To be shocked that my friend lets her 7 and 8 year old boys play...

[jenniferalisonphillipasue]

Call of Duty on the xbox?
I am not one for games consoles etc but I am certainly not the console police. However I was really shocked that when I took my son to play at my friends house this morning her eldest son said he wanted to play CoD. I thought maybe he meant some kind of role play but there by the TV was COD2 (rated15). I was really shocked by this.
I really don't want my ds exposed to this kind of stuff. How do I go about saying this??

noble Quite, There are some amazing games out there nowadays. And not just kiddy ones either. Why is shit like CoD the go to game??

Indeed, noble. Why the hurry to get to realistic violent games when there's so many more choices

Some of the kids at my school play COD...not sure which one but given that they all now know what 'tea bagging' is from the game then I would deem it unsuitable for children. One of the TAs was shocked to learn what it was from a 9 year old...enough said!

I'm laughing at the idea of SS being involved because an underage child plays CoD, what a load of nonsense.

That must mean my DD will soon be removed from my care since I play/watch much more violent stuff than that whilst bouncing her in bouncer.

SS being involved, what a load of bollocks, they would file the complaint in the bin.

Have no idea about the game, but i think a lot of people have views on some of these games without even seeing them.

I'm not sure about social services thing as it seems to have been a "big story" politically and in the media I think there would be a bit more attention paid to reports of it not necessarily them swooping in to save your children but i expect if it's mentioned at school the school will file that information somewhere.
On this issue of games themselves please realise that the age ratings don't have anything to do with the difficulty of the game. It doesn't mean they are brighter just because they can play an 18.
For those who don't play the games themselves there is common sense media website with lots of reviews from adults and children along with that persons recommended age rating to give you a clearer idea of whats in the games.
www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2
By the way my dc's do play games they are not deemed old enough to play but nothing that i haven't checked out first usually by playing

PEGI explains the ratings pretty well too.

thats a link to the wrong game sorry but the websites good for all games

There's me being concerned my 4 year old getting unhealthy attitude towards green pigs in angry birds! 'I'm going to die the pigs!!'.
Honestly- I am rethinking him playing it...

Ds1 is 21 now and in his time has played all these games. As an adult he has a healthy sense of irony when faced with violent films etc and now plays games where you build space rockets etc (when he plays at all), while his extremely gentle father slaughters orcs on lord of the rings.

That said, I would not have allowed him to start that young. Secondary school at the very least, and actually I think he was about 14 before most of these games were available.

I played GTA when I was younger. I am still yet to nick a car and kill women.

My brother 13 has played COD etc since 11. He plays online with other friends. He can tell the difference between what is real and what isn't.

I played Playboy Mansion on the PlayStation 1. I loved it and I think that was a 15 or 18. Cant remember.

Faded My 3 year old shouts Fly birds, die pigs [grim] He also plays the ant squashing game.

Not had the pleasure of the ant squashing game... will not seek it out!

Back2Two do you really find 6 year olds who play consoles unable to entertain themselves? I dont think thats a general problem and maybe just the boys you have coming to your house.

Professor Susan Greenfield researched the effects of screen technologies on children and as a result there is no way I would let my 11 year old and 7 year old play COD. That's despite their claims that 'all their friends have played it' Well, yes, they probably have, but I can think of a lot more interesting things for my dc to do than sit in front of a screen and kill people.

Both my ds's (7 and 8yo) have friends at school who have played CoD. Ds1 went to a friend's house one evening and came home telling me they'd been playing it. I was furious. I have no opinion on other parents letting their kids play (ok I do have an opinion but I keep it to myself) but it is for ME to decide if MY sons are allowed to play it. Which they aren't. Same goes for Grand Theft Auto (vile game). They can stick to Skylanders for the foreseeable future!

It's basic good manners to check with another parent first.

I won't let my 12 year old play that game.

Boys that age are of course all too ready to be violent. In my own 1960s childhood I remember being revolted by a friends brother who literally tore the wings off butterflies and his mother just laughed it off. I find that unsettling too. And there is that horrible "joke" that all 8 year olds love:

" it's only when you look at them through a strong magnifying glass on a sunny day that you realise how often ants spontaneously burst into flames".

All kinds of violence unsettle me, probably far too much. Not sure if screen violence, which is more extreme on the face of it but at least not real, is worse or not. Not a big fan of Prof Greenfields research personally.

I am not a scientist, never mind a Professor of Neuroscience at Oxford University so I don't feel as though I'm in a position to 'rate' her research.

On the basis she may have a point and that 'gaming' is an antisocial, obesity-causing waste of fucking time I don't let my underage dc play computer games. We all have to make our decisions based on what we as parents think is best for our dc I suppose.

meh!

Ss! That is hilarious, i think they are a bit too busy dealing with abuse to bother with children playing computer games.
If the child knows what is real and what is not i don't see the problem. Yanbu to be annoyed.

My 10 and 8 year old both play the COD games as do their friends I see no problem with them, I do wonder how many parents who hold up their hands in horror have actually played the games. They are just shoot em ups and no different to games I played as a kid or to playing army and soldiers in the woods with toy guns.

DS1 was never allowed games that friends had. So when they came to visit they would bring the banned game. Was I prepared to humiliate him before a friend? Yes and no. Allowed him to play the game but commented upon it as lacking in humanitarianism - really kills the buzz. Also like playing John Lennon 'give peace a chance' at high volume or singing the lyrics - especially if the mic is on.