in not allowing my 15 and 12 year old to play grand theft auto

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I have always banned this game,I just feel the whole premise is horrible and inappropriate.
Ds1 came home with a copy from a friends house yesterday,they apprently now have Xbox and don't want the ps2 version ,they have children same age as mine and seem to think it is fine,am I being ridiculous ?

Not at all unreasonable - it's shockingly violent and nasty. You certainly aren't being ridiculous.

I dont let ds (nearly 13) have it but I know a lot of his friends do and so he has played it but not in this house.

They should not be playing it you are not BU at all! It is a horrible game with an emphasis on theft and violence to get what you want

mY DS (7) keeps saying that one of his friends has it.

that your DSs seven-year-old friend has it RCV! I've always been strict about this - DS2 (nearly 15) grumbles a bit and claims that all his friends are allowed to play/see this stuff but I hate the idea of kids (or adults really) playing these really violent games. YANBU

I was fuming that DS1 ( aged 8) had been allowed to play it at a friends house. When i asked the Mum about it she said it was OK because the volume was turned down and they couldn't hear the swearing
Thats ok then.
It si an awful awful game,

I was fuming that DS1 ( aged 8) had been allowed to play it at a friends house. When i asked the Mum about it she said it was OK because the volume was turned down and they couldn't hear the swearing
Thats ok then.
It si an awful awful game,

There is only one right answer to your question. Of COURSE you are not being unreasonable.

YANBU

mine are 15 and 13 and have played it. They find the missions boring and not challenging at all. So its been sat in its box for months.
IMO forbidden things become attractive. I've played it and don't find it any more violent than many games. But it is tedious and samey with no challenges.

YANBU

are any of the people who ban gamers themselves? Or interested in computre games?

My ds1 bought it himself from HMV although he was only 15.5 at the time. He looks way older than he actually is.

I think there are games which are as bad if not worse tbh.

NMC - we have a Wii and do play computer games. My view is that a "good" ame does not have to involve anti-social activities.

I enjoy first person shooters like Deus Ex and Half Life. Doesn't make me a violent person. Creeping through eery tunnels and blasting monsters is fun.
Boys enjoy those too. GTA is actually pretty dull.

My ds1 and ds2 also go online and play COD4 etc. It hasn't made them violent either.

YANBU.

I don't think games are responsible for behaviour but at the same time, the things in the game are in bad taste: shagging then beating up prostitutes to get your money back, going to strip clubs, swearing, fighting, treating women like beathches..... etc etc etc.

My dad and step mum allow my 12 yr old brother to play it and it doesn't appear to affect him untowardly. However I personally think he is WAY too young. My DH plays it and that doesn't bother me at all because he is an adult and it is only a daft game. DH also agrees that my little bro should not be playing it.

I just don't think the themes in the game are suitable for kids.

Its an 18 isnt it? I'm with you. Surely they have these certificates for a reason

YANBU. It's a disgusting game. And there's a world of difference imho between a game in which one shoots aliens/monsters and one in which one has sex with prostitutes then murders them.

YANBU at all..!! it drives me insane when parents let their kids watch/play whatever.. my SIL lets her kids.. now 8 and 10 watch anything.. 18 rated movies.. games.. everything.. and has done since they were very little.. and it is showed in their behaviour they have no moderation..

why does it bother you what other parents do? My kids have never had censorship or limited computer time and both boys are polite, hardworking, play piano and read books (older one even reads boring Russian authors)
But they've played GTA.

GTA has never bothered me. ds plays it (he is 16) and has for yonks and he is a nice lad.
But if a mum says she doesn'r want her ds too, I stood by those rules. on one occasion the mum told me her son wasnot allowed to play it(no probs I removed it from ds's room) but she let her son play smackdown, even though she said he was hyper after!!

yeah, I respect other people's rules whatever I think of them. But when ds1's friend mums listed all the things her 15 yo lad wasn't allowed I did think she had way too much time on her hands and nothing 'real' to fret about!
Computer games and TV don't register on my 'fret' radar. and a 15 yo isn't a child. In a year they can have sex. They can leave home now without your permission. They have to make their own choices and can't be censored or coerced.

TBH i am only concerned with what my dc are doing. Not a bit bothered what others are up to.

Not sure i would let an 8 yera old play it but i think at 12 and 15 i would have had more to worry about. My ds's were bored after playing it a few times and they prefer shooting/strategy games. Something that needs a bit of brain power you know?

yeah, GTA requires no thought or strategy. The joy of FPS is failing and trying again and again and then solving it. Both boys play Command and Conquer online too. I don't play that cos I'm hopeless at strategy games and forget where all my 'men' are.