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AIBU?

Parents...what are you thinking!!!

61 replies

garrowismylaw · 02/12/2010 21:57

Have just been reading a thread on MN about teenagers. Basically the parent was asking if 18 cert games are okay for 13 year olds. What are they thinking?
The general consensus seems to be that because this particular 18 cert game is not real life it's okay for their younger kids to have because if they don't have it they will be socially ostracised.
Certificate ratings are there for a reason, fgs. And, tbh, I have seen my 8 year old playing on some games ie Burnout and Sims, that are for his age group legally, that I find so wrong. In the Sims one that is cert 7+ he visits a nudist hotel. Hw can that be approprite for a 7 year old?
AIBU in thinking that parents should follow the guidelines re certs and also peruse the games themselves just in case?

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LifeForRent · 02/12/2010 22:00

YANBU I have this row with my nephew who is 11 and trying to play 18+ games on his console-my sister doesn't care but I don't think he should be learning how to shoot people, picking up the bad language, and more often that not, staying indoors on nice days !!

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ballstoit · 02/12/2010 22:06

YANBU.

In the area I used to live a teenager was murdered by another teenager who was partly inspired by playing a computer game.

Whether it's fantasy or not, it gives the impression that violence is okay. I firmly believe that when further research is done on the effects of playing on violent console it will conclude that it damages the brain's development.

If parents were more united in not allowing children to play games for which they are not old enough then the peer pressure would be removed.

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PaisleyLeaf · 02/12/2010 22:06

Was it an old thread or something?

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garrowismylaw · 02/12/2010 22:08

Exactly. It may be fantasy but people are still be shot and killed. 18 year old can handle this as their brains have matured (in some cases), but 12, 13, 14, whatever, they think this is all real.
My DS is really into James Bond atm but most of the games are too old for him, so I am now the most unfair mum in the world cos I won't let him play them.
Have been thru his games and DVDs and taken out those that I thought were bad for him. (even HP is too old). He is not a happy bunny, but I can't be doing with this 'oh let them have the game, DVD, that all their friends have' culture.

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Meglet · 02/12/2010 22:09

I think it's the Black Ops thread. I feel very trendy knowing what that means now.

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MillyR · 02/12/2010 22:13

I don't agree with the ratings. Some of the media that has a 12 or PG rating I consider unsuitable for young people, while some of the 18 rated media I think is fine for young people.

I do agree that familiarity with the material you are letting your teenager view/play is important.

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garrowismylaw · 02/12/2010 22:13

Paisleyleaf...no it is not old thread...current thread on Teenagers.
And it's not just 18 certs that piss me off.
I got a game that was 3+, gave it to DS and he trotted off to play it. Later I went to watch him playing it and was gobsmacked. The aim of the game was to drive your car off a bridge into a motorway and cause as much damage to other vehicles as possible...the more damage the more points. I couldn't believe this was deemed okay for 3 year olds.

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PhishFoodAddiction · 02/12/2010 22:18

My Dbrother is almost 8. When he came to our house last week he wanted to play on DH's X-Box on some soldiery, murderous game. It was an 18 cert. I told him no he couldn't. Mum seemed a bit Blush when I said I didn't let him play cos I wasn't sure he was allowed. He's allowed to play on the 18 games at home (other DBro has them).

I don't think I'd like my girls to play on these games at a young age.

What disturbs me is the realism of these games. DH says he plays for 'escapism' but how is it escapism if it's so realistic, and he's having physical response to the game? Such as feeling fear, elation etc etc.

When I was younger I loved playing super mario brothers- a lovely game, colourful, obviously not real and the most violent it got was squashing a few baddies by jumping on their heads! I wish there were more games like this rather than the realistic ones which kids get so heavily involved in.

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sunnydelight · 02/12/2010 22:19

Why start a thread about it here then rather than just contributing to the one in the Teenage forum? I assume you are just looking for people with only younger children who will share your sense of moral outrage. If you feel strongly about computer games don't give them to your children, simple. Someone is bound to come along in a minute anyway and say what were you thinking giving a three year old any game without checking it out totally first!

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PaisleyLeaf · 02/12/2010 22:21

I was wondering why you didn't just say on the existing thread.
I don't think yabu.
I don't have much to do with games. But I know I disagree with many film certificates and music videos.
And I did turn a zombie shooting game off in the family room of a pub at the mains recently. It was on a massive screen and was just awful especially with really little children about.
People just don't seem to take much care over game content and their children.

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rivi · 02/12/2010 22:24

yadnbu
thank heavens there are sensible adults still around.

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MrManager · 02/12/2010 22:39

YABU for asking 'what are they thinking?'.

Why shouldn't they ask? People mature at different rates, and as is clear from some of the posters here, not everybody agrees with the age rating on the box.

What makes a 6570-day old mature enough to play an 18+ game but a 6569-day old is not?

Video games are going through the same fear and patronisation that all other media has gone through - give it 10 years, and everyone'll be a lot more sensible about it.

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garrowismylaw · 02/12/2010 22:41

I did not comment on original thread in Teenagers because I was shocked at response from people on it.
the majority seemed to think it okay to let younger kids play on these games....my objections would have been laughed at.
I have no qualms per se with parents buying these games for thier children, but this attitude of 'keeping in with thier friends' is just wrong. When it comes to a pair of expensive trainers, well that's down to whether the parents can afford to or not, trainers are not going to 'affect' kids brains. These type of games are. Some parents just cannot see this.
My DS's 8 year old friens 'smuggled' Grand Theft Auto into our house. Caught themon it and went mad. His mother actuall bought it for him and said he wanted it so she got it, saw nothing wrong there.Hmm

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jessiealbright · 03/12/2010 00:16

PhishFood, I think there's still loads of fun games like the Mario you used to play.

They just don't get the attention, or sometimes the display space. Bloody Black Ops taking up loads of space in Game, grrr.

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Morloth · 03/12/2010 00:32

Personally, I don't worry about official ratings that much when it comes to what DS watches. I either watch the movie/play the game first and then make my own decision or I stay in the room and will turn it off if I think it is inappropriate.

Why go mad? I would just say 'No chance boys', turned it off and taken it away until home time.

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BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree · 03/12/2010 00:41

agree in general

but what's wrong with a nudist hotel? Some families live like that in real life - including the kids Confused

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jessiealbright · 03/12/2010 00:47

Hang on, nudity in the Sims? Can anyone corroborate that?

When you tell your Sims to wash, it's blocked out so you don't see any Special Areas.

No way is there a nudist hotel!

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MrManager · 03/12/2010 00:55

Yeah, there is no nudist hotel in the Sims. I think you've caught your son cheating to make them naked.

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BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree · 03/12/2010 01:00

I also don't think kids think they're "real".

DS1 is 10 and LOVES his racing games. There is nothing more exhilirating for him on a computer/gamestation game to be racing cars very very fast.

He knows that it's only a game, and in real life fast racing is only done on proper race tracks and (usually unless it's a "track day" - by people that are trained to do it. He is decidedly unimpressed when he sees a car (even a fancy sports one of this desires) speeding on the roads.

And that game for 3+ sounds a bit like demolition derby - I loved that on the PS1 Grin


So no - actually I don't agree in general Blush.

I do follow the guidelines to an extent. But I don't stick rididly to them. The DS's have 2 12+ games their dad bought them Hmm - one I have banned it's in appropriate especially for the younger one. The other they are allowed to play but I have turned the "voice over" (or whatever it's called) off and the music levels adjusted so they hear the beat but none of the words (lots of bass and not much else). As the language in both wasn't suitable but the actual "game" was fine imo

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MrManager · 03/12/2010 01:03

Well done BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree. There's nothing more annoying than a parent who doesn't know how to work the machine, buys the child an 18 rated game, and then complains about the content.

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Monty27 · 03/12/2010 01:06

Thread about a thread?

Nite all

zzzzzzzzz

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BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree · 03/12/2010 01:09

ahh - now I wouldn't buy an 18 game - I haven't found any yet that I deem to be at all appropriate for them to play yet Smile.

We tend to stick to the 7+ ratings right now because of my younger DS's ages.


(I'm rather partial to a gaming session myself Blush).

One year I bought them a Wii for Christmas. Set it up, and they played some games and then were off to their dad's until Boxing Day evening .......but Father Christmas also bought them some PS2 games (as the PS2 they used to own was kept at his).....of course it wasn't going be far to complicated to take the Wii with them as well. So that stayed at home and they played their new PS2 games at daddy's house.

While mummy spent much of the next 24hrs "trying out" the Wii Grin Blush

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BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree · 03/12/2010 01:10

"WAS" going to be far too compliated

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BertieBotts · 03/12/2010 01:12

The sims argument is old (google "sims hot coffee" if you're really interested) and was based on someone finding the cheat which removes the censor blur (which has since been written out of the game). Still in an unmodded game the sims appear like barbies - they have no "bits" to see! You can download mods to remove the censor blur, and "anomatically correct" skins, but these are all available only on 18+ sites, of which there are a few. But many many more family-friendly download sites. The Sims is a heavily modded game so you can download things to do pretty much what you want in it. It's up to YOU as the parent to monitor what add ons they are downloading in that case!

There's definitely no nudist hotel in the game. It's hard enough to get them to stay naked even with mods because the core code is constantly trying to force them to get dressed again.

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Kaloki · 03/12/2010 01:21

YANBU - the ratings are there for a reason

PhishFoodAddiction It is still escapism, though catharsis is a better description. Do you never watch films to which you have an emotional reaction?

And there are loads of games for kids, absolutely loads.

MrManager A 17 year old playing an 18 is obviously a more grey area, but an 11 year old (which is the kind of age difference many of these threads are about) is a much more black and white issue.

jessie Definitely no nudity. And no nude hotels. So the child has been downloading content, and it's at least 2 cheats used there, possibly three.
Plus I wouldn't trust any 8 year old to download things off the net!! So in that case, I'd be more worried by the fact they seem to have unsupervised internet access! Shock

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