Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

6 yr old playing Grand theft auto

123 replies

peppajay · 20/09/2013 13:57

AIBU to think a 6 yr old shouldn't be playing Grand theft auto??

My son has come home from school the last few days saying swear words not in an aggressive way just in the middle of a random sentence. I didn't want to make to much of a fuss about it so just asked him he knew those words from and he said that 'xxxx has been saying it at school' it is on his new x box game.

His mother is a little eccentric and extremely loud but nice enough and I speak to her sometimes at the school gate and at she requested me as a FB friend so I accepted. I logged on this morning and she is bragging about how far xxxxx has got on it and that he was up till 1am last night as she couldn't get him off it. I am completely and totally shocked that any parent would allow a 6 yr old to play this. She has had mixed comments probably more than half saying their kids love it and saying the same as her and others completely against the fact that he is on an 18 game. She says as long as he good at school he has no rules at home, normally I would let it go, each to their own but I don't want her irresponsible (imo) parenting to rub off on my son. AIBU???

OP posts:
Pinupgirl · 20/09/2013 16:46

My eldest dc loves horror films but no I wouldn't let them watch Saw because its not real horror and its crap.

Btw I wouldn't let a 6 year old play Gta either in the interest of full disclosure but cant abide the pearl clutching horror on this thread.

Pinupgirl · 20/09/2013 16:46

No I don't play any console games-they are for children imo.

pigletmania · 20/09/2013 16:47

Yanbu at all. Stupid woman!

VivaLeThrustBadger · 20/09/2013 16:50

"No rules at home"

That's one friendship I wouldn't be encouraging,

JCDenton · 20/09/2013 16:50

No I don't play any console games-they are for children imo.

Well you're quite wrong and the post on the previous page outlining GTA's content is evidence enough of that.

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 16:50

Well there's your problem, they aren't for children, they are for adults.

GeeTeeEff · 20/09/2013 16:51

I know a lot of his friends have it, but not in my house.

muddy do you allow him to play it at his friends? I'm the same as you. I won't allow him to buy it but I can hardly stop him from going to his friends and playing it.

Weegiemum · 20/09/2013 16:51

My ds is 11.8 and all this week it's been everybody has got GTA! why can't i get it?

So today I phoned his 3 best friends mums (the only ones I have numbers for) and, funny enough, none of them have it and are all saying the same thing - one even told his mum that my ds had it!

Ds is very into his games, and he has one 18 game (so shoot me!) which is The Last of Us - well it's really dh's but he's allowed to play it. His favourite is still Lego Star Wars though. Having the games, whatever they are, is important I think as it's the social glue between boys of their age. We are pretty strict otherwise: 30 mins gaming on schooldays, 1 hr weekends/holidays. The swearing issue hasn't been a problem - the rule in our house is you can listen to the words, but if you say them, you'll be watching Barbie DVDs until the end of time!

It seems to be working so far, anyway. We also have no screens outside the lounge - upstairs, at the table etc, unless we have adult visitors then they can take a laptop upstairs and watch a DVD. We listen to a lot of radio, too. It's great to have slightly older dc who appreciate Just A Minute etc on R4!

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 16:51

It's been a long long time since video games were solely designed for children. Since then there have been some incredible games designed with a purely adult audience in mind.

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 16:52

Weegie Haha I bet, great to call their bluff!

KatoPotato · 20/09/2013 16:57

The Last of Us is brilliant!

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 16:58

Really want to try Last of Us, it's on my list to play as soon as I am no longer pregnant. I miss my games!!

AintNobodyGotTimeFurThat · 20/09/2013 16:59

I completely agree with you.

My cousin who has just turned 8 has been playing this for about a year now. I have no idea why his Mum, my aunt, lets him do this but she'd kick off if I mentioned it. She's a lovely woman, just very proud and wouldn't like to be told how to parent, especially by her niece.

But at any rate I'd not be too impressed with someone letting someone under around the age of 15, play these games.

At 15/16 I think it's fair enough. If you are able to have sex and join the army, you can play what you like but at 6/7 years old you really shouldn't know about those kind of things and be shown that these kinds of things are fun.

I despair, sometimes.

I sound old, but I'm only 23...

Talkinpeace · 20/09/2013 17:00

I have just allowed my 13 year old to buy it with an amazon voucher from his uncle (SO looking forward to his face when he hears)
BUT
the Xbox is in the family room and DH will be playing it with him
so the time and violence will be in the context of supervision

I will not have Call of Duty in the house
and NO WAY should a child under 12 ever, ever be playing an 18 game

Preciousbane · 20/09/2013 17:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsGeologist · 20/09/2013 17:04

YANBU, I can't believe people think that the PEGI rating is to do with the difficulty. Actually, I can but it still boggles the mind that some people are that stupid.

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 17:05

Went into Game yesterday and loads of kids kept asking me and DH to buy it for them! Fucking hell..

sewingandcakes · 20/09/2013 17:10

YANBU 6 is far too young to play games like that. I would agree that you should tell the school about the language.

"as long as he good at school he has no rules at home": It sounds like she's expecting the school to do all the parenting so that she doesn't have to bother at home.

MrsGeologist · 20/09/2013 17:11

Murder, you should have taken their money and bought 'My Pony Mansion for the PC' or something. That'll learn 'em Grin

MurderOfGoths · 20/09/2013 17:17

I was sooo tempted, but DH was giving me the look which said "I know what you are thinking and no, you can't" Grin

GirlOutNumbered · 20/09/2013 17:17

pinupgirl - Average age of a 'gamer'?

TantrumsAndBalloons · 20/09/2013 17:20

See, I think GTA is much much worse than call of duty.

GTA has people taking cocaine, necrophilia, nudity, horrible language, prositutes, sex acts.
I don't see how supervising it makes it any less of an adult game tbh.

My ds1 is 14. That game will not come into my house, ever.

KatoPotato · 20/09/2013 17:20

We need complete The Testament of Sherlock Holmes tonight so we can properly get into GTAV.

So far I've managed to steal a small aircraft and rode a jetski around the perimeter of the whole map.

We're 33.

CommanderShepard · 20/09/2013 17:21

Ok, so the 'violent video games = muggings and shooting' is tired and fucking ridiculous.

I game. DH games. Never felt the need to mug anyone or commit any form of crime.

However, no way in hell would I let a child of mine play GTA. Especially not 6. I've bought GTA5 for DH for his birthday but he will not be playing it in front of DD - I don't care that she's only 1. Fortunately he agrees... either way, as soon as she is able to choose games herself the shooty-shooty ones are going away where she can't find them.

GirlOutNumbered · 20/09/2013 17:23

I can't stand it because of the way the women characters are either whores, drug addicts or crazy...
Its profoundly misogynistic.

Swipe left for the next trending thread