really you let your kid play THIS

[The3rdEye]

Before I start, I just want to say that I do not intend to question your skills or aptitude as a parent. You've taken an active interest in what your son does in his free time, so that demonstrates both imo.

Spoiler

As long as the kid isn't going around shooting people because he saw it on Call of Duty, then I have no issue.

Hell, I was playing fucking Unreal Tournament when I was 6, so I grew up around that kind of shit.

The kid said his favorite games were shooters. Big deal. Fuck, lighten up for a bit.

My kid (currently 9) was playing Unreal Tournament at age 4. So he has you beat there But I do censor games like Call of Duty due not to 'mature' content, but due to the militaristic propaganda inherent in them. Male children have a hard enough time resisting that message without throwing it into every moment of their playtime I find that there are very few games that need to be censored due to mature content, although there are a few, GTA certainly comes to mind.

Wait... are you saying that you are fine with your nine year old kid playing violent M video games, but that you censor out the military recruitment propaganda because with all the other sources out there, failure to resist the temptation to enlist in the armed forces is some kind of epidemic?

And that's not even touching the entire "reducing someone to shiny red paste is fine, but a little nookie isn't" thing.

Heck yes it's an epidemic. I've personally witnessed supposedly fully grown men take the path which starts at rainbow six, and ends in a recruitment office. I'm also personally aware of what the end of that path looks like as my Dad is a Vietnam vet. (of course he had to rely on the more traditional propaganda way back then

So how do you rationalize that while military propaganda in (a select number of) video games will encourage minors to take interest in the armed forces, greatly increasing their chances of walking into a recruiter's office after reaching the age of majority, when they can legally be held accountable for their actions due to the presumed development of their morality and ethics, but being exposed to realistic graphic violence on TV, movies, and a majority of video games has no effect on a kid's predisposition to violence at all, considering how much easier it is to just try and smother another kid with a brick as opposed to waiting seven years and enlisting? (Yes extreme example, but I'm making a point)

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you are not yourself a parent? Yes, young males reducing each other to red paste is perfectly normal. Way back in the 80's when our video games where still beeping and blooping at us, we followed up by heading outside to shoot each other with sticks, cardboard cut-outs, and occasionally plastic guns. Males are violent. Whether or not we have a game for that fantasy or not, we will act it out any chance we get.

I may not be a father, but I do remember my cousins and I beating the hell out of each other. The difference is that we only did that maybe on average once every two weeks. There's really no limit to how much violence we can ingest through modern media, not to mention that modern media can bring us as to close to the real thing as actually being there, unless you used squibs and/or paintball guns back in the late 70's early 80's.

Lastly, on the sexual censoring thing. Censoring sexual content for a nine-year-old, isn't a mater of prudishness, it's a matter of comfort. Sexual content makes my nine-year-old uncomfortable. He hides under a blanket when there is so much as kissing in Farscape. When he becomes mature enough to have interest in that type of narrative, then I will no longer censor it. This is not in any way intending to support the unhealthy christian cultural obsession with sexual censorship.

That does put certain things in a different light, although it does seem odd that drilling someone's cerebellum with a 5.56 isn't something to flinch at, but kissing is. Honestly though, I don't fall under any banner in regards to the sexual censorship spiel. Obviously portraying sex in a violent or non-consensual context isn't something to be letting anyone under age of majority see, but other than that they'll find out and experiment somehow, better it be the "touchy, feely" kind from romance (sub)plots.

 

[Joseph Murnan]

I think it's stupid to assume that giving a 14 year old a game with animated blood in it is going to warp them, but seriously, giving a 9 year old GTA?! Ugh, "bad" parenting would be an understatement.

 

[BrailleOperatic]

I think no case is typical and the parents deem the child to be sufficiently mature to play the games then, with no other available information, their decision should be respected.

 

[JasonKaotic]

I shall refrain from coming out with a structured response to this, as I'd get reported for Flaming, probably, so I'll keep it short and sweet.

IT. DOESN'T. MATTER. HOW. OLD. THEY. ARE.

It just annoys the hell out of me when people go on about how certain people shouldn't be allowed to play certain games because they're 'too violent' or 'too graphic'.

Seriously, dude. What is the problem with him playing GTA or Call of Duty? What damage will it cause?

I got so pissed off when I was younger and I wasn't allowed to play certain games I wanted to play really badly. Like when I was about 11 or 12 or something along those lines, I saw Unreal Tournament 2 in Blockbuster, going cheap, I could afford it. I'd played the first one a while back, I loved it, so I was thinking "OH MY GOD I'M GETTING IT". Took it to the till, was excitedly about to give in the money, when my transaction was turned down by the guy at the till, because of when I was born. I was miffed.

Oh look, a structured response.

 

[Cavouku]

My first game, at age 4/5, was Mortal Kombat... II(?), for the Super Nintendo. I did alright, but I don't think your point is any less valid.

Just because people get accustomed to something doesn't make it right. I don't think it will necessarily screw him over, but I feel there's something inherently wrong with buying your kid M-rated games for no reason, when there are awesomely fun E-rated games.

Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom, ranks way higher than all those FPS war games for me. Now, if you said you saw a kid screaming at his parents to buy him an M-rated game, and they did, that's an issue. Those are people who need to go to a seminar or something.

 

[Jacob.pederson]

Before I start, I just want to say that I do not intend to question your skills or aptitude as a parent. You've taken an active interest in what your son does in his free time, so that demonstrates both imo.

Spoiler

As long as the kid isn't going around shooting people because he saw it on Call of Duty, then I have no issue.

Hell, I was playing fucking Unreal Tournament when I was 6, so I grew up around that kind of shit.

The kid said his favorite games were shooters. Big deal. Fuck, lighten up for a bit.

My kid (currently 9) was playing Unreal Tournament at age 4. So he has you beat there But I do censor games like Call of Duty due not to 'mature' content, but due to the militaristic propaganda inherent in them. Male children have a hard enough time resisting that message without throwing it into every moment of their playtime I find that there are very few games that need to be censored due to mature content, although there are a few, GTA certainly comes to mind.

Wait... are you saying that you are fine with your nine year old kid playing violent M video games, but that you censor out the military recruitment propaganda because with all the other sources out there, failure to resist the temptation to enlist in the armed forces is some kind of epidemic?

And that's not even touching the entire "reducing someone to shiny red paste is fine, but a little nookie isn't" thing.

Heck yes it's an epidemic. I've personally witnessed supposedly fully grown men take the path which starts at rainbow six, and ends in a recruitment office. I'm also personally aware of what the end of that path looks like as my Dad is a Vietnam vet. (of course he had to rely on the more traditional propaganda way back then

So how do you rationalize that while military propaganda in (a select number of) video games will encourage minors to take interest in the armed forces, greatly increasing their chances of walking into a recruiter's office after reaching the age of majority, when they can legally be held accountable for their actions due to the presumed development of their morality and ethics, but being exposed to realistic graphic violence on TV, movies, and a majority of video games has no effect on a kid's predisposition to violence at all, considering how much easier it is to just try and smother another kid with a brick as opposed to waiting seven years and enlisting? (Yes extreme example, but I'm making a point)

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you are not yourself a parent? Yes, young males reducing each other to red paste is perfectly normal. Way back in the 80's when our video games where still beeping and blooping at us, we followed up by heading outside to shoot each other with sticks, cardboard cut-outs, and occasionally plastic guns. Males are violent. Whether or not we have a game for that fantasy or not, we will act it out any chance we get.

I may not be a father, but I do remember my cousins and I beating the hell out of each other. The difference is that we only did that maybe on average once every two weeks. There's really no limit to how much violence we can ingest through modern media, not to mention that modern media can bring us as to close to the real thing as actually being there, unless you used squibs and/or paintball guns back in the late 70's early 80's.

Lastly, on the sexual censoring thing. Censoring sexual content for a nine-year-old, isn't a mater of prudishness, it's a matter of comfort. Sexual content makes my nine-year-old uncomfortable. He hides under a blanket when there is so much as kissing in Farscape. When he becomes mature enough to have interest in that type of narrative, then I will no longer censor it. This is not in any way intending to support the unhealthy christian cultural obsession with sexual censorship.

That does put certain things in a different light, although it does seem odd that drilling someone's cerebellum with a 5.56 isn't something to flinch at, but kissing is. Honestly though, I don't fall under any banner in regards to the sexual censorship spiel. Obviously portraying sex in a violent or non-consensual context isn't something to be letting anyone under age of majority see, but other than that they'll find out and experiment somehow, better it be the "touchy, feely" kind from romance (sub)plots.

Very well reasoned and thoughtful replies

I agree that it is counter intuitive that violent media doesn't produce violent citizenry, but studies have shown over and over again, that they don't. In Pinker's, The Blank Slate, there is evidence showing that the ONLY thing you can do to influence your children's personalities as they develop, is to have them in a different order. That's right, birth order is the only significant environmental effect on personality. I highly recommend Pinker to any new parents, he is illuminating on the ongoing nature nurture debate.

So where does that leave me as a parent? I can try to steer him away from the idea that a good outlet for aggression is a military career. (Perhaps suggesting martial arts or competitive sports as an alternative.) What I can't do is remove the aggression from his personality.

I disagree that there is a real huge difference between playing guns in halo or playing guns outside with the cardboard cutouts like I did. (except perhaps the lack of exercise) I don't especially have any science to back that up, but it's a gut feeling of mine. I make the exception with the militaristic simulators not because of the violence, but because of the idea of violence as a heroic career option.

I agree wholeheartedly that overexposure to media in general is a huge issue for the most recent generations. Sitting in front of a screen is not where you want young children spending their days. This is why we don't own a television, and have hardcoded computer time limits. A healthy fantasy life is certainly important, but you don't want that fantasy to become your whole life.

Again, it does seem odd at first glance, that kissing should make you more uncomfortable than murder. However, reaching into evolutionary psychology, we can see why. Violence IS part of a males reproductive strategy. Subtle threat and active domination wins males mates. The veneer of civilization tends to make us forget this. It also makes sense for a male to learn his violence at a prepubescent age, where his underdeveloped muscles make him unlikely to hurt himself and others. Furthermore, with our highly developed brain, it also makes sense for young males to gravitate toward the most modern weapons available to them. Guns.

How should we react to this as parents? By not overreacting. Walling off your offspring from the culture around them is not a viable option. Steering them gently away from paths that really do lead to violence, such as gun ownership, or military careers is an option. I'm obviously only about half-way through my parenting adventure, so I'm not quite sure if the gentle steering idea will work or not. But I'll let you know how it turns out

 

[Free Thinker]

Bad parents who suck at parenting. You can't even fix it because then you'd hurt their pride, so they ignore you and blame it on someone else. Lovely, ain't it?

Vicious cycle ain't it? I actually last CoD:MW2 game, got a lil' bastard's mother on the headset. I threw out every single thing I had in my arsenal of asshattery. She screamed, heard a thump, most likely the headset hitting the ground, some muffled yelling, then the kid disconnected. I've done my deed for humanity by setting a parent straight.
Can I get a "Fuck yeah!" pic? I don't know how to embed pics.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

It's not that big a deal, really. I was allowed to play GTA at age 9, and I'm not any the worse for it. If the parent thinks that their child can handle the content in those games, then I say that's okay.
However, it should definitely be screened by the parents if the child's as young as that.

 

[Legion IV]

The best thing about this thread is am sure many of you did the same.

Lol the first game i ever really played was Resident Evil ps1. I was so scared i turned pale white and shaked uncontrollibly. lol i was a weird kid. All i did was put my entire child hood into me being terrified. but hey! it payed off i dont even flinch even at the scariest things now that i've grown up.

That was 14 years ago.yet Moonlight sonata will always be the scariest thing i will ever hear....

 

[TehBATMAN]

I played Duke Nukem 3D when I was 4.(18 now for the record). I knew it was fiction even at that age. I think that it depends on the kid entirely how they take it. Kids who are generally not on the so bright side of things will probably be the Xbox-live tourette's kids. Kids who are fairly intelligent at their age like I was usually turn out no worse for wear. There's no such thing as Garbage in, garbage out for every single person as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

I played M rated, violent games like that when I was around his age. I don't see it as that big of deal. I practically grew up with the Unreal Tournament games.

It really depends on the person though. Parents need to know their kids.

 

[James Hueick]

Band parenting is the number one cause of stupid 12 olds.
EDIT: Least I add homophobic.

 

[Hyper-space]

My 8 year old brother watches family guy, so yeah.

 

[Mattymarsbar]

.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

I played Conker's Bad Fur Day(N64) when i was 9 ... i totally understand that kid

 

[Macgyvercas]

I see a lawsuit in the works when the kid acts up and the parents don't want to blame themselves.

Unfortunately, that's probably how it will end up.

People always take the easy way out and blame video games rather than admit they suck at parenting.

 

[lukeyboy270]

heres the bottom line: parents SUCK theyll let their kids do anything normaly (trust em im stil la kid) i realy dont give a crap if a 3 year old likes to gun down countless russains in the russain level of MW2 just aslong as they arnt ruining my game when im playing tf2 or wow also when i parent cant accept they fail then asswipes in america like jack-fucking-thompson complain that children are gunning down the mailman or somethign its the parents fault not video games
"FUCK YOU THOMPSON" that is all

 

[EBHughsThe1st]

There was a thread like this yesterday, but anyway, it's just bad parenting.