If he's not playing those games under your roof, he'll be playing them at a friends house (if he's interested in games at all). Unless you're going to ground him until he reaches seventeen, the idea of keeping him from violent or sexualized media is fairly unrealistic.
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MSNBC: If your kid plays HALO make sure he doesnt have a problem
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If he's not playing those games under your roof, he'll be playing them at a friends house (if he's interested in games at all). Unless you're going to ground him until he reaches seventeen, the idea of keeping him from violent or sexualized media is fairly unrealistic.
The Lamonster
Member
Yep. Halo makes the kids crazy. Not the parents.
definitely Halo
Wikipedia said:
definitely Halo
The Lamonster
Member
Always-honest
Banned
Is he going to the basement with uncle pedobear? Otherwise, he's probably just upping on his multitask skillz and evading his dumbass parents. As kids do.
BankaiZaraki
Banned
I'm not gonna ground him until he's 17 lol. I'm not that strict of a father. Yeah more than likely he'll play them at a friends house and there's really nothing I can do about it except for not to buy them for him and to sit down and talk to him about WHY I won't buy them for him.
I had to go to a friends house to play Grand Theft Auto 3. By Vice City my parents realized there was dick all they could do to stop me, and just let me buy it.
They had to drive me around to five stores to find a copy. My mother was fuming the entire time, but it was launch day and everywhere was sold out. Except K-Mart. They had a box full of them, because no one wanted to shop at K-Mart.
Fair enough. I certainly had friends with parents that tried that. We let them hangout in our basements playing GTA and provided them with all the AV's they wanted.
I honestly fear for any future children I have. Just thinking of the smut they'll have access to on their school friends cellphone... how do I prevent that? O_O
"Well son, I just don't think you're smart enough to separate fantasy from reality and I'm worried that you're mentally unstable and that these videogames will only exacerbate the issue."
Will you be someplace where someone can keep a close eye on you? You know, just in case? And preferaby not a basement?
BananaBomb
Member
my parents didn't let me play M rated games until i was 17. so much the better for me (i played a lot less video games as a result, lolz). also i couldn't watch R rated movies until I had a license!
all the people in this thread jumping down that guys throat for not having "scientific evidence" for video games desensitizing kids to violence, do you guys know what "social science" is? Fields like sociology and psychology are imperfect as hell, make mistakes all the time (not to mention filled with fraud on a massive scale), take forever to "prove" (lol) things that we know are intuitively true, etc. Sorry charlies but in my personal experience (omg ANECDOTE) all the kids I've seen that are like 8 years old and sit around playing call of duty and halo talk much more about violence and seem to enjoy the spectacle much more than kids who sit around playing nintendo games. i don't want to say that they're actually more aggressive but i have noticed that as well. in my experience at least this is a consistent pattern. maybe it's not in yours, but it probably is. you don't need to wait for "scientific evidence" (i.e. some handwavy statistical study by some 30 year old assistant professor trying to get tenure as fast as possible, possibly funded by interest groups).
anyway, that's not to say movies aren't just as bad if not worse.
speculawyer
Member
Oh Chuck Todd, how low you have sunk. :-/
TheOohChild
Member
i remember playing mortal kombat, wolfenstein, doom when they first came out. and that would have made me 7-8 years old at the time
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
My parents only let me play violent video games and watch violent movies with them, and even then, they'd tell me to turn it off or make me leave the room if they found the material unsuitable. It totally sucked as a kid, but I totally understand why they did it, and I commend them for doing it.
stuminus3
Banned
OK, but honestly, let's reconvene in... let's say 10 years... and we'll see what you think then.
Just some friendly advice, it's not going to be nearly as black and white as you think it is, and in my own experience parents who raise their kids blindly based on what their government/the label on the box/Dr Phil (or whatever) says are actually doing just as bad of a job as someone who just lets them sit alone in front of GTA all alone with no supervision for hours at a time.
You'll see what I mean, especially if your goal is to keep him pure until 17...
David Gregory got the job he wanted and he's never been the same since.
BankaiZaraki
Banned
"Son, the age restriction for these types of video games you don't meet. Come back in x amount of years then we can talk."
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
While I get your point, I think those older games are a bit different. Way more fantastical and not the kind of "realistic" approach many of today's games seem to go for, I mean like the knife throat slicing in COD or the new Tomb Raider.
OriginofHysteria
Banned
Man with all the counter strike I played in middle school and high school, it's a miracle I have a clean record, college degree and a job.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
12 year olds playing Halo and COD online are far more likely to grow up into racist, homophobic pseudo-rednecks than mass murderers.
Omegasquash
Member
Not going to let my kids play games that are out of their range (developmentally and attitude-wise). My son can play Sesame St. games, not Gears. When he's 14 or 15 we can have the discussion on M-rated. Until then it's not an option. Same for my daughter.
If you mean by listening to the general chat on XBox live then I agree.
layzie1989
Member
I remember before I began to drive I played a lot of Burnout. It was my favorite game. When I first went out behind the wheel my dad interrupted me playing Burnout so we could drive to the grocery store. If anything, I was more sensitive to my surroundings because of the game. I didn't want to end up in a crumpled up car.
Now, I played a lot of Halo 2 late at night in high school. My parents never cared about the violence, but only if I was playing instead of doing my homework, or if I was staying up really late on a school night. A lot of people see videogames like Halo and talk about kids being into them because of how violent they are, but for me it was really about the competitive nature of the multiplayer. I played online with my friends working together as a team. That's what gives me the rush, and I'm sure the same is true for the other millions of people who play it. But there's this idea that people play these games just because they like shooting stuff up and love the blood and gore (which halo isn't even that bloody or gory), and It's going to be a while before the media stops focusing on this and focusing on the mental health issues that really cause people to to bad things.
Now, I played a lot of Halo 2 late at night in high school. My parents never cared about the violence, but only if I was playing instead of doing my homework, or if I was staying up really late on a school night. A lot of people see videogames like Halo and talk about kids being into them because of how violent they are, but for me it was really about the competitive nature of the multiplayer. I played online with my friends working together as a team. That's what gives me the rush, and I'm sure the same is true for the other millions of people who play it. But there's this idea that people play these games just because they like shooting stuff up and love the blood and gore (which halo isn't even that bloody or gory), and It's going to be a while before the media stops focusing on this and focusing on the mental health issues that really cause people to to bad things.
That would also be my range. Maybe a bit younger for Halo, if he makes the all too convincing argument of "all my friends play it". That's the argument I'd have tried if I had still been too young when Halo 2 came around.
You gotta make decisions on a game-by-game basis. Some Teen rated games are pretty harmless. Despite the same M rating, there's a big difference between Halo and, say, The Darkness.
Messypandas
Member
If your kid plays PS3 for 3 hours make sure he doesnt have a problem
PS3 has NO games
ElectricBlue187
Member
It's your kid so you do what you like but I'm not going to tell my kid he can't play mature video games because he hasn't hit some arbitrary age limit. When I think he's mature enough to separate fantasy from reality then I'll decide. And really he's already being exposed to violent imagery in stories and studio ghibli movies and other kid's movies. It's an inevitable part of growing up and you can only do what you can to limit it until they are ready.
AgentP
Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
More like "Son, your brain is still developing, burning neural pathways, the constant barrage of violence and images are more likely to make you aggressive, lack empathy and may hamper your long term ability to relate to people. Lets find something more suitable."
Captain Tuttle
Member
You made the point better than I ever could have.
gutter_trash
Banned
culturally, we are more exposed to daily entertainment violence than 15 years ago.
There are more violent tv programs at earlier times like 8PM than before it used to be 10PM.
to enforce M rated games, maybe customers should provide ID tp prove that they are 17 y +
There are more violent tv programs at earlier times like 8PM than before it used to be 10PM.
to enforce M rated games, maybe customers should provide ID tp prove that they are 17 y +
I prefer "Son, I'm going to mollycoddle the shit out of you. By the time you reach the real world, you'll have absolutely no ability to cope with it. You'll think that your mother and me don't trust you at all and that your favorite entertainment medium is corrupting your morals. Now go out there in your multi-thousand-pound automobile/death machine and pick me up a carton of milk."
Making things taboo only causes them to be more coveted.
What if you lived in a country where that M-rated game was PEGI 16+? Would you let him play at 16?
Your logic makes no sense.
Orbis Tabula
Member
The problem isn't that kids can pretend to play with plasma rifles. It's that kids can play with rifles.
BankaiZaraki
Banned
You can't say my own saying against me! Also its easy Rate E he can play at ages 6-11 Rated T he can play 12-16 and Rated M 17+. Easy peezy!
Price Dalton
Member
There's actually some evidence that exposure to violent video games or TV/movies desensitizes people to real violence:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101018211820.htm
http://socialcogneurolab.missouri.edu/pdfs/Engelhardt_atal_JESP_2011.pdf
While other research suggests that this effect is heightened in people who are already "disturbed":
http://socialcogneurolab.missouri.edu/pdfs/Engelhardt_Bartholow_Saults_AggBeh_2011.pdf
We like games and all, and censorship is not the answer, but we shouldn't ignore evidence if it exists.
They already do. Doesn't stop parents from buying it for their kids though.
When Chuck Todd was a kid I assume he like most boys played "war" and "cowboys and Indians" were you get a toy gun or a stick and pretend to shoot each other. I wonder are games really so different? I'm not sure. Also on the other side I fear that sometimes we gamers sound a lot like the NRA gun nuts in that we defend our hobby without question. Now clearly not every kid who plays a violent game will grow up to have some kinda mental issues just as every gun owner does not kill someone. But it's not totally out of the question to look into the effects adult rated games may have on the growing mind of a child just as it's not out of the question to look into better gun laws.
Beelzeboss
Member
I'm glad my parents had the sense to talk to me when I was interested in playing games instead of just banning me because of my age. They even learned about the things I was playing.
Real Life isn't video games. Even a child can understand that.
Real Life isn't video games. Even a child can understand that.
ElectricBlue187
Member
anytime people get killed we have to have a blame witch hunt to point the finger at someone and say its their fault, the dude is dead in this case so we can't point a finger at him anymore, so naturally people need to blame someone else.
saltinekracka
Member
Joking aside, everything needs to be in moderation. My brother flunked out of college due to a Halo habit. Owning games is fine, don't let your games own you.
I think my 6 year old nephew inherited his dad's old PS2, including a couple of the GTA games. I'm sure he's played them a few times, I have no idea how he interprets the violence. I personally wouldn't let him play it.
I'm not perfect either. I typically do not play violent games around my children, my 4 year old loves to watch me play. However the other day I was already playing Borderlands when my daughter comes in and takes a seat. I wasn't even aware of it until I shot a guy and she asked, "hey, where'd that guys head go?" It was time to play something else.
That doesn't answer my question. What if the ESRB revised its ratings and M became 16+? What if instead it became 21+?
Are all 17 year olds the same? (and are all M-rated games the same for that matter?)
As a parent you should know your child better than a sticker on a box. If at 12 he is mature enough to play Halo, why should a sticker stop you from letting him play? That's lazy parenting IMO, deferring your decision to a board that has to come up with arbitrary numbers rather than make decisions on an individual level. Would you not let your child watch ANY PG13 movie before he turned 13? Not a single one?
AgentP
Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
How is that relevant? Are you arguing that on screen images for hours a day have zero impact on developing brains? How about subjecting a ten yer old to ten hours a day of torture porn for years, no impact?
Subjecting your ten year old child to ten hours of screens, whether it's torture porn or Winnie the Pooh, is bad parenting. Letting your child play a couple hours a week of Halo (if you judge him or her mature enough of course) is better than letting them play six hours a day of Lego Harry Potter.
All of this is IMO of course, but I hope I'm not the only one to hold this view.
I would have totally broken their "study".
I get violent while playing Madden or FIFA
edit: wtf @ those "studies". Who honestly would NOT get angry to an air horn being blown in your ear after "losing" in a game?
and here we go
I can vouch for the wisdom of this statement; I nearly let a relative die on the floor while I was engrossed in an MMO as a kid.
For future reference, I was a kid, it was someone babysitting me, and all I had to go on was a loud noise from downstairs. It could have been this relative dropping a jug of milk, or collapsing due to an influenza induced bout of dehydration, hitting their head, and then collapsing into a ball on the floor. Since I was engrossed, young, and stupid, I waved it off. I'm not the kind of monster that would knowingly let a relative suffer.
Foxy Fox 39
Banned
This is reasonable...
"Needlers and DMR's don't exist IRL therefore an already crazy/violent kid who may have been inspired by violent video games could not have been inspired by Halo."
"An already crazy/violent kid who may have been inspired by violent video games can't be inspired by Halo because you ONLY shoot Aliens, and aliens don't exist in real life, therefore he'd be out of luck and give up his planned shooting spree.
Never mind the multiplayer portion of the game
Dr.NoiseWater
Member
Pfft... try beating Kid Icarus/Ghosts and Goblins on the Nintendo with no continues and I'll show you problems.
Castor Krieg
Banned
Exactly - who plays games in a basement?
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