Mumsnet Talk

Hi
my DS has had a playstation for about 4 years now....he is nearly 10.
I have always been really strict about only buying him games for his age range.
However, I did buy him one game which was rated 3+ and was horrified when I watched him playing on it....basically it consisted of him doing as much damage as possible to his car, crashing it, etc.
He has been bugging me for over a year to get him something called Call Of Duty. I looked into it and said, er NO. He argued that ALL his friends at school had it and I know for a fact that his cousin (same age) is allowed to play on it and others that are similar. DS even persuaded his schollmates to inform me that they all had these games at home....I refused to budge.
Last straw for me was when he had a sleepover a couple of weeks ago. His friend actually smuggled a copy of Grand Theft Auto into our house and gave it to my DS as, apparently, his mum had accidentally bought him a copy last christmas and also this christmas....his friend is 10 FGS!
I mean, what is his mother thinking of?????
Video games are fine, but you really have to keep on top of the content!

My DS (aged 2) is too young for video games at the moment, although he does play Bob The Builder and In The Night Garden game apps on my iPhone.

But my friend's DS is 13 and she's also had problem with the Call of Duty game. All of her son's friends play it and their parents either don't know it's inappropriate or don't worry about it. It's a really violent game!

I think the problem is that most parents don't think of age ratings on games in the same way as they do about films, DVDs, etc. After all the wouldn't let their children watch Saw (I'd hope), but they don't seem to worry that the content in adult video games can be just as violent/gory.

No, we do not have them as they are not congruent with our values. Plus I can think of much better things they could do with their time.

no, we don't have any game consoles. children are sometimes allowed to play a little 'educational' games on the computer, though.

DS is 4YO and I play age-appropriate games with him, maybe a couple of hours a week?

He plays the PS3, the eyepet thing and lego batman.

I tell DH off if he plays inappropriate games in front of DS.

Also plays cbeebies games, he can do those on his own though.

Everyone I know with older 10+ DCs allows them to play COD and similar. I can see an argument coming on

My DS is 8 and he plays age appropriate games for about an hour a day. Not every day because it is just one of the many different things he does in his free time for fun.

I agree with others, I check content first, play the games myself so I properly know what I am talking about, and DP (who plays on the PS3 sometimes) doesn't play the games with higher ratings while DS is awake.

Everything in moderation I say.

Ds (7yo) has a xbox360 + kinect at the moment (which he saved for and payed for himself) and a dsi xl. Previously he owned a ps2 and we used to have a family wii and a gamecube.

Timelimited not so much but is limited as to when he can play it - not if he's ill from school, not when we have visitors, not when I'm fed up of the noise or want to watch tv. We also go out a lot and he has chores to do around the house, homework from school. He doesn't get time to play everyday and maybe if he does it will be only 30 minutes - but another day he could get several hours, completely depends. He gets plenty of exercise and socialising. He enjoys watching dh play games almost as much as playing it himself.

He has some games with 12/15 rating (Halo ones mostly) but he does not get to play games above 3+ rating unless dh has played them through previously and decided they are ok. Even 3+ rated games we research usually before he gets them. The one we didn't I didn't think was suitable (more to do with how challenging it was rather than content) Gory-ness, horror/fear and sex are the things we really don't like though we disallow anything we have any problem with. Skyrim he is allowed to play only if dh is in the room supervising and is only allowed to explore areas/do stuff dh has agreed to.

Ds also plays games on pc such as minecraft, previously he was obsessed with world of goo. Me and dh also have smartphones which he's played games on on the bus or waiting for a doctors appointment.

Dh is a gamer and used to sell computer games - he understands the different rating systems and which one is more trustworthy than others, and like films we decide what our child is mature enough to see by watching/playing through anything without a lowest level (e.g. U) rating.

Ds started playing games at about 3yo (first was an old megadrive we had). We have a 17mo dd as well who has an old broken xbox controller she plays with when dh & ds are playing xbox together (she sits next to them and likes to think she's joining in - its cute). I'd give her another year or two at least before she really starts to actually play video games.

How do you get your dc to play video games would be a better question for me about dd2 who is 13.

dd2 purchased her own wii three years ago as a replacement for the playstation she and her sister had several year before that.

I struggle to get her to play with it, sometimes if she has been at a friends she will have played a game or two but mostly they do other things.

I don't have to restrict her play as the only time it comes out is if I nag her to play and then she will play for a while (think about 1 hour most) and then wander off and do something else.

There are higher age games on the shelf from her older sister - but those games don't seem to get touched

What age did you/will you allow them to start playing, if at all?

DS's were about 4 when we looked at Cbeebies online and we started playing the games on there. They were about the same age when we let them play selected games on the wii, cow racing and fishing on wii play

Do you restrict how much time your kids can play on video games? Does it worry you if they spend too long playing them?

They are allowed 1 hour on a Saturday and 1 hour on a Sunday. I find that the longer DS1 plays on there the more challenging his behaviour is afterwards, he gets so immersed in the race / challenge that real life just gets him cross.

Do you make sure your kids stick to the age ratings on games, or are they allowed to play games aimed at older children?

We vet the games carefully, even though DS2 is only 6 he now plays lego star wars with DS1. We feel it is our judgement combined with the ratings. If I found that they had been playing games aged at teenagers/adults at a friends house I would have a conversation with the other parent. I would not be happy at all.

DS is 11 and nagged us to allow 15 games (call of duty again!) for about 2 years as ALL his friends have it, he plays it at theirs etc. Playing the same game as all his mates has made him more sociable, as he does at least chat to them on Xbox Live while playing it rather than being totally isolated in his room.

TBH its just shooting, which they do in the Lego games (age7+) albeit a bit more realistic.

Obviously I don't like the fact that he enjoys pretending to kill people, but if its not on the XBox it would be playing at shooting people with Nerf guns, playing wars with HM Armed Forces figures, Start Wars figures killing each other with light sabres, Lego Ninjago figures fighting with swords - even writing and drawing seem to involve guns and war with him!

I would draw the line at 18 games for a few years yet, but in fairness, when he points out which games are rated 7, 12 or 15 it does often seem a bit random and I'm sure the game manufacturers make the age rating higher on some games to make it seem more desirable.

I wouldn't accept him playing GTA because of the crime/prostitution etc, but I think anything war related without any gratuitous horror is kind of inevitable for growing boys. I prefer him to play soccer games or something more adventurous but he will choose what he enjoys, which for him is being a soldier!

Younger DCs enjoy Wii occasionally, but not obsessed like some of their friends, so it isn't an issue for them yet.

My 10.8 DD is not interested. She does have a DS but seldom uses it. She much prefers to read.

Both myself and DH are 'gamers' (sounds like we're confessing to torturing puppies doesn't it) and own numerous PCs and consoles so the DCs have been brought up with it being as normal as watching the TV or listening to the radio. They've been allowed to play since they were old enough to be able to - so pretty young as they grew up playing games aimed at toddlers/pre-schoolers on the PC.

They are restricted on how long they can play but it's mainly a natural restriction based on the fact that it's not possible (or fair) to play for hours and hours when other people want a go, and the consoles are in the living room so that limits it more. There's no playing before lunch and there's no playing after dinner. I'd only worry about how long they played if I thought they were being too obsessive - and frankly that would be the same with any interest or hobby, not specifically gaming.

We stick pretty strictly to BBFC ratings but not so much to the PEGI ones - DS1 is allowed to play a couple of 16+ games that DH or myself have played. I wouldn't allow him to play something with that rating that we hadn't vetted and I'm not flexible on any of the 'realistic' FPS style games (ie CoD, Modern Warfare) I really don't like (for lack of a better term) 'war simulation' games. The DCs don't push on playing games once I've said no; it tends to lead to losing gaming privileges altogether.

DS just made a valid point on this. You can join the army at the age of 16, but you have to be 18 to be able to play a game pretending to be in the army!

He is unable to log into a skateboarding game, which is rated 16 - apparently because it has the word 'crap' in it!

What age did you/will you allow them to start playing, if at all?
DD has been 'playing' wii balance board games since before she was 2 - when her (half) siblings were visiting we would play wii fit and she would want to join in. I have some adorable videos of her doing the step aerobics and ski jump anyway, that was very occasional. She can play video games now, age 4.7, but there was never really an age where we thought "yes this is ok now" IYSWIM - it's a blurry boundary, and it really depended on her being able to use the remote.

Do you restrict how much time your kids can play on video games? Does it worry you if they spend too long playing them?
We don't actively restrict the time as these days we don't play wii much anyway. Maybe once a month or so we will play loads (if we have visitors) and because it is so rare we just keep it sensible rather than having a set limit.
It is different with the DS console though, and my iPhone. She is allowed to play on either occasionally but I noticed she gets really angry when it's time to come off - it is scary! I have to keep it to really short bursts.

Do you make sure your kids stick to the age ratings on games, or are they allowed to play games aimed at older children?
Virtually all our games are 3+ - the wii was a family present and DH and I aren't into FPS and all that. We just want a laugh - our favourites are wii party, wii sports resort and the Just Dance games. Things like Harry Potter are only for when she is in bed.
I have told DD she is not allowed to go to her neighbour's house because he (8yrs) plays COD etc unsupervised all day and DD was freaked out by it.

Why d'you ask? <nosy>

I feel quite strongly that I won't allow ds to play video games (he is only 3 atm). His dad is an addict imo, and I don't want ds to become a thumb-tapping zombie like him.

No my DC (6 years) have never played console games. My DH has one but my children have never been on it. We do have a computer which I allow them on for a limited time for educational games. Personally, there are other things I would prefer them to do, like playing outside, going to the park etc. I want them to enjoy their childhood and play with non-electronic toys just as I did. I know when they get older they will want all these things, but I wouldn't want to actively encourage it at such a young age.