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??

No thanks not for my children
It's supposed to be childhood and its not what I want my children's childhood to be about

If Social Services already have concerns then they would see allowing very young children to play these games as symptomatic of not being a protective responsible parent. Doubt they would accept a referral just for the game itself.

I do think schools should be aware of and record/report concerns regarding gaming - as a one off concern, it may not indicate a problem - but in some cases , it may go hand in hand with the dc being always tired/dirty/hungry/inappropriate language or sexual innuendo being used etc - or numerous other indicators of neglect /abuse.

And I do think other parents should check with you that you are ok with what dc play or watch at their house. heck, I even checked that a 10 yo was allowed to watch the 12 rated Harry Potters.

anyone who lets young children play these games is a moron.

'I always wonder why people are so blind to video game ratings'

... because they have minds of their own, and can form their own judgment as to whether a game is suitable for their offspring or not, rather than having to follow ratings like a mindless sheep.

To be fair, there are people who seem to think the ratings relate to difficulty. Which is

But yes, I prefer to use ratings and other information to make my own decisions. It also works the other way - there's plenty of stuff (games, films, TV whatever) that is either unrated or rated as suitable for a particular age that I'd rather ds avoided.