Do You Let Your 13yo Son Play 18-rated Xbox Games?

[CDMforever]

my 13yo son has asked me to put this question on Mumsnet.
Weeeeell?????

I let my 12 yo play them..

Guilty!

Absolutely NO WAY!

Yes but only after a ton of research on my part, and with a lot of ground rules - ie with the sound off, to not enter certain sections of the game (talking about Black ops here) and suchlike. He plays against his class mates via the internet, I think its all v clever really. This comes from a parent who didnt allow guns/pretend weapons/fighting etc for his first 13 yrs!!

No.

13 does not = 18

My maths may not be great, but I reckon there's a good 5 years to wait yet.

Sorry CDMs DS - maybe get outside and ride a bike?!

I used to play gory/bloody games as a kid. It depends on the game!
CDM What games is your son on about? Manhunt & GTA would be a no, COD, Mortal Kombat & any beat em up would be a yes

Depends on the game but maybe

No. I also would not let him go and see a 15 rated film the other weekend.

However I do let him play 16+ PEGI rated games (if they don't have a BBFC rating) if either myself or DH have played them first.

Yes my 13 yr old ds plays cod but I dont let him play gta etc

Yes... all his friends have the damn games and they all chat to each other on line...very difficult to exclude him from this social life....why can't they produce 12 versions of the games??? He promises me faithfully he will not grow up to be a maniac and go out and shoot people in RL!

I also let him eat crisps and drink coke.....bad, bad mother!

No.... and at the risk of getting enemies I think those of you saying yes play a huge part in the violent and unsociable behaviour found in so many teenagers these days.

The excuse well all his friends do it is something my 13 yr old would say to push a point not what an adult should use to justify bad parenting.... what if all us adults used the age guidelines correctly and protected our children against what the 18 rating meant.... that excuse would be a thing of the past.

Also interested if CheeryCherry you sit with him when he is on it and watch exactly where he goes whilst on it.... otherwise what does he do when his friends enter the forbiddon rooms?

Yes for Cod etc. I've played them myself.
But then again I played Dungeons and Dragons which was supposed to turn us into satanists.

And in my experience the violent, horrible teenagers are the ones roaming the streets not at home talking to each other online.

The difference is Dungeons and Dragons didn't/doesn't have a 18 rating.

IME the violent, horrible teenagers roaming the streets only do so until they get home and get on the games consoles.

And you playing them yourself isn't a good arguement either..... unless your under 18!

no 18 is 18

Those who are saying 'No' because an 18 is only suitable for 18+,
what would you do when a game/film is re-classified/downgraded, would you still check the content to decide if it's suitable?
Only asking as I've noticed things like T2:Judgement Day have gone from 18's to 15's in recent years.

Yep.

My son has no violent tendancies and does not roam the streets kicking peoples heads in.

My yep was to OP not previous poster!

No. ds1 is 14 next month and we are planning to allow him to start playing 15 games then.

Yes but content dependant. (DS is 14)

e.g
Definatley not Falout New Vegas

Awomancalledhorse I'm not saying the age rating is a perfect system. BUT it is a fairly reliable indicator of suitability. Sure, films & games get reclassified and often there is a public voice behind that.
What I'm saying is that to a certain extent, I trust the system. It's not perfect, but it's a help. I don't rely on anybody else (individual or organizations) to parent my children, but if a group of people have examined the content and deemed it only suitable for 18+, then I trust that.
I really don't have the time or inclination to view content on every game and film DS wants to view / play. I'd far rather take him out and have a laugh with him.

Yes because initially I said no and then realised he was playing them at all his friends' houses!

No. No way. And apparently all his friends play them. He knows he is not meant to watch 15-rated films either unless we make an exception in an individual case.

He has the rest of his life to watch and play what he wants. It is only 5 years until he is 18 and there will be no limits on him. I want him to spend lots of time now doing other stuff like reading and sport which I hope will give him enough pleasure to want to keep doing them later on and not spend his university career playing CoD or whatever it will be then. He does play games now because I don't want all computer games to become forbidden fruit that he goes mad for later on, but I don't want his 13-year-old mind filled with 18-rated content right now.

Yes, but not before bed.

So many kids play them now, that not letting them seems the equivalent to the parents of kids I knew growing up who were not allowed to watch TV, or only BBC.

Not sure if I've done the right thing though