Dear Parents: Do you know what your kids are playing?
Let me preface this post by reminding you that I am a gamer. I love gaming and I play games of all genres, from fast-paced first person shooters to slow but methodical turn-based strategy games. I play violent games, I play meek games, I play funny games and I play serious thinking-man's games. I am also an adult that can make adult decisions. Violent games do not make me violent. I mostly play them for the great storylines. When a game does become too violent (it does happen), I can put it down. Or stop playing all together.
Which brings me to the next part of my post.
There are so many parents who have no idea what games their children are playing. There's a common misconception among a lot of parents that games are harmless and that their children are merely passing away the time, shooting little alien space ships with their own little space ships.
Parents, have you ever really looked at what your children are playing? Have you looked at the age restrictions on the game boxes? Did you even know that games have age restrictions?
I have stood in the queue at a store, watching a young boy clutching a copy of God of War III while mom swipes her credit card in obvious ignorance. I have seen kids begging their dads for Grand Theft Auto IV, telling them how cool the game is. Most of those dads gave in. Do these parents not realise what type of content is found in these games? Or do they truly believe that the only type of game that exists is a 'harmless' game?
There also seems to be some sort of peer pressure involved with the kids themselves. Being able to play the latest and greatest and bragging to your friends about it seems to be the cool thing to do. My nephew is constantly telling me of friends at school whose parents allow them to play some of these games. Then again, it could just be that the parents don't know what their kids are playing. My nephew is thirteen years old. His parents keep a strict eye on what he can and cannot play and even though I might be a bit biased, I do believe that he is better off for it.
I would love to be able to educate more parents. I get that not all parents are so passionate about their children and their video game playing as others, but there are age restrictions for a reason. Would you allow your thirteen-year old to watch a movie with nudity? Normally these movies have got a PG16 or higher rating. Do parents not realise how many of these PG18 rated games have got nudity in them? Both of the games I mentioned a bit earlier, namely God of War III and Grand Theft Auto IV, have got scenes with nudity in them. Yes, it's digitised, animated nudity, but that doesn't make it any less real for your children. Don't believe me? Just look at the ESRB rating pages for both of these games:
Parents, you have to realise that games are no longer just a medium for children. Sure, all the gamers were children when Mario came out in 1985 and Pac-Man was all the rage in the arcades. But you have to realise that those gamers are now grown up.
According to the ESA, the average gamer is 37 years old and has been playing games for 12 years. Yes, you read that right. A lot of these games are being designed with their target market (mainly adults) in mind.
Parents, wake up! I'm not saying that all the children playing these games will turn into homicidal maniacs. I'm not saying your children are better off only buying games that are rated E for Everyone.
I just want you to be aware and make more informed decisions.
There are some excellent resources out there that can tell you what type of game your child wants before you buy it. Organisations like the ESRB and PEGI put in a lot of work to identify the content contained in these games and making this information readily available for public consumption.
I urge you to use these resources. Make better decisions for your kids. You already control what they can and cannot see in movies. Shouldn't you be controlling what they are seeing in games too?
Sharing @ Geekworld
Tags @ Geekworld
Mobile @ Geekworld
Ads @ Geekworld
Trackers @ Geekworld
2 comments
Dear Children: Do you know what your parents are playing?
Why is there such a thing as age restriction if many adults think it is only meant for children. Children will never list to you, they will only follow your example. What does you as an adult give you the right to do something that a child should not do. It might sound bizarre but it's true.
For me as a parent: If there is a age restriction on something I should also not touch it at all. Even "All Ages" is dangerous now a days. I've thrown out my TV too. Believe me, there is much more in life than spending hours to develop screens in your eyes.
I will both agree and disagree
I'm sure that once you have children, you look at the world differently, but at the end of the day, it's all about choices.
I choose to be entertained by games and movies that appeal to me. As an adult, I can make those decisions.
Children can't make those decisions until much later in life. You put a child in front of a horror movie, he/she will watch it, no matter how much it scares him or her.
Children follow example, I agree with you there. But in the same sentence, don't we also learn our children that you can only drink alcohol when you're above a certain age? Why is drinking alcohol (something that is the social norm) okay, but playing a game not okay? Should the same teachings about alcohol not apply to everything in life? In other words, when you're old enough to make the decision, you can make the decision.
With respect to your first question:
That was kind of the whole point of my blog post. Parents either don't know, don't pay enough attention, or don't care. This post was about educating parents so that they can make the right decisions for their children.
I commend what you are doing with your children. It's not easy to make decisions like "throw out the TV" when the rest of the world think it's okay. In the end, your children will benefit from your decisions, and they can make healthier, more informed decisions themselves when they are adults.
Post new comment