Kids, Games and Age Ratings

[OllieMartin]

Thanks for the article Ollie All the comments under the main article are quite informative too. A friend of the OH is getting it apparently, so I think I'll just have to watch it for a bit and see what it's like. I still think it'll be a 'No' though... I just hope some other big game is being launched before Christmas!!

Can't you just get him the CoD lunch box? That would have done me when I was 12.
Or maybe a CoD pencil tin...anything for school

[SarzWix]

I've answered my own question - you can skip that bit...

[FionaH]

Been here and worn the t shirt out on this one Sarz. My boys shared a room, two year age gap and the youngest could strop for Britain I have always been a heartless old mare when it comes to games. Youngest once tried to ring child line when I wouldn't let him play one of the Doom series!

I understand your concerns the swearing down the headset drives me mad too. I know research says TV violence doesn't affect kids, but have those researchers ever watched a bunch of small children after playing power rangers?
If your eldest lad is going to play it in the same room, then not much you can do. If not then stick to your guns. You don't have to be his mate just his parent, (which is a nasty underpaid, under appreciated role).

PS had HUGE fights about GTA over the years too


pps btw he is going to hate you for a long time.............

[SarzWix]

I actually took the GTA disc (the OH bought it for himself, and then let them play it ) and stamped it to pieces. It got my point across, and it never came into the house again...

[FionaH]

I actually took the GTA disc (the OH bought it for himself, and then let them play it ) and stamped it to pieces. It got my point across, and it never came into the house again...

Way to go!

[HotStuff]

I know I'm probably preaching to the Choir, but I presume you are aware of the "Family Settings" for parental control on the XBox? I know it can't be easy with two sons of different ages.

[Two_Sheds]

According to lots of different research, violent games don't engender violence in children, but then, what is the purpose of an age rating?!

I got GTA when I was 16 (also 18 cert). I turned out okay.
In my opinion it depends on both the adult supervision and the child.

The difference between 16 and 18 is a lot less than between 12 and 18 though!

There wouldn't be a whole lot of adult supervision

I guess it depends what research you read, and who commissioned it. It also depends on the child, and their upbringing.
If the child is aware that games are games, and in real life it is totally unacceptable to be violent, it might be OK (to let him play the game).
On the other hand, I see lots of small children every day (9-10 yo) behaving very aggressively, using unacceptable language and basically acting out video games and horror movies that they've been allowed to see.

Current research tends to agree... that violent media is associated with aggressive behavior. Risky behavior by children and young adults can include violence against others, lack of remorse for consequences. ... Children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children

Of course boys have always been rough-and-tumble, but what we're seeing now is way out of hand: gangs of violent children running wild.
The extreme violence and porn that young children see daily on their TVs/phones/internet, makes it normal, acceptable, usual. We can't ban it, we can't stop them seeing it, but we can try to teach them the difference between fantasy and real life.

Good luck Sarz. I wouldn't let children have computers in their bedroom though, myself, after having seen what my 12 year old nephew has been looking at

[Incy]

Hi Sarz.
I'm with you on this one and I don't let my 12 play CoD. However, having asked him what he would feel was a reassonable argument for you to use, he informed me that if your son has already been allowed to play the previous versions, there is unlikely to be much in the new one that he hasn't already been exposed to in the other ones. He reckons it's usually that the fighting is a bit more intense or the graphics are better making it look more realistic.
I had a similar problem with the wrestling games my son likes ( I hate them) they are rated anywhere between 12 and 16 and really the only difference is how real the graphics make it look.
We have a blanket bans on 18's regardless of how much he begs though so not sure which way you should go on this.

[shirlthegirl43]

Aranthos here - mum asked me to respond as I am 18...

As I am about to run for college I can't make a very long post, but as far as I know there is one single section that caused the game's rating to be increased from a 15 to 18, which is mentioned in the article below as being the cause of quite some controversy.
Aside from one section where the player is undercover as a terrorist and ordered to kill civilians, the game is same-old Call of Duty - that is, worthy of a 15-certificate.

BBC NEWS | Technology | MPs row over Modern Warfare game

Just my $0.02 worth

[HeyWayne]

The single biggest contributor to a child's upbringing is it's parentage, and you seem a pretty decent gal to me Sarz, so I personally wouldn't read too much into age certification.

I was about 11-12 when the whole Nightmare on Elm Street phenomenon started, and as a result watched a lot of horrow, or "slasher" films at about that age. Friday the 13th, Halloween and so on, along with werewolf films like The Howling, American Werewolf in London, Silver Bullet.

Films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead and so on were all banned and as a result became the films to see - you gained another level of "coolness" if you managed to get hold of a "pirate" VHS.

Also around at the same sort of time was the WWF "American Wrestling" - with big name stars like Hulk Hogan, Andrea the Giant, The Ultimate Warrior and so on. We as kids all emulated these "heroes" and re-enacted the wrestling moves on each others front gardens.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of us turned out to be murderers, or rapists, or screaming psychopaths (well, maybe a couple, but that's more to do with the area I grew up in) because we were raised by parents who taught us respect, manners, and the determination to make something of our lives.

Not all kids have that.

[Incy]

As has n=been said Sarz. Alot is to do with the parentage and the age ratings are guidelines real;ly aimed at those who don't have the benefit of the lessons you seem to teach your kids. It simply means they can't buy them but once they are in the house it is parental judgement that comes into effect. I have to admit that the age ratings sometimes puzzle me as some things have a high rating which I fail to see the reason for andothers in my opinion should be rated higher than they are. You often find there are different ratings on the same box. Some things are apparently more acceptable in Australia than in the US or in Europe than in Ireland. It really is all down to who and how the game is viewed.

[pdblake]

I let my 11 and 13 year old daughters play 18 games. Contrary to what the media might have you believe, the vast majority of well grounded kids know that they are playing a 'game'. They play Doom3, Quake, Battlefield (11 year old loves to blow my brains out in a deathmatch), Half-Life, GTA, Oblivion and more. There's bad language and gore in all of them, innuendo in some.

At the end of the day my kid's don't commit gun crime, steal cars or swear (well' not in front of me anyway). As for the innuendo, when they understand it they're probably old enough to hear it anyway and if they don't understand it, it doesn't matter.

At the end of the day though, only you know how your own child will handle things like these.

The worst bad influence we've had is from Dr Who of all things. Our 5 year old wants to be a dalek when he grows up

If you really just need a reason to say no then he is 12 and the game is an 18, therefore illegal to buy it for him. Personally, I buy them for me and let the kids have a go.

You never know, you might like it too

[HeyWayne]

Of course, it doesn't stop grown men from acting like kids.

2 dudes at the office (both in their late 30's) queued up outside Sainsburry's this morning to buy the game.

*shakes head*

[pdblake]

I guess it depends what research

Of course boys have always been rough-and-tumble, but what we're seeing now is way out of hand: gangs of violent children running wild.
The extreme violence and porn that young children see daily on their TVs/phones/internet, makes it normal, acceptable, usual. We can't ban it, we can't stop them seeing it, but we can try to teach them the difference between fantasy and real life.

Sorry Sarz, but violent children and gangs have nothing to do with what they see on the telly or PC. It's to do with lack of boundaries and lack of enforcing boundaries. There are no consequences for kids nowadays. The police can't touch them, the parents can't touch them and the courts let them off when they are finally brought to book. When parents do chastise their kids they are made to feel like criminals.

There were violent movies about when I was a kid and you can be sure we could get hold of porn and booze, but there were no feral gangs, we didn't go raping and stabbing each other. We knew where the line was drawn, and most of us only needed to cross it once to know which side we had to stay on.

The problem is a lack of discipline and the loss of the rights to enforce it.

[zazen999]

You could always say he can have it; but the pay off is to bring the Xbox downstairs so that you can monitor.....and let him decide.

And if he strops at that one - tell him he has made the decision himself as if he isn't grown up enough to make a rational decision about which one would favour him best, then he is not old enough to play 18 rated games...