Letting DS not spend real money on Fortnite

[MidnightVelvetthe7th]

Please could I get some opinions, my 9 year old DS wants to spend his saved pocket money (£20) to buy a battle pack in the game Fortnite on the Xbox.

I've said no, as I always say no as I don't like them spending money on online games but I need to examine why I'm so reluctant as he's asking why not. My usual excuses are because you don't get anything to show for your money & if you spend it & the game glitches & loses it/you have to set up another account then you may as well throw your money down a drain. Not to mention that once Fortnite stops becoming the game of the moment its a waste.

I do have form for spending money on online games myself so I understand why he wants to, my game was Farmville 2 & I must have spent about £60 on it, & I don't play it anymore so it was a total waste of cash. I don't play any online games now but I understand the want to get ahead.

But AIBU, is it normal for kids to spend their pocket money on this sort of thing now? Do your DC do it? Should I change my mind & let him?

@Catsarelife nope. I had to explain earlier they are only legally enforcement for the retailer

Ok fine. Look at other threads when the problems are discussed.
You called me a bad teacher though so what’s the difference?
I think kids of 8 should not be on 12 games.
I am entitled to my opinion.

Legally is neither here for there.
I wouldn’t take a child of 14 to see an 18 film either.

If you judge parents because of it then yes. Kids at 8 have to learn about actual, horrific violence. A cartoony game where 'weapons' such as boogie bombs exist is hardly going to warp their minds.

My 11 yo and his mates love fortnight. I allow him to buy the battle passes and occasionally extra stuff. Initially I said no but then decided he may as well buy virtual tat than real tat, why should it matter. He gets far more out fortnight than much of the real toys in which his interest was short lived that he bought when younger.

Ds has the teen settings on xbox and can only chat with people on his friends list. When he wants to buy something I get a notification and can say yes or no. He can’t buy without me knowing.

Oh and he has to turn off at a sensible time 😊

Oh gosh. My Year 6s are allowed to play games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto which aren't suitable due to graphic content. This does irk me a little, but I'm not their parents, so it isn't my decision.

Fortnite isn't rated a 12 due to violence, because it's no more violent than other children's games (hacking a pig or a villager to death on Minecraft using a pickaxe anyone). It's a 12 due to online chat, which can be turned off with parental controls.

Have you ever played Fortnite, Mrs? Ever watched a full game? Ever seen the problem solving, teamwork and collaboration used between children? I'm guessing no.

The violence in a 12 really only means you are more likely to be shooting human shaped people as opposed to obvious "bad guys" like mushrooms, stormtroopers or Aladdin Palace Guards or Deception for example....

As ever with ratings blindly following them can easily lead you astray.

I've never been keen to PvP aspect of fortnight and anything that stops on its time frame not mine i see as a bad thing.

In the UK the Video Standards council rate Fortnite as PEGI 12 for frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Direct quote.
Year 6 on call of duty.
Ok I give up.

@Mrskeats

I wouldn’t take a child of 14 to see an 18 film either.

Because that would be illegal for the cinema to let you in

My 12 year old has seen some 18 but there are others there are no way I'd let them see. Kemode has some interesting discussion on this. There's no way I'd blindly trust a certificate....

Good. Byeee!

I don’t think you’re unreasonable, OP, no, since you ask. My kids don’t play Fortnight at all - my gamer nephew gave me a heads up about how addictive it was proving, so I banned it from the start.
It’s okay to say no and mean no.

I know very little about this game my SC play it and have done for a while. Prior to and Over the summer there was some real problems with what imo amounted to kids bullying each other online and then taking it into school (primary) the next day. From what i understand it was to do with individuals being excluded from group games, then the exclusion carrying on in school, the taking of all of someones weapons and other stuff by tricking someone (not sure what or how) then laughing / joking / making fun off in school the next day. This happened to my SC who had spent money on the game only to have lost everything they 'bought'. I'm not even going to comment on the obscene amount of time they are allowed to play in this at their mums - but yes they are some of the kids who have been spending til the very early hours of the morning on this game.

What I don't understand is how are the game makers (Or whatever they're called) allowed to encourage the above? I also don't think they should be allowed to entice kids in with a 'free' go and then want money for them to progress/ buy stuff.

Disclaimer: please excuse my ignorance of video games my 2 DSis and I never interested as kids and all our DC too young for them yet !

Probably better to see what the VSC actually says about why they rated Fortnite a 12 than to listen to a random MNer.

Mass Effect is infamously a 12.... guess that means it's fine for a 13 year old then....

At the same time let the watch Batman Dark knight and that other one that is legendary for being ridiculously violent but edited for a 12 certification...

I know tge game and don't see how that could happen, Shooby so I think some things have got lost in translation! I do agree fully though that kids shouldn't be spending all night on it. But then, that's a risk with a lot of things, I've been known to go into work knackered sometimes as I couldn't put a book down before 2am 😆

Complaints always come from people who know nothing about games, have never played them, don't try them first to check they're OK, don't understand consoles so can't do the parental controls correctly etc. It's really sad for those children who could benefit from the positive aspects of gaming.

Thank goodness a lot of parents have the sense to check things out for themselves rather than rely on bizarre age ratings. I've seen a couple of 12 films that scared the absolute crap out of me because I'm susceptible to horror. I wouldn't let my child watch Woman in Black for example, whereas I remember watching Drop Dead Fred at about 9.

It's all about finding out for yourself as a parent, and common sense. It's severely lacking on Mumsnet.

I'm quoting Blackadder here, but Catsarelife, your disguise is as convincing as a giraffe wearing dark sunglasses trying to get into a polar bear's only golf club. You post EXACTLY the same things on EXACTLY the same threads, fgs.

Eh?

Yep. And v rudely too.

[haha] [haha] [haha]

Well yes, that 's the other reason it's so glaringly obvious.

Whilst I personally am keen on checking things before my children get keen on them (games, films and even books) I’m a pragmatist and the truth is that plenty of parents don’t have time. Indeed, there are many times that I don’t have time. So I stick by age ratings, unless I have an educated opinion to the contrary (which takes quite a bit of time, particularly with games).

That doesn’t mean I lack common sense, Catsarelife. just time. Same is true of many parents. Though I agree that those who don’t bother to put parental controls on consoles and devices, or to monitor what their kids are up to,
severely lack common sense.

That's fair enough, Somerville and definitely the case for some films. Who has the time to watch every single film before showing it to a child? It's the constant barrage of wailing dismay about one game that is actually not too bad that's annoying, when coming from people who know nothing about it. If you're going to constantly slate it, at least try it yourself (not aimed at you).

Most of the issues people have with the game such as children becoming addicted to it, staying up all night to play, talking to strangers on it or talking about it in class are either parenting or teaching issues and can't be blamed on the game.

With Mrskeats on this.

@sharkwithknees - I don't know if I have explained it correctly but one of the incidents happened at my house - SC was inconsolable that they had been tricked and everything taken from them some of which they had just bought as it was with birthday money. They said this one person had done it to someone else the night before? To which DH questioned why play with this person then ?