to think that 8 years is too young to be playing Modern Warfare3 games?

[funnyperson]

An 8 year old proudly told me he loved playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. His mum said he had all the others and had been give 4 other war computer games by doting relatives for Christmas. I looked it up - the games are rated 18 and might cause upset and distress.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16745015
aibu to think that wargames have got out of hand for children?

I very much agree with you! I got dp mw2 and 1 called call of duty for Xmas and was utterly suprised/ disgusted at the level of violence in those games. You literally see the blood/ guts squirting out. You are definitely Not BU

I started a thread about this over Christmas. My nephew wasn't allowed to come to soft play with DD and I because its "dirty and for babies" so he stayed home and played MW CoD. He's 8.

I love my SIL but the boy has no attention span and always wants to watch violent things.

I hate these games and really think that children shouldn't see then, never mind play them. Lots of people think that they can assess whether their children are OK to play them. I don't think that because your 8 year old is not freaked out that means he is fine to play them. I think it's more likely that he should be freaked out. He's 8. Rant over.

Yanbu,

i have ds who are 15 and 18 and dd of 8 and they dont even like her in the room when they are playing as they feel not for young kids

yes i no hypocritcal as my 15 year old plays but thats my judgement call that he is mature to handle it and its a game he knows war is not glamourous in the slightest

know*

Of course YANBU!

My 8yo neighbour plays them too, we don't let DD (4) into his house now because he would just play them while she watched and was talking about the shooting etc. He is a nice enough lad - he is welcome in our house to play our games/watch DVDs etc - I just don't like the way they are unsupervised at his house when he plays those games.

I don't think those games are suitable for anyone...but especially children (by that I mean, yes, up to 18).
Waste of time - unproductive - damaging - expensive - etc etc

I agree with you, OP.

I enjoy and play first person shooters, but crucially I am not eight. This is slipshod parenting.

My take on it is it's a game not real life.

YABU I think its up to the parents to decide if their child is mature enough to know the fact that it is only a game its not real life.

I have played all of these types of games (mmmmm infact am waiting for a child free day so I can get stuck into the new COD that Ive had since Christmas) and I personally dont think they are suitable for a child who doesnt understand the difference between real life and fiction. But if the kid clearly understands that just because they have played a game it doesnt mean they can go out and procure an AK-47 and start shooting random peds then I think its no big deal.

For all of the little anecdotes about "I know a boy who is dead behind the eyes because of this game blah blah blah" there is one like my DN who is 9 who plays this game sometimes with me and I kick his arse who is the brightest, kindest and most intelligent 9 year old Ive ever come across.

And My2cent - thats strange, the CODs Ive played you see a bit of blood when they have been shot but Ive never seen guts spill out. Is this a special edition of the game or something?

Tabby. It is certified 18 for a reason.

In the same way you wouldnt allow an 8 year old to watch an 18 film.

I know all children have different levels of maturity but ffs

I think it is damaging stuff, it desensitises young kids to violence, it is a bit sick. My DS is 9 and I would never buy him, or allow others to buy him games like this.

I know a friend of his has them though.

A horror film rated 18 is also patently fictional and not real life. I still wouldn't let an 8 year old watch it. There are plenty of books, also totally fictional, that I wouldn't consider to be appropriate reading material for an 8 year old. This is why the age rating system is in place for films and video games. It's unrealistic to expect that they won't watch them till that age, I think everyone knows 15 year olds are watching/playing 18s and I don't think that's a big deal. But they are rated 18 because they are not suitable for children so why anyone would think it is ok for an 8 year old is beyond me.

War-games for children haven't got out of hand. They are made by eg Lego, and are unproblematic.

Allowing an 8 year old access to 18 rather material, whether games, porn or alcohol is a matter of parenting standards.

You can get some interesting disputes about teens and access to such material, where you are into much greyer areas. Even though judge-pants are normally condemned on MN, I think 18 rated material is never suitable for 8 year olds.

Do people really trust age ratings then?

I'd be ready to consider whether 18 really should be at 18 (not say 16 or 21).

But when the question is about 8 year olds, then yes I would rely on them. Look at the content reviews or the game itself in this case. I don't think 18 is in anyway unreliable for games of this content and quality of graphics.

Absolutely. I dislike that my stepson plays this game aged nine and have made my views well known to his father. I have managed to have the rule introduced that he cannot play it while my two children are up, so it's narrowed down his playing time to an hour before bedtime. It's too realistic and violent for my liking and should be limited to the age appropriate game player.

Gribble, my stepson showed me a particular bit (excitedly) where he slit the throat of a man in a boat and it was quite graphic. You could see the wound.

meh, there are plenty of U rated films/cartoons that have elements of darkness and might raise unwanted questions about subjects that young children shouldnt be worrying about. Id rather trust parental judgement than a random certificate on a film / game.

I find it a bit strange that people put so much trust into the certificates, like there is that magical point in someone brains development where someone who is 17 and 364 days cant play it but in a mere 24 hours they suddenly develop the cognitive function to finally realise that its only a game.

This is very common, many young kids are playing these games - then the other kids in class gat made fun of for not having them and feel excluded as it's all many of them talk about. They seem obsessed and yes this is at 8 and 9 yrs of age and younger as well. Many parents just won't admit it on mums net that their kids p,ay these games.

I have a 5 year old who has played some of my grand theft auto 4 game and many others. i am mentioning thisone because i know people think it is the devils spawn.

well when he plays it he drives around in cars. he goes to the train station and to burger shops and car washes. To him its a game where you walk a man about and that is it.

he has also played an arcade game i have called wolfenstein 3d. The first ever fps game. He shoots the nazis and they fall over and he says 'bad guy all fall down' he doesn't actually understand what he is doing.

Now when it comes to modern warfare. the age rating is there as a guide. They are hardly super graphic. you shoot someone and they rag doll on the floor. Which really isn't a big deal. When it comes to the argument about desensitizing people to violence i do not buy it. I have played games like this, worse games, films about all sorts of awful things.Yet if i see something horrible on the news it will still horrifyme because i can differentiate reality from a game.

As for games making children violent they have never proved that to be true.

so as a parent who has played hundreds of games. and in my experience with them i would be happy to let a8-10 year old play these games. Because personally i think i can judge my own child and experiences better than a rating board

Gribble: why do you think age-ratings are "random". Do you think they pick the titles out of a hat? I'm confused by your point.

I don't think anyone has claimed that they truly believe being 18, as opposed to nearly 18 makes a vital difference either.

But as for universally trusting Parental Judgment. Pah. Don't make me laugh. I play computer games. Lots of them pre-children. Somewhat less now, due to time constraints. (Same goes for books, too, incidentally.)

The majority of people purchasing games for child, in my experience, just say "oh it's a game". Parents who would never let their children watch a violent film, will buy an 18-rated game, without concern. Frankly, games are interactive mediums, and I would think that directing violence to occur on a screen is less significant than watching someone else do it on a screen.

*I wouldn't think that directing violence to occur on a screen is less significant than watching someone else do it on a screen.

Sorry, but I think it's horrible that you would let a 5 year old play a shooting game when you say yourself that he doesn't understand what he is doing.

I do agree it should be up to the individual parent but I think 8 is way too young. I think a judgement call is fair, when they are in their teens or so.

The biggest problem though IMO is when parents don't bother to check the ratings or content, don't have a clue what they are buying their children, but do anyway. Why would you do this?