6 yr old playing Grand theft auto

[peppajay]

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???

[CommanderShepard]

As for PEGI, I'll say what I said ages ago: romped through Mass Effect on Insanity level. Need the walkthrough for Lego Harry Potter. Have not finished Harry Potter.

[MurderOfGoths]

Here's a question for fellow gamers if you have babies/toddlers do you ever play in front of them and at what age did you stop if you do? DS is just starting to be aware and like watching games, so we've had to change what gets played while he is awake. Gone are the days of playing with DS fast asleep on our laps.

[KatoPotato]

DS is 3.5. He loved Pikmin3 and Ni No Kuni.

But as for anything more mature, it's strictly after bed!

[KatoPotato]

I remember playing/watching Heavy Rain when he was a newborn, htat was some way to pass the bf times!

[GirlOutNumbered]

We've never played anything violent in front of DS1 and DS2 and they are one and three now, although we do let him play the xbox.
My DSS was playing Halo Wars in front of DS1 (3) and they had a cut scene which was violent). He didn't seem to respond to it at all, but it made me really uncomfortable.
So only the nice games before bed times!

[MurderOfGoths]

kato I put hours and hours into SW:TOR when DS was a newborn. Was lovely having so much gaming time. Not so much anymore.. now the fun bit is persuading him to go to bed at a reasonable hour so we can fire up the PC/console

[CommanderShepard]

MurderOfGoths I used to breastfeed and game at the same time when DD was very small. She's 16mos now and likes the controller far too much, so no gaming when she's about (if nothing else because she's a bit too 'helpful'). When she's older DH is itching to get out the ancient Spectrums/Acorns in our loft and get her doing basic programming on them

[MurderOfGoths]

Oh yes, DS tries to "help", am looking forward to playing games with him when he's a bit bigger. Dying to introduce him to stuff like Raving Rabbids etc.

[CeliaFate]

A child playing an 18 rated game till 1 am on a school night? I would tell the school, they would take a very dim view of that.
She sounds like an idiot to me.

[ShakeAndVac]

They're having a GTA argument over on Nethuns as well. I've given up trying to say what;'s wrong with playing GTA at the age of 8 (which is what the OP is thinking of buying her son - at the age of 8!)
It's not sinking in. Some stupid people out there!

[MurderOfGoths]

Has anyone linked to the ESRB description on there?

[ShakeAndVac]

Has anyone linked to the ESRB description on there?

No, I don't think so.

[peppajay]

Wow such a response!!!! My son has come home from school today and this particular child was off sick (ummm) so no swearing today. My son isn't great friends with him so hoping it will stay that way have explained to him about the words and that they are not nice words to use and just because xxxx uses them doesn't mean he should. A lot of people have seen her comments on FB and have defriended her, me included. Will see what happens next week but enough of us are now on board and horrified at what we have heard today that we will report it to the school!!

[MrsGeologist]

We had a rule that there was no gaming when the children were awake. That has been relaxed a bit, but only games we are happy with them seeing, so banjo kazooie, viva piñata and minecraft and similar things. In fact, DS1 has become quite a backseat gamer. He made me build a charity shop in my big walled town on minecraft.

[CruCru]

I love GTA (am 35) but it is strictly only for when DS (age 2) is out or in bed. The language is very strong and the violence is extreme and fairly unpredictable - when you start a new mission you don't know if it is going to become very unpleasant very quickly.

I wouldn't play it in front of even new babies.

I would be uncomfortable with even a 15 year old playing - it is much longer than a typical 18 film and much more immersive. Apart from anything else, it's a complete time suck - so easy to start to do a quick 15 minutes which then becomes 2 hours.

[GeeTeeEff]

Can anyone answer my question?

If you do not allow your teen (say age 12 upwards) to play it in your home how do you stop them playing at a friends house? Genuine question btw. What difference does it make where they play it, they're still playing it.

[BalloonSlayer]

Actually LOLed at the righteous proclamation: "and NO WAY should a child under 12 ever, ever be playing an 18 game"

Perhaps they ought to be called 12s then?

[BinksToEnlightenment]

I think after a certain maturity, it becomes counter productive to enforce bans - you only make them more appealing. But six that age ain't.

[littlemisswise]

DS1(18) and DS2(16) went halves on it and have been playing it since it arrived. I have it say I haven't noticed anything on it, about it, because I zone out to these things when I am on my iPad, reading or knitting.
I just asked DS2 how violent it is and he said very because you are a gangster, "but it's not real"!

I am not going to stop him playing it because he will go somewhere else to do it. I don't believe he will become violent or turn into a criminal because he has played it.

However, there is no way in this world that I would allow a 6yo to play it.

I don't believe the stories where everyone was missing from school when it came out either, they were all at DS2's. He has been absent twice this week, one afternoon to see his dad off on a four month tour, and today because he is ill. It never occurred to me they might think it is because of GTA!

They've got FIFA14 on order for next Friday, so it'll all change then!

[BombayBadonkadonks]

re console games being for kids....

total rubbish! I am 36 and play loads! I have the platinum trophies to prove it too.

I would not let my 7 and 4 yo DSs play most of the games I play.

[MurderOfGoths]

GeeTeeEff I haven't got a teen yet, but not sure there is an answer. You just do what you can I think.

[lagertops]

Ugh, in my opinion, letting a six year old play GTA is a form of neglect. Don't get me wrong, I've loved playing it since it came out, but even I was shocked when one of the missions involved having to take a paparazzi picture of a woman 'getting fucked in the dirtbox.'

Silly bitch, get some sense. It's 18 for a reason.

[littlemisswise]

I just mentioned this thread to DS1 and he said the woman needs to re-evaluate her parenting decisions because "there's some right fucked up shit on it!"

He said it is like an 18 film made into a game.

[Orangeanddemons]

It is a child protection issue. I'm a teacher, it has an age rating of 18, and is too violent for a six year old. I believe it contains sexual scenes.

It is not like kids playing soldiers etc, it has an age guidance for a reason. Do let a 6 year old play it is neglect

[cory]

GeeTeeEff Fri 20-Sep-13 18:51:17
"Can anyone answer my question?

If you do not allow your teen (say age 12 upwards) to play it in your home how do you stop them playing at a friends house? Genuine question btw. What difference does it make where they play it, they're still playing it."

The difference is that they grow up thinking "my parents had a problem with these things. Maybe there was some kind of reason". And if they are generally in the habit of thinking of their parents as fairly reasonable people with some kind of rationale for what they do, they might (as they grow older) consider why they had a problem with a game where you gain new energy points (or so I have heard) by being serviced by a prostitute.

My children are teenagers. They have, by now, a fairly clear idea of how I will react to various suggestions of theirs and what I will think about various aspects of their lives. Sometimes I am more tolerant and laissez-faire than their friends' parents, sometimes I am considerably less so, often there is no appreciable difference. They may not always agree with my pov, they may not always obey me, but at least they know, it is part of the moral package of the household as it were.