dont give it to them. If you dont know anything about video games just play it safe and use the esrb.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Anything negative we say comes back at us, since I guarantee all of us have owned or played an M-Rated game before they were the targeted age.

About everyone turns out fine with it. I can't let the vocal minority sell out the entire demographic.

exactly, hell i remember playing RE 1/DOOM/ff7 all before the age of 6-7 years old, i may have been scared shitless a few times but i knew they were all just games, enjoyable ones at that, and judging someone purely by their age rather than their maturity and able to process things that are "common sense" to most people is pretty insulting when you generalize the majority for the mistakes of the minority.

and yes, i know that some kids have squeaky voices online, boohoo, mute the kid and play on, hell most kids i've played with are 10x more helpful than the other people on the team, they shout out enemy locations(this is more related to tf2)/if they have an uber ready/if they'll try to flank a sentry within the next few seconds; it's all really handy shit compared to the douchebags who shout out sexist/ageist(? is that a fucking term?)/racist shit half the time just because they have a deeper voice.

edit: not to mention, they are probably seeing these things if not 10x worse at school, i can't begin to describe some of the shit that went on at school that didn't even phase me when compared to some video game shit that people call "too mature".

 

[SoranMBane]

As long as the parent knows their child well enough to know what they can handle, I don't see how letting them play a violent game should be a problem. I mean, my first M-rated game was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, at the age of 12 (my favourite weapon was the katana, because it could cut people's heads off). I didn't turn into some murdering lunatic because of it, and neither would most kids in that sort of scenario.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think it's irresponsible parenting. I mean sure 13-16 is kind of a grey area, but any kid under 10 should not be playing those games.