To not let my 10 year old play Fortnite?

[TheSharpertheJuice]

The time has come where my DS is no longer content playing Minecraft with his friends in their own little space online- they’ve all moved on to Fortnite but I’ve not read an awful lot of positives about it (especially for his age!) so have said ‘no’… now he has nobody to play with during his couple of hours computer time, they talk about it at school and he can’t join in, and I’m worried that my rules are going to cause him a tough time…
For what it’s worth, they play football together and outside games too but their current topic of interest is definitely more computery of late.
Unsure how to proceed- I don’t want to make his life difficult but also don’t like what I’m reading about this game!

YABU - let him play, so he doesn’t become ostracised
YANBU - the game isn’t appropriate and just because his friends do it doesn’t mean he should too

YABU - let him play.
He will feel ostracised and Fornite really isn’t a terrible game. 10 is absolutely fine!

What are you reading that puts you off?

Both my son and my stepson have played it from about age 8/9 with no issues. I can't personally see the problem with it.

I am not saying YABU by the way, I've not voted - but for me, it's not a big deal.

YANBU, it teaches children that violence is acceptable and is part of a longterm plan to create a society where Battle Royale/Hunger Games style events are acceptable.

GTA is an 18 for good reason, Fortnite really isn't any different just because it's dressed up as a cartoon and you don't see so much graphic violence.

Let him play. I’m not sure what bad you think is going to come of it.

There’s no blood or gore or guts. It’s cartoon people sometimes dressed as bananas or fish or even Christmas trees shooting each other.

What is it about Fortnite that you're finding off-putting?

FWIW I have a 2 year old and a Newborn so not had this issue yet. My experience of Fortnite is from playing it and watching people play. Personally I would have no issue with a 10 year old playing it.

@HarrietsChariot

YANBU, it teaches children that violence is acceptable and is part of a longterm plan to create a society where Battle Royale/Hunger Games style events are acceptable.

GTA is an 18 for good reason, Fortnite really isn't any different just because it's dressed up as a cartoon and you don't see so much graphic violence.

And yet minecraft you also kill people and monsters. Creepers also walk up behind you and blow you up.

So much safer and nicer than Fortnite yeah….

Maybe sit with him/play it with him initially and see how you feel about it then rather than a flat "no"?
Ive tried playing it.... im very crap at it but i can why it appeals . Like any computer game id recommend playing in a public room of the house.... ideally without a headset on... so you can keep in the loop about who they are playing with

It's format is very addictive and it is very violent.

I know multiple children who have become addicted to it and had to be banned from it for their own good. It probably depends on your dc tendencies - whether it's ok for them or not. If you feel like it's not then YANBU

I have no concern about the content. I think kids if 10 can understand that it is not real and that they shouldn't take the behaviours offline. My concern is that it is very addictive. A 10 year old will struggle to stop, just ten more minutes...
If you are confident that you can line screen time and that your child won't utterly melt down if he can't play for a day, then no problem. Fortnite is, in that regard, no worse than most games (or Mumsnet scrolling...).

It's free to download so I would suggest playing it yourself and then decide. Fwiw I wouldn't have a problem with my kids playing it. I used to play with my brother and it was nice to do something together.

It’s more what I’ve read about how it’s addictive and all consuming for youngsters more than the content itself- he’s not the greatest when it comes to self regulating, and he has been known to get stroppy even when being asked to come away from building his minecraft villages and such, so to have read that it’s an effect Fortnite has on a lot of kids is my main concern.

I've never paid any attention to game certificates and my dcs have dipped in and out of any game they feel like. They now aren't really gamers and occasionally play Lego Harry Potter for a laugh - they are late teens. Fortnite certainly wouldn't bother me.

We held off letting our son play fortnite and his friendships absolutely suffered as a result. I still feel quite bad about it.

Ah, then I'd be very strict about timings and give him lots of warning about when his game time was ending. Then the console goes off properly.

I think most 10yo are jumping between the two. Fortnite it rated 12 with daft dances too its not like they are playing Call of Duty.

BTW your not the only mum to give into it because of peer pressure.

@HarrietsChariot

YANBU, it teaches children that violence is acceptable and is part of a longterm plan to create a society where Battle Royale/Hunger Games style events are acceptable.

GTA is an 18 for good reason, Fortnite really isn't any different just because it's dressed up as a cartoon and you don't see so much graphic violence.

Absolutely ridiculous!!! There is a huge difference. Have you ever seen GTA? It's appallingly, graphically violent and misogynistic

We play Fortnite as a family, my 8yo DS has played it since he was 7.5. It has no blood or gore. You do shoot each other with guns so it depends on your stance on that. We don't see any issue with it. Actually a really fun game, even for us as adults.

However, be aware that it's possible for him to talk to random players online depending what game mode he uses. We have rules in place that our son must not play with randoms, only people from school that he knows or us. He plays it in the livingroom so we keep an ear out.

Fortnite cannot be compared to GTA, as someone did above. GTA is definitely an 18 for a reason. Fortnite is completely different. Having played both, and a whole lot of other games, Fortnite is fine. Depending on your kid's ability to tolerate stress, it can be frustrating at times though.

I'd suggest playing it yourself and make your own opinion. It can be played on Android phones/PC/Switch for free.

@BlueHydroponicCarpet

It's format is very addictive and it is very violent.

I know multiple children who have become addicted to it and had to be banned from it for their own good. It probably depends on your dc tendencies - whether it's ok for them or not. If you feel like it's not then YANBU

Fortnite has been pointed out as a particularly addictive game and trying to get children off it has resulted in them often being very upset.

Years ago my 14 year old was on it and we always were very strict about how much time they spent on ps4.

I noticed he would be a bit wound up when called away from Fortnite.

We talked about it, he was warned that we would delete it if it was causing upset.

I never noticed it with other games.

After a while he stopped playing it because his close friend, a lovely boy, was so wound up and upset, his parents deleted it completely, so they all stopped playing.

I was delighted and fortunately they all accepted and went back to Fifa etc.

You don't want him feeling ostracised because all of the chat is about Fortnite, but I would limit it hugely and supervise him very, very closely.

That makes sense. In that case as a PP says, have a talk with him and let him know he's allowed to play but there will be a limit on how many hours/how many days he can play. Explain if he struggles to stop playing you will have to consider stopping him entirely etc.

Then see how he gets on?

I think setting expectations upfront will be a good idea here. Fingers crossed he's fine and can continue playing with his friends.

@TheSharpertheJuice

It’s more what I’ve read about how it’s addictive and all consuming for youngsters more than the content itself- he’s not the greatest when it comes to self regulating, and he has been known to get stroppy even when being asked to come away from building his minecraft villages and such, so to have read that it’s an effect Fortnite has on a lot of kids is my main concern.

It is very addictive but I don't think him being older will help with that. My 8 and 11 year old played it for 6 months of so and talked of nothing else which was my main bugbear. Now they have got barked and gone back to mine craft and fifa. BTW I held off on my 11 year old playing as long as possible but he started when he was 10 and was one of the last in his class to get it. My 8 year old then ended up playing by default as he was just sat there watching so it seemed pointless keeping him off it.

It's a really frustrating game tbh

I have no problem with Fortnite. DS started playing 9/10 years old and got bored after a year. Hasn’t played since. He’s 13 now and has gone back to Minecraft, and has never asked to play call of duty of GTA. Depends on the child I guess!

@HarrietsChariot

YANBU, it teaches children that violence is acceptable and is part of a longterm plan to create a society where Battle Royale/Hunger Games style events are acceptable.

GTA is an 18 for good reason, Fortnite really isn't any different just because it's dressed up as a cartoon and you don't see so much graphic violence.

There is much more to Fortnite than the shooting aspect though, like any video game it shouldn't be played to excess. Did children playing 'cops and robbers' make them all want to go an shoot people or rob houses?

We tried it with 10 year old as 13 year old was playing it. We ended up stopping it as he got incredibly rude, aggressive and stroppy

If your worries about the addictive side then make sure you set very strict rules. Also if you have a child likely to strop when told it’s time to come off then do a count down. 10 minutes left, now 5 minutes so make sure you’ve said bye to your friends. Much better than just out and out cutting off.