to stop my 10 year old from playing Call of Duty?

[2kidsandcats]

The game is 15 rating. My husband let him play it once, and I felt very uncomfortable about it.It is 'just' shooting, and my dh argues it's 'just like cowboys and indians', or pretend gun games that boys play. We've 'compromised' and let him play a 12 game that uses guns. When my ds is on x-box you can see what games his friends are playing remotely - and I'm pretty shocked that many of them are playing Call of Duty - and worse, and some of these kids are from the kind of families you wouldn't expect to be so lax.

So am I being unreasonable?

[superjobee]

DD was playing nazi zombies at 3 and hitman at 4 but thats not her games thats just her dad and her uncles giving her a 'shot' her fave games are ben 10 and some my little pony thing

[serin]

Never in million years would we let our DC's "play" this, but we know lots of teacher and health colleagues who are quite happy to let their kids use CoD all evening.

YANBU.

[CurrySpice]

Elastamum...really?! Your kids have read every single book ever written for teens?!

Oh well, mine have watched all the Barbie movies, think I'll move them onto the Exorcist!!

[TalkinPeace2]

elastamum
what did yours make of Hot Fuzz?
Mine (10 and 13) now regularly say "yarp" and collapse in giggles when they see a model village....

I think part of it is to be very very aware of what you are letting your children watch
we have no TVs in bedrooms, laptops only in bedrooms on condition I can check the history (not that I tend to bother), and the wii is in the family room. No other consoles.

[elastamum]

Nope, but we all watched shaun of the dead and all the other simon Peg movies together.

Both boys also read adult novels as they have already pretty much worked their way through all the teen books. They spend far more time reading than they do playing on line. I do suggest series to read and have steered them away from stuff such as stig Larson as even I think the violent sex not suitable for a 12 yr old (despite it being a bloody good book), but I have shelves and shelves of books so they are always digging around for new stuff. I always read what my dad was reading from about 10 yrs old and it doesnt seem to have done me any harm.

[CurrySpice]

I realise that elastamum thanks

My point was, there must be a reason for that. There must be a reason why it's rated 18 and therefore not in the slightest suitable for a 10yo

Would you let a 10yo watch and 18 fim, like Saw?

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

I'm with Chocobo (FF fan!! ) Did he miss the bit as to how a Samurai kills himself?

[elastamum]

Actuually that is a good point diabolo.

The boys are all playing an earlier 15 version, not black OPs.

[diabolo]

There are several different Call of Duty games, (Call of Duty: Black Ops is an 18 and is AWFUL, some of the others are 16 and some are rated 15, with much less violence and swearing).

My DS (12) plays the 15 version (World at War about WW2) and it is perfectly OK - like watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or similar.

[Chocobo]

Eh? That Daily Mail article, although tragic, does not make much sense. The little boy liked to act out scenes he had seen in films so, after watching a ritual samurai suicide he hung himself?? Sounds more like he was mucking about, maybe copying Indiana Jones, and was a tragic accident rather than intentional suicide - poor little boy :(

[robotlollypopman]

It's the Daily Mail....... Plus bad parenting.

[maypole1]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024647/Lewis-McGlynn-8-hanged-saw-The-Last-Samurai-film.html

[maypole1]

mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?24122-8-year-old-Lewis-McGlynn-hanged-himself-after-watching-The-Last-Samurai



I can't believe the question has to be asked the answer is no.

Your oh needs to go on a parenting course

[WilsonFrickett]

Of course YANBU. I think the only possible grey area on this is when you have a 17/18 year old in the house plus a younger one. I could understand that may be difficult to police. But apart from that, no excuses.

[elastamum]

Curry spice, No internet savvy child will ever register their own age. Ds2 is 105 on facebook!

I think it is far more important to discuss things with children than simply ban and thus mystify them. In our house we all watch the news over breakfast in the mornings and talk about what is happening and why. We had long discussions about the recent events in Norway and why these sort of things happen and we have talked about the recent rioting

My family also dont hide death from our children, so my children have seen real dead and dying people (relatives) from a young age and have been bought up to understand death from a perspective that is very far divorced from games.

[elastamum]

I have a 12 and 10 yr old DS. The eldest plays CoD online with a number of his school friends in the evenings. They are scattered all over the county in different villages and play and chat to each other through their headsets.

I have looked at it and I'm not particularly worried by it to be honest. I dont believe for a moment my boys cant seperate real life from on line games or films. My limit on films for them is 15 and Ive usually watched them first. I dont allow swearing in the house, although I will (and have) explain any rude word they care to ask. i have never witnessed any violent or unreasonable behaviour from either my children or their friends

All of the boys who play are perfectly normal teens, very polite, dont swear in front of adults, do their homework, play team sports, but they are all rural kids and it is their way of interacting together in the evening as they live miles apart. Obviously, a fairly large number of them, teachers children included, have the game as a number of boys from his yeargroup play together.

DS2 (10) has played, but isnt remotely interested in CoD. He is usually too busy climbing stuff, which is far more of a worry to me, especially when he disappears up the hill on his own looking for trees to climb!

[NickRobinsonsloveslave]

But surely, letting them play on games that are innapropriate for their age is not raising them properly?

[FabbyChic]

My son is now 18, his brother is 23, I used to buy them 18 games when they were 14. It has not harmed them they are children to be proud of, they don't swear, they don't loot, they both work hard educationally, one has a maths degree and has just started his first job paying 50k a year. Im sorry but children don't turn out bad or wronguns because of what games they play at a young age, they turn out to be arseholes because their parents did not raise them properly and didn't give them any values.

[NickRobinsonsloveslave]

No I didn't become a serial killer, but it's a memory, a very uncomfortable memory, that has stayed with me for the past 30 years.

[CurrySpice]

You can't even get on the CoD web site if you say you are 10

[robotlollypopman]

I'm not saying you weren't scared Nick. But did you become a serial killer? Did you think being a serial killer was acceptable because you saw it on the screen?

[NickRobinsonsloveslave]

When I was 14 my best friend talked me into going to cinema to watch Friday the 13th. I was practically in tears on the way home and could not sleep without a light on for quite a few days after.

So you can't tell me that young impressionable minds won't be detrimentally affectd by these type of games.

[Roo83]

I've played COD-actually I used to play it online a lot. I was in my 20's at the time and still ended up having nightmares about it! This probably makes me sound a bit daft, but honestly, if you've played it, it's so realistic. I could feel my heart pounding, sweaty palms and breathing rate increase when I was hiding. I'd physically jump if someone 'killed' me, and get a buzz from the number of 'kills' I'd got. I'm not crazy-i'm an adult, with a degree, and (pre kids) a decent job.....the effect this could have on a young developing mind does not bare thinking about. I will not be letting ds play COD (or similar) until he's 18.