Call of Duty

[midgeysmum]

My 13 year old is pleading with me to let him have the new C O D x-box live game so he can play with his classmates who all have it, only came out on Wed. It is an 18, he was only 13 in July. I haven't allowed him to buy any previous COD games which were rated 16, but he has borrowed one and played it at home. What do I do?

I would say no, although i suspect my 14 year old step son will be playing it (dh doesn't get a say in it).

I agree its an 18 for a reason.

claw I don't think that people who play these games turn into terrorists etc. I never held that opinion. I just thing this is a shitty thing for a kid to watch/play and who knows how it's going to upset them?

Claw3 - that's not the argument I'm making. Watching violent film/playing violent games is damaging to young children's minds.

Do you think that this film should not have an 18 certificate? Do you believe that film/video classification is irrelevant?

(again, these are genuine questions - I think I'm coming off a bit snippy - I don't mean to be)

Those of you who say that they would play it a friends house anyway - would you let someone else's under-age child play it at your house?

Dur - should have previewed.

I obv mean GAME not FILM.

Ratings on video games are very political.

Because games are traditionally the domain of children, a lot of negative publicity/hysteria has linked video games to violence in children, there has been a lot of pressure to censor and strictly rate them.

Video games join the long line of punk rock, video nasties, dungeons and dragons and other pastimes that have been maligned by adults that have no idea what they're about.

That said, some games do have violent themes and I wouldn't particularly want small children playing them. But I've played most of the controversial ones and really haven't found them too disturbing. Most of them sound bad but in reality are pretty cartoonish. I wouldn't have any qualms about an intelligent, well-adjusted 13 year old gaming.

And I watched one clip from Saw once and was really upset and freaked out for weeks afterwards so I'm a delicate soul sometimes!

Disclaimer: I have not yet played the new COD. Potentially, a video game can be disturbing and terrifying. But in my experience, they're usually not, no matter how they're touted. Mostly, you're too caught up in the skill to be worrying too much about the 'violence'.

MamaG - Well im assuming that parents who would consider buying this game for their child, would know how sensitive their child was.

As i said my 16/13 year old play it, they view it as just a game and are not upset by it at all. In fact they are more upset by things they read in the newspaper, hear on the news etc. They are concerned by the things that matter, in opinion, real life.

Is there any concrete evidence that video games damage young children's minds?

Whoisasking - No worries, i dont take offence easily.

I would disagree that its damaging to a child mind (unless you have a hyper sensitive child) Do things that you read about in the paper or watch on the news, learn about in history damage a child?

i would

I turn the radio off in the car when the news comes on claw3.
I think young minds would be very disturbed by a lot of things in the media. I certainly didn't want to have to explain about a 5 yr old boy being raped by a 16 yr old the other day.
There is another issue here... if you let your child have something that really isn't suitable because everyone else is doing it, what kind of message are you giving him? In a few years time when he's at uni and some friends want to get mashed every night, does he have to do it too to fit in?
I would think it's more important to get your child involved in something beneficial to his emotional/social wellbeing that to give in to peer pressure.

Both me and my partner are very into our games, and we are fairly horrified by MW2. Video games are not solely the realm of children now, games like MW2 are definitely not aimed at kids!!

I don't believe that video games cause violence, same as films don't. If they did, me and Kerriko would be falling over dead bodies every time we walked across our living room.

But, it is an 18 certificate for a reason. Would you let a 13 year old watch an 18 film (eg. Saw)

I know that despite my own love for violent films and games, I really wouldn't want my own child playing/watching something like that till they were older.

Also, right now MW2 is big big news (thanks to some particularly dodgy advertising and that stupid airport slaughter scene), give it a while and it'll be old news, and there'll be some new game. Which will hopefully distract your son.

it's a great game but maybe a bit too much for 13.
you can choose to skip the terrorist level but i'm not sure if it's a parental block where you can do it for good or if he'd be able to just go straight back to it as soon as you left the room.

I don't care whether it's damaging or not, it is violent and disturbing, designed for adults and a 13 year old should not be playing it. Get a grip and say no!

Will you still be doing that when your ds is an 11 year old boy?

I think the real issue here is, is whether it is suitable for the OP's son and only the OP will know that. If she doesnt think it is suitable, she shouldnt let him have it regardless of whether his friends have it or not.

I have a 13 year old, and yes I do.

No, this is not a matter of whether the OP thinks it's suitable or not - it just plain isn't suitable. That's what classifications are for. Some things are not matters of opinion.

To reply to a few other peoples posts
-My 11 yo DS plays with it online with a friend who lives along way away and this friends brother who is 8.Their mum is head of child protection in the area they live in and their dad is a policeman.
The latest COD does seem more violent than the others.I think most kids clearly know the difference between real and 'virtual' violence but tbh shooting soldiers is for removed from anything they come across IRL I don't think they are in anyway desensitised by it
.I suppose it could be possible that some 'unhinged' kids with a tendency for violence could be motivated by it , I think its highly improbable that 99.9 % of kids see it for the game it is.

8 - did you say 8!!!! Oh, for the love of God what are we doing to our society!

We don't let them walk to the letter box on their own, but we let them virtually massacre an airport full of innocent people. Give me strength!

Seeker - You have a 13 year old son and yes you do what?

8!!!!

My 11 yr old is not even allowed to sniff the cover of it let alone play it

Sorry, claw - I thought you were asking me whether I would still be getting a grip and saying no when my dc was 11 - did I misunderstand?

I agree Seeker.

I have a 13 yr old and were he to want it I would say no. I would also be upset if he went to someone else's house and their parents allowed it to be played there - in the same way I would not be happy if he were watching an 18 film.

Just because children are growing up doesn't mean our responsibility dwindles - I have no issues with my son watching the news and he does very avidly and this opens a lot of debate in our house. However, I still think it is up to me to keep an eye on what he does - and also when other children the same age are in my house.

The problem for me as far as this kind of game is concerned is complicated.

I truly believe that COD and games of it's ilk, desensitze the player/watcher. I know it's only a game, but the fact that slaughter has become a plaything in our society bothers me. I think that the comparison to the games of cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians which were played by my generation of children can be effectively compared. (As far as I remember when my friend Jimmy pointed a plastic gun at me and went "pow-pow" there was no realistic blood spurting from my jugular)

The availabilty of this kind of stuff is unprecedented. I remember seeing the Exorcist as a 13 year old (all very hush-hush, and completely without the sanction of my parents) and I honestly couldn't sleep for a fortnight. This didn't "damage" me, but TBH I could have done without the experience.

To be honest - we don't really know what effect this kind of stuff is untimately going to have on our society and on individuals. It hasn't been going on long enough for any real hard data to have been collated.

Yes you did misunderstand, i was being literal. Wasnt sure what you were replying to.

and yes you do what? let him play COD

seeker wrote ' We let them virtually massacre an airport full of innocent people. Give me strength!'

It isn't real you know !

mice wrote 'Just because children are growing up doesn't mean our responsibility dwindles - I have no issues with my son watching the news and he does very avidly and this opens a lot of debate in our house. However, I still think it is up to me to keep an eye on what he does '

Just because other peoples DCs make differeny decisions to you , it doesn't mean their responsibility is dwindling or that they are any less being kept an eye on !!