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I went to a 7-year old's CoD themed b-day party
- Thread starter The Lamp
- Start date
CloudStrife_ca
Member
I dunno its kinda new territory, games we're definitely not as sophisticated when I was a kid so its a little different now. I'm also Canadian, so its a bit different here gun wielding and guns being given out at banks or bought without alot of red tape isn't as common. To say it doesn't exist is absurd but its not as common.
I don't think my daughter at 7 yrs old would have understood how to play CoD control wise, I only got her started on the NES at the age of 5. As a parent I think I'd be more upset with her hearing how people talk to each other in lobbies.
I can't see her ever wanting to play CoD much, shes older now anyways. I think it comes down to each child on an individual level. Are they obsessing over the fun they're having playing? the competitive play with friends both online and people they know? Thats good, imo those are the right reasons like alot of people here probably getting together for a few games of Goldeneye on the N64 with 4 friends playing with the golden gun back in the day.
If they are obsessing with the violence, the brutality, the killing thats probably not good. Its really up to me as a parent to be involved enough to know why (hypothetically) my kid is really set on the series she's playing, to make an informed decision.
I don't think my daughter at 7 yrs old would have understood how to play CoD control wise, I only got her started on the NES at the age of 5. As a parent I think I'd be more upset with her hearing how people talk to each other in lobbies.
I can't see her ever wanting to play CoD much, shes older now anyways. I think it comes down to each child on an individual level. Are they obsessing over the fun they're having playing? the competitive play with friends both online and people they know? Thats good, imo those are the right reasons like alot of people here probably getting together for a few games of Goldeneye on the N64 with 4 friends playing with the golden gun back in the day.
If they are obsessing with the violence, the brutality, the killing thats probably not good. Its really up to me as a parent to be involved enough to know why (hypothetically) my kid is really set on the series she's playing, to make an informed decision.
Well i doubt he would get a cake with titties or a penis tho!
But yeah i get what you mean unless it's full on porn or sex etc, whats so bad about showing naked bodies in media? That does not ofcourse mean naked stuff should be shown everywhere but it should not be a sort of crazy taboo like now.
If gore is fine why not that? Like killing people in a game etc is more normal to show than seeing a naked body makes no sense.
StickSoldier
Member
Is it wrong that I wanted a Doom themed birthday party when I was kid? Of course my parents weren't willin to go with my requests so we just had a GI joe one instead.
There's a lot of this argument, but that's like saying if your kid doesn't one day shoot someone dead, you did a good job as a parent. I should think the bar is higher than that.
CloudStrife_ca
Member
In 10 yrs it probably will be fine. Look at how TV went from wholesome in like the 60's, Leave it to Beaver type stuff to the trash thats on now? Maury, even the news... I saw a show about Catfishing the other day too with episodes with titles like "bitch got played" If you've ever seen the movie "Idiocracy" I'm almost certain thats where were all headed as a society, no matter where you're from.
As an educator, yes, I think COD is inappropriate for children in grades two or three. I've worked with lots of kids who cite COD or GTA as their favourite franchises and it can be somewhat alarming, but not surprising. I think the language in something like GTA V to be arguably even more of an issue as it can be emulated much more easily on the playground. As GTA V has a *lot* of coarse and racial-based language, even if used satirically, it can have a dramatic effect, especially when the series/products are deemed cool and mature by young children.
I don't have the magical answer on how to best deal with these situations for parents or teachers, but the M-rated games of today are certainly far more "adult" across the board than they were in the early 90's. Games like Doom and Mortal Kombat were the scapegoats of their time, etc. but certainly do not compare to the violence or language used in something like GTA.
Fully agree with the below as well. Kids are generally more intelligent, perceptive, and clever than some give them credit for. Media can have a tremendous influence, positive or negative. I'm not for censorship, but more awareness and discourse on the effect violence and language can have on developing minds certainly seems pragmatic. As mentioned earlier in the thread, murder is hardly the only outcome to determine negative influence gleaned from playing/watching mature content.
I don't have the magical answer on how to best deal with these situations for parents or teachers, but the M-rated games of today are certainly far more "adult" across the board than they were in the early 90's. Games like Doom and Mortal Kombat were the scapegoats of their time, etc. but certainly do not compare to the violence or language used in something like GTA.
Fully agree with the below as well. Kids are generally more intelligent, perceptive, and clever than some give them credit for. Media can have a tremendous influence, positive or negative. I'm not for censorship, but more awareness and discourse on the effect violence and language can have on developing minds certainly seems pragmatic. As mentioned earlier in the thread, murder is hardly the only outcome to determine negative influence gleaned from playing/watching mature content.
MrCompletely
Member
No. GI Joe is benign, there's no death, blood, or overt terror. CoD is made for mature audiences, it is not appropriate for impressionable kids, full stop.
I have an 8 year old daughter and do my best to regulate the media she consumes, but inevitably, she will be exposed to things I can't moderate via friends, school, and other avenues.
To a degree, she needs to understand how to navigate cultural stimulus and process her own opinions, but glorified/glamorized depictions of war, death, genocide, terrorism, dismemberment, and brutal violence - which are all in CoD games, are not good stimuli for a young impressionable mind without a worldly point of view. Although kids are frequently much smarter than they get credit for, they still need a lot of guidance parsing fact from fiction across all aspects of media exposure.
grfunkulus
Banned
lol
WTF
They'll probably get him an AR-15 when he turns 16.
Lol, 16? Try 11. Around the time of the election when the NRA was in full advertising mode, I remember seeing a commercial or something with a father who bought his young daughter a cut-down, pink version of an AR-15. I was flabbergasted but really shouldn't have been.
And much as I love COD (and I really do), it's probably inappropriate for anyone under the age of 11 or 12. Still, I would rather have them playing with virtual guns than real ones. As long as the parents are in the picture, there should be someone to tell them the difference between right and wrong.
DeadManWalking
Member
Hes gonna be a good addition to Americas army to fight terrorism! Kappa
If the parents are actual parents and the kid behaves well, it shouldn't be a problem.
Heck, there are Call of Duty themed toys,shirts and Lego-like stuff to build things if he felt wrong about the kid liking and playing the game, the OP could have gone with that, rather than assume the worst and gift him Lego Marvel just because.
Heck, there are Call of Duty themed toys,shirts and Lego-like stuff to build things if he felt wrong about the kid liking and playing the game, the OP could have gone with that, rather than assume the worst and gift him Lego Marvel just because.
I have a 6 and 8 year old, and I don't even hear them talking about CoD, none of their friends play it, they all play minecraft and roblox (which has some surprisingly decent FPS games in it - for roblox).
I would bet good money that 7 year old has a 12+ year old sibling who plays it.
I would bet good money that 7 year old has a 12+ year old sibling who plays it.
TBiddy
Member
Could be, yes. But the notion that this kid will grow up to be a psycho, a killer or whatever is crazy. It's been refuted countless times, by now.
Monocle
Member
I'm seriously questioning the parents' judgment here. Who even lets a 7-year-old play CoD in the first place? Bad parenting.
Nobody's claiming the kid is going to grow up to be a psycho killer because of this one thing, but at the very least he'll almost certainly be a little more callous about violence, and his taste in media will be shaped by his fondness for war-themed games, which could tilt him in a less than ideal direction. Sometimes a small shift early in life is enough to mess up your future, or less dramatically, give you mild attitude problems or social issues.
The influence of violent media on young minds can be subtle, but it's absolutely absurd to deny that impressionable kids aren't affected at all by violence-as-entertainment.
Somehow I doubt the kid's parents are turning his game time into a learning experience by talking to him in simple terms about war and the history of human conflict.
Nobody's claiming the kid is going to grow up to be a psycho killer because of this one thing, but at the very least he'll almost certainly be a little more callous about violence, and his taste in media will be shaped by his fondness for war-themed games, which could tilt him in a less than ideal direction. Sometimes a small shift early in life is enough to mess up your future, or less dramatically, give you mild attitude problems or social issues.
The influence of violent media on young minds can be subtle, but it's absolutely absurd to deny that impressionable kids aren't affected at all by violence-as-entertainment.
Somehow I doubt the kid's parents are turning his game time into a learning experience by talking to him in simple terms about war and the history of human conflict.
Yeah how weird for people to think it's inappropriate for a kid's party to trivialize and/or glamorize warfare.
Oh for sure, the idea that playing violent games makes people violent is beyond silly. But we do know that media does have an effect on people, especially younger minds.
It's all about context. A kid who grows up playing violent video games in a loving household where they are taught compassion and empathy is going to be just fine. A kid who never has violence, sex, drugs, or whatever they see in media put into context by an adult is probably going to be at greater risk for developing anti-social behavior.
That's isn't praise or criticism for the COD birthday party. I do think it's in weird taste, but I don't think that ever turned anybody into a murderer either.
uberTerminus
Neo Member
I played Mortal Kombat when I was about that age. It depends on the kid and how the parents handle explaining the themes in game.
Let the parents decide this.
I played Blood when I was 8. My parents educated me well and explained that it's all a game and all that.
It's not rocket science.
Harmless fun.
My kid has played hundreds of hours of Titanfall 2 since it came out. We often play it together. He just turned 8 a couple months ago. He understands it's a game and the violence and dying and respawning aren't real. He's had a ton of fun playing it and getting good at it. He also had a great year in school, has other activtities he enjoys like Legos, and is very active in sports, etc. so he has a healthy balance of different things going on in his life.
Overprotective parents that coddle their children should consider instead teaching them the difference between real and make believe. Non-parents that are critical of parents for what they let their kids watch and play should mind their own damn business.
My kid has played hundreds of hours of Titanfall 2 since it came out. We often play it together. He just turned 8 a couple months ago. He understands it's a game and the violence and dying and respawning aren't real. He's had a ton of fun playing it and getting good at it. He also had a great year in school, has other activtities he enjoys like Legos, and is very active in sports, etc. so he has a healthy balance of different things going on in his life.
Overprotective parents that coddle their children should consider instead teaching them the difference between real and make believe. Non-parents that are critical of parents for what they let their kids watch and play should mind their own damn business.
Gravy Boat
Member
Is it really that different than Cowboys v Indians or Cops v Robbers?
There is a difference in playing a game with your kid and baking him a cake with grenades and rifles on it. Because it takes away the reason you like to play the games, because you like how the mechanics work, the moment to moment gameplay, and all that's left is a pretty sick example of gun fetishisation.
Do we really have to argue if it's appropriate to give your 7-year old a grenades-and-guns-birthday-cake? Seriously?
Yes. It would be the same if he got a birthday cake with a tied-up "Indian" or a Cowboy with a Tomahawk splitting his skull. Playing a game as a kid and contextualising it with things you know from society is different from that kid's parent choosing to bake a cake full of symbols of violence and death, I mean, come on.
No, it's super weird. That's way to young
Straight Edge
Member
How would feel about a bday cake with swords and a shield on it for a 7 year old boy?
Good question. I'd say if you are playing cops vs robbers like in a Saturday morning cartoon, it's fine. If your kids are playing it like The Shield or Breaking Bad...then I don't like it anymore.
Exactly how I would feel about a bday cake with pirate symbols on it: Indifferent. Because those are part of a fantasy that has no bearing on real life or the culture we live in. The kid won't be a pirate raping women when he grows up and he won't turn into a rogue knight slicing up commoners with his sword.
Meanwhile, gun violence and shootings by and of kids are an incredible problem in the United States and gun culture and the inherent fetishisation of guns that comes with it play a large part in it. Turning an eight-year-old kids' love of Ego-Shooters into a love of guns, rifles and grenades is dangerous and irresponsible, because guns aren't part of some fantasy but, living in the United States, they are possibly readily available somewhere in his or at some friends' house.
Whatever, I'd watch The Wire recast with 8 year olds.
How is playing the game not worse than a cake then?
Kids like stuff and want a birthday themed of said stuff, it's just that.
Straight Edge
Member
Studies show that violent media doesn't translate to violent behavior. COD doesn't cause the fetishizing of guns but is a symptom of it. The cake isn't the problem.
Gravy Boat
Member
I don't think having a fake weapon on the cake is the same as a depiction of someone getting an axe to the head. Did you not play with toy guns as a kid? I don't see how it's all that different.
TBiddy
Member
I agree. In the end, it comes down to the parents. If the parents make a big deal out of how scary games or movies can be, I think that has a much bigger impact on kids than letting them watch/play said scary movies/games while telling them it's not real.
ManUnkindH
Member
Plot twist: it was OP's birthday.
cucuchu
Member
I'm at kind of a weird cross-roads with this. I don't think I would feel like its inappropiate BUT I am not going to expose my kids to the kind of violence that COD presents that early in their life. It might be because of me being in the military but I would rather my kids (daughter at age 5 now and 8 month old son) hold off on being exposed to the kind of violence that is standard in our current world. Personally I do not enjoy playing COD or current-day military shooters because its not something I see as a game and just kind of mixes me up internally. High fantasy/Sci-fi violence though, I'm cool with that and my kids being exposed to it since its so seperated from reality and want my children to have a very active imagination like myself but still capable of discerning reality from fantasy.
So yeah, not my thing but I am not going to rant at the parents for it either. Its not hurting anybody and so long as their kids are capable of handling it, fine by me.
So yeah, not my thing but I am not going to rant at the parents for it either. Its not hurting anybody and so long as their kids are capable of handling it, fine by me.
"Now Timmy, make sure you hit the bastards in the gift shops who always keep up the queue for so long."
Perfect for the little 7-year old yes.
In the end though, it comes down to parenting. I did play violent games and watched violent movies at a very young age myself, luckily my parents had checked beforehand and made sure I was a kid with decent sense of self-preservation. They did not always approve of what I saw, but they knew that I was fully capable of distinguishing between reality and fantasy.
Not everyone did however. Other kids who also watched Jackass when it was popular for example thought it was a excellent idea to do just as stupid shit (without the filming etc., pre-Youtube days) as the people on the show. Their parenting was not as solid.
I will say however, as much as I enjoyed shooters and stuff as a kid, I never ever asked for a military themed birthday. That shit right there is so far as I've seen exclusive to and only the USA. Including the "wtf-you-put-this-much-effort-into-this?"-cakes.
Camp Freddie
Member
Guns and grenades are a bit too much for a 7 yo birthday cake, but I know a lot of kids like to play at being soldiers.
The problem is that this is CoD. And not even the heroic kill the nazi's, CoD of old, but the modern Black Ops variant.
This is the equivalent of Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Full Metal Jacket in depictions of war. It's not the cartoonish guns and soldiers of Titanfall or Halo.
This is a game which depicts you in 1st person getting your hands torn off by a robot and leaving bloody, spurting stumps.
A 7-yo kid shouldn't know what this game is, let alone be so obsessed with it that it goes on his birthday cake.
There is no way that parents use THIS game as a responsible way to guide their child through the violence of war.
The problem is that this is CoD. And not even the heroic kill the nazi's, CoD of old, but the modern Black Ops variant.
This is the equivalent of Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Full Metal Jacket in depictions of war. It's not the cartoonish guns and soldiers of Titanfall or Halo.
This is a game which depicts you in 1st person getting your hands torn off by a robot and leaving bloody, spurting stumps.
A 7-yo kid shouldn't know what this game is, let alone be so obsessed with it that it goes on his birthday cake.
There is no way that parents use THIS game as a responsible way to guide their child through the violence of war.