Story Time. Are you serious?(Too Young?)

[Radiationsickman]

Jesus Christ. My parents used to be crazy strict with age restrictions on games. Up until I was 13 I couldn't play anything that was rater 15+ and I was only allowing play anything rated 18+ when I was 15.

HAHA, wow.
I was allowed to play them at the respective age the ratings said!
My first game was Duke Nukem (not 3d) because my parents were a little bit of gamers too.
Then a few years later one of my father's colleague's pirated the first CoD, i got to play that one too.
UNTILL, at a family meeting i told my uncle about it (he's a gamer too) and my grandmother heard about it.
She got mad at my parents and i wasn't allowed to play violent games anymore (it wasn't like i ONLY played violent games but...).
Then later at school when Halo came out, all my friends had it and i wasn't allowed to play anything.
When i got to high school i felt screwed over by elementary school kids...
Because after that conversation with my grandmother they only listen to the ratings on the boxes.
Luckily i had piracy and could sneak in games on my PC anyways, my father would still support me as long as my mother wouldn't find out.

 

[Denamic]

With decent genes and parenting, it really shouldn't even be a problem.
Violent games and such isn't actually the brain poison people seem to think it is.
It's just that it can be if the parent isn't there to set things straight.
In fact, with good parenting, violent and scary games can be used as a tool for enabling a better ability to distinguish reality from fiction.
I, for example, grew up on horror flicks like Aliens, Friday the 13th, etc., and action movies like Rambo and Robocop.
I also stopped believing in santa, the tooth fairy, bogeymen under the bed, and so on, when I was around 7.

 

[Malkavian]

Honestly, I think OP overreacts. When I was aroun7 or so, I played Doom and Heretic, etc. Violent games. And I am not the slightest negatively effected by it.

It's not a question of the ratin and the child's age. It is a question of the parent taking 2 minutes of their time to find out the content of the game, and deciding whether or not their kid is mature enough to handle that content. When I eventually have kids, I won't forbid them from playing a game because of a number on a box - I will make sur eI know what the game in question is about, and then take a good hard look at my child. If they can handle it, screw the rating. Games have so many positive things to offer, that I¨ll encourage my kids if they pick up my hobby as well, not deny them the stuff I had.

 

[Korolev]

I played Goldeneye when I was 10 years old, and I didn't suffer for it. Neither did my brother. I have never hit another human being, ever, and I have no desire to. I do not own a gun, and I have no need nor any desire to. I don't even swear. I have a post-graduate degree. I do not take drugs or drink any alcohol.

Some kids can handle violent video games. I sure could. Some can't. It's up to the parents to know how mature their child is. I was exceptionally mature as a kid, and a strong believer in the social contract. When I was 10, I was smart enough to know that a game is just a game, and that the behaviour exhibited by video game characters is not appropriate in the real world.

I'll agree that 8 years old is a bit young for a violent video game. But as for 10 years old... it didn't harm me one bit, nor several of my friends. I don't think a violent video game has the capacity to turn a kid violent, PROVIDED that the child is raised in a good way. During my childhood, my parents would routinely speak to me of morality, law, justice, the social contract, and moral philosophy. They taught me well, well enough that no movie, game or any amount of peer pressure could make me succumb to drugs or violence or gang activity.

Then again, most kids these days are horrible little cretins without a shred of respect for their elders, society, law and the social contract. Actually, come to think of it, it was like that back in my day as well. In fact, it's probably always been like that. So yes, don't give violent video games to kids as a general rule, but also be aware that some kids can handle it, and its up to the parents to know which kids can and which kids can't.

 

[zHellas]

The fact that your parents wouldn't let you watch the Simpsons when you were 8 explains a lot.

It's perfectly fine to me.
I played GTA 3 when I was 8, I watched rated R movies even before I was 8 and the reason my parents let me do those things is because they knew I could handle it.
Besides, shielding kids from rated R stuff does more harm than good in the long run.

Yeah, I first played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City when I was 11.

Also, I like Let's Do This! the best.

 

[Acton Hank]

The fact that your parents wouldn't let you watch the Simpsons when you were 8 explains a lot.

It's perfectly fine to me.
I played GTA 3 when I was 8, I watched rated R movies even before I was 8 and the reason my parents let me do those things is because they knew I could handle it.
Besides, shielding kids from rated R stuff does more harm than good in the long run.

Yeah, little kids running around swearing isn't annoying at all.

And shielding kids (-13) deals more harm than good in the long run?

My point is that most of the time, little kids who aren't allowed to play or watch rated R stuff sneak off and do it anyway without their parents knowing and can get the wrong idea.

And speaking from personal experience (Little 9 year old sister, her friends, my 7 year old cousins...) little kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.

Personally I think not enough parents take the time to sit and explain certain things to their children.

Like Sex for example:
Maybe the reason we have so many teenage pregnancies these days is that parents don't take the time to sit down and talk about this stuff and kids go out and find out about it the hard way.

That's just what I think.

I think he's overreacting. I have a 9 year old sister who loves everything zombie and is a joyful individual with lots of friends and behaves well in front of strangers.

PS: Kids don't swear because movies and games tell them to but because nobody gives them a good reason not to do so, it's always stupid reasons like: "Because I say so".

 

[KaosuHamoni]

Hell, I'm not allowed DR2, and I'm getting on 16!

In all seriousness though, it doesn't surprise me at all. I have see 5 year olds playing GTA:SA, so year =/ Its called bad parenting.

And, for the record, I am allowed 18's, but they have to be checked, researched and verified by my parents, and no is no, there is no caving. I suppose that's what good parenting, and I'm sure as hell I'm glad I've got it.

 

[Beech]

I played Mortal Kombat with my dad when I was around 5-6 years old and was allowed to play GTA and Max Payne and other stuff when I was very young too. I have never even hit anyone in my entire life.
If your parents raise you to be a sensible person, it doesn't matter if you've played violent videogames when you were young. From what OP wrote she seemed pretty familiar with the game, so she might have researched it. If not, she should have, but letting your children play violent video games does not equal bad parenting. Not giving a shit about what your children do does.

 

[PunkZERO]

2 games both rated MA15+ (Aus, they'd be R 18+ elsewhere yeah?)

Still lucky xD

In Germany, where I live, Dead Rising 2 got indexed which means it may not be sold or advertised publicly so you gotta walk to special stores with separated "18+"-sections and look through all the pr0n to get it xD

Black Ops will be released "regularly" but it will be Rated "18" and nonetheless be cut (which doesn't affect me, for I'm gonna import it anyways, however, I gotta think that over for Activision stated that German Players importing the US or UK Versions won't be able to buy DLC for that version -.-)


@topic: I really don't think that an 8 year old should play EITHER of those two games.

 

[Sephychu]

Case by case topic.

Shit doesn't bother some kids. If it didn't bother that kid, why set an arbitrary limit on what he can and can't do?

 

[Nimzar]

Well, the mother seemed to have some idea of what was in the game. This suggests to me that she at least pays a little attention to what sort of media her kids are consuming. This is more than most parents. If she makes sure to communicate with her kids about what they are watching/playing and takes an interactive role in their game time then the M rated games for a nine-year-old may not be too bad. That said, more child friendly games are probably still the better choice.

 

[ConfusedCrib]

Can't believe people have an issue with this, when's the last time someone was hurt because of video games?

 

[Seneschal]

Yes, the first few posts shocked me as well. The entire point of fighting against the proposed California videogame law is that parents have the right to choose for their kids, and not the state, the public, or certain judgemental individuals.

Generalized ratings systems serve only to guide and inform the parent; since the system takes into consideration some abstract "average kid" for whom the content is inappropriate, parents must still have the power to decide that their kid is mature enough - they know him better than the rating system. If this system becomes a law, it begins to limit civil liberties.

 

[Spinozaad]

Children aren't stupid. They might be born tabula rasa, but that does not mean they'll remain blank slates upon which any impression is engraved as reality.

The kid is somewhere between the age of 8 - 10. I was playing BattleChess on the computer when I was ten (that computer was very... archaic) and, at my cousin's, had been playing Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem 3D at an even younger age.

Not once was I phased. I knew it was fake, not real. This kid might be no exception.

The moralist who suggests that there's an arbitrary level at which people can experience reality is, in my eyes, completely deluded.

While I wouldn't advise letting kids watch Saw, due to its graphic depiction of closer-to-reality horror, I see no problem with kids playing a zombie game.

 

[SangRahl]

This is harder for me to take a stance on than I thought it'd be. My only hope is that the parent knows what she's having her son play, and does more than the cursory glance over his shoulder during play. (Let's face it, all childhood gamers have developed parental radar and can tap a pause button as quick as a cobra snaps at a mouse.)

My initial reaction is that she's clueless, and just provides what he's asked for in their random conversations chock full of his "I want"s and "pretty please"s. But, my internal advocate pipes up and I have to try and give her the benefit of the doubt... at least until I piped up and asked her directly if she'd noticed the rating stamp, or seen any lengthy gameplay footage (and not just a preview... but a good 15min+ of gameplay and FMV time).

I can see both sides, though... My 4-year-old daughter's favorite TV Show for several weeks was 'Drake Game', otherwise known as "Uncharted 1&2". She was interested in the characters, was invested in the game in all the tense spots, and had a ball telling me "try again, daddy" whenever I had the screen go black and white. Now, she's all about Batman. From the pre-JLA seasons of "The Batman" cartoon (a great melange of classic Batman and updated character designs... with copious sprinklings of comic book references interspersed), to Nolan's "Batman Returns" and "Dark Knight". Heck, she's enthralled by Arkham Asylum when I get the itch to pop the disk back in the PS3. (except the Scarecrow sequences... those almost freak me out)

Then, there's my niece who is so empathic that when she sees pain, she practically feels it herself. She can't sit through a normal Disney animated movie, especially the classics. If there's creepy music and spooky lighting, she'll practically curl into a ball. If there are guns, or explosions, or anything even mildly considered frightening, she's not going to handle it... and she's 10. Her minor amount gaming time (~1-2hrs a day) is taken up with "Wizards 101", and her favorite TV program is Netflix streamed "Avatar: The Last Airbender" which I take as a sign that she's starting to mature past her mental blocks. (her halloween costume is a self-made Kioshi Warrior armor outfit).

I expect that when my daughter is my niece's age, she'll be able to handle SOME higher-rated games... but nothing before I've already put it through its paces. Perhaps not GTA or CoD/MoH, but certainly Prince of Persia titles and perhaps MGS or Assassin's Creed. Though, I expect she'll still have more fun watching, than having to learn how to play. But, she's already begun systematically killing off Sackboys by the dozen, so we'll see. (it's hard to hit more than one button at a time with tiny hands...)

 

[CAPTCHA]

I don't see the problem here. I was under the impression that age certificates were suggested guidelines, not strict laws. If the parent is ok with letting her kids play games or watch films above the recomended age then that's fine. I don't condone store selling these games to minors without the parents concent however.

 

[Grygor]

I stood there speechless as this person just offered her 8-9 year old son 2 games both rated MA15+ (Aus, they'd be R 18+ elsewhere yeah?) I couldn't figure out what the fuck just happened. She seemed to know at least a little bit about the games (she got the names right, thats more then most parents) yet offered her 8 year old freaking Dead Rising. Man I wasn't even allowed to watch the Simpsons when I was 8.

Now did that boy have is mum whipped or is she crazy ignorant, or just a bad parent? Or am I crazy in thinking something is wrong here?

You're crazy; there's nothing wrong here. Don't judge other people's parenting by your own personal upbringing.

My parents took me to see the 1984 Nightmare on Elm Street on the big screen when I was 5. That doesn't make them bad parents - it just means they had different standards of what was appropriate for than children than your parents did.

 

[Kurokami]

2 games both rated MA15+ (Aus, they'd be R 18+ elsewhere yeah?)

Still lucky xD

In Germany, where I live, Dead Rising 2 got indexed which means it may not be sold or advertised publicly so you gotta walk to special stores with separated "18+"-sections and look through all the pr0n to get it xD

Wow, sounds like my kind of shop. ^_^

 

[gabe12301]

What? Do you think the kid is going to go on a zombie killing spree or something?