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

[SadisticFire]

There's a difference between being raised by a videogame, and playing a videogame.
Being raised by a videogame means the child is dropped in front of the controller, with no parent, no adult to really tell them what is right and what is wrong. Or the implications of what they're doing. You can tell a kid that they should never shoot a gun because they'll kill some one. This pairs *REALLY WELL* if a pet of theirs died. You can use that as an example.(Assuming you didn't feed them lies about what happened.) They'll understand, I sure as hell did.
I played Wolf:ET when I was six. I'm not on the edge of killing everyone and it's been ten years. I watched R rated movies when I was ten.(Granted they were along the lines of Zombie Land).
A kid won't be fucked up if you tell them it's fucked up. Unless they're crazy, then you have something completely different.

 

[verdant monkai]

Never online.

Nothing too psychological like Silent hill or Manhunt.

Not Grand Theft Auto.

 

[New Frontiersman]

I can't say I approve of that honestly. I don't think children should be playing M rated games, I don't think they're good for a developing mind and I don't think they teach kids good lessons about violence or sexuality. That stuff influences children, whether they're aware of it or not.

Obviously it's up to the parents, but I know I'm not going to be letting my children (if I ever have children) play M-rated games until they're older, and I really don't think highly of parents who do.

 

[CymbaIine]

I can't say I approve of that honestly. I don't think children should be playing M rated games, I don't think they're good for a developing mind and I don't think they teach kids good lessons about violence or sexuality. That stuff influences children, whether they're aware of it or not.

Obviously it's up to the parents, but I know I'm not going to be letting my children (if I ever have children) play M-rated games until they're older, and I really don't think highly of parents who do.

I'm just interested as to how you are going to stop your kids playing M rated games until they are older? How are you going to police what they do at their friends, or on mobile devices? What if you have one child who is 15 and another who is 10? Does the 15 year old not get the chance to play mature games?

Hypothetical parenting is so much easier than the real thing.

 

[scorptatious]

I'll admit, as someone who was unable to play M rated games and even most T rated games as a kid, I do find it kinda funny how many kids are allowed to play M rated games.

It's up to the parent I guess. If they believe that their kid can handle whatever happens in the game, then fine, go ahead and let them play it. Just do your job as a parent and monitor what your kid does.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Depends on the game, like I really want to know why Halo games are rated M. The violence is pretty tame, and cussing is there, but minimal. Uncharted games got a T, though I find them more graphic than Halo games. I would sound like a hypocrite if I wanted kids to adhere to ratings, considering I played God of War when I was 14. In the end, the parents should make the choice, and I believe they should wait at least until the kid is 13, 14, or 15 to play M rated games. The idea of a 9 year old playing M rated games creeps me out, sad part is I'm sure that isn't uncommon.

 

[WeepingAngels]

My thoughts are that I think I have better things to do than worry about how other parents are raising their kids.

 

[loc978]

Depends on the kid. I've met 9-year-olds who have seen more death than me at 32 (and I fought in a war police action)... met 12-year-olds who have been fucking regularly for a few years... I don't see why those kids should be restricted. I find it funny that one of the poll options suggests that the decision should be left to the child's parents. What of children who have no parents, or only absentee parents, or dismissive, abusive foster parents?

On the other hand, I've also met people in their late 20s who probably shouldn't be allowed to play an M-rated game. Innocence and childhood are situational, the rules should be treated as a guideline.

 

[Werewolfkid]

I didn't play an M rated game until I was fourteen and the game is question was the original BioShock. My parents were very careful when it came to me and games and only bought me M rated games if they felt they had something worth while within them. So to answer your question I think it is OK for kids to play M rated games so long as their parents keep a close eye on them and helps them understand what is happening within the game. Sheltering a child too much can really screw them up, while exposing them to too much can do the exact same thing. Parents need to have a role in their child's life and can't rely on TV and Video Games to babysit their kids. I have seen the results of such parenting and more often then not it is not pretty.

 

[TelHybrid]

I honestly don't care as long as the parent isn't stupid enough to give their child a GTA game, then later think they have the right to sue Rockstar (for example).

 

[Snazzymathematics]

My thoughts are that I think I have better things to do than worry about how other parents are raising their kids.

I like you. Actually, I like you a lot because of that.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

I can see why the rating are necessary, and age appropriateness is important, but I am of the opinion that most kids are ready for most m games and r movies long before they are 18. More like 14 or 15.

 

[jackpipsam]

It depends on the game.

Some games like Assassin's Creed might be fine for a 12 year old to play, while Saints Row might (most likely) is not.

At least here in Australia, our MA15+ (which is the American M) makes it law that those under 15 cannot PURCHASE the product without someone over the age with them.
It doesn't ban them from playing it, it just means they cannot legally buy it themselves.
Hypothetically it means that parents understand exactly what they're purchasing for their child, but sadly I don't' think that's the case.

I know that if I was a parent, I wouldn't let my kid under 13/14 touch any R18+ games period and MA15+ has to be taken with great thought.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

I think it depends on their parents judgement, but also on what the kid in question is like. As hard as this is to believe, I've ran into plenty of kids on Xbox Live (back when I still paid for it) who were decent people.

I played mature rated games and watched mature rated stuff way before I turned 18. And I think experiencing that stuff let me grow up a bit and realize that a lot of this stuff really isn't that bad.

 

[Something Amyss]

At 13-14, we're talking teens and not the people I specifically think of when I think of children in this sense. Granted, I tend to think of a lot of older people as children, but not for these purposes.

Anyway, I suppose it depends on the age. The closer you get to 17 the less I think it matters. What gets me is 10 year olds and younger on M titles, because they don't seem ready. And especially not online M titles, CoD or otherwise.

 

[Caiphus]

It will always depend on the child. And the parents should have an inkling as to their child's maturity. It shouldn't be left only up the kid, because kids don't generally make the best of deicsions.

Anyway, in terms of anecdotal evidence, I played Vice City when it came out, I think when I was roughly 10. And I turned out okay. Haven't shot anyone yet.

However, playing certain horror games when I was young made me scared of the dark for quite a number of years. I still can't handle horror movies.

So yeah.

 

[Aramis Night]

If your kid isn't ready for rated m games by 13, you are a failure as a parent and may as well post-abort the poor thing. The whole point of parenting is to prepare your kid for adulthood. If after 13 yrs of preparation, a child still can't handle a video game, odds are the parent isn't ready for them either. God help them being able to handle anything real when you only have 5 more years to prepare them.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

That really depends on the child, the games in question and the parents, as well. If you raise your kid to have an early and healthy understanding of fiction as well as of how games aren't an excuse to deviate from the social norm, then your kid should be able to play whatever he wants.

The trick is just to maintain that understanding, and to make your child understands that he's going to have to be mature and responsible not only for himself, but also for the folks online who can't bother to be mature.

The way I see things, being on the Internet is a lot like driving a car. You can't just focus on your little bubble - you have to remain aware of the fact that the Internet isn't so much made up of tubes as it's made out of people. Opinions will complement or clash with one another, some persons end up being geniuses and others come across as complete idiots - and seeing as the Internet is part of life, your responsibility involves being able to act responsibly while online.

The short of it is that you have to work to disprove the Greater Internet Fuckwad theory. I've always seen anonymity as a chance to be better than I can actually be in my everyday existence, to maintain a healthy distance between meaningless niggles like my kill-death ratio or someone else's performance on my team; and my more serious pursuits. It's tough, flying off the handle can be a temptation when everyone else is doing it, but it has to be done - even if it makes me come across as a White Knight or a square.

That's what I'd try to impart to my kids. Go ahead and kill all the terrorists you'll want on CoD, but don't give the howler monkeys an ounce of satisfaction. Be better than them, and remember they're people. Treat them well, and chances are they'll realize they're acting ridiculously somewhere down the line.

 

[Souplex]

Depends entirely on the game. M rated games range from games like Halo, to games like God of War.
Let's be honest, there's nothing particularly inappropriate about a lot of M games.

 

[Miyenne]

I think it depends on the kid, the parents and how the parents raise them. Some kids are mature and intelligent enough to handle them, some kids aren't. And parents need to set aside their pride and really get to know their children and determine if their children are mature and intelligent enough.

We played mature games when we were young. Our parents watched mature movies without sending us to bed. I have a memory of being around 5 years old and watching a graphic sex scene, I saw the movie again recently and went "Ah-ha! I remember this!" and then proceeded to watch the rest, and it was bloody and violent too. Didn't turn me into a promiscuous girl. If anything, it did the opposite. I may have violent thoughts about people I dislike or who frustrate me, but I've never once acted on them.