would you let your 11Y DS play 18 certificate games?

[sanae]

My 11 yr old DS keeps complaining that all his friends play 18 certificate games on their consoles- medal of honour, grand theft auto etc. We have said no to this, and I thought it was just a case of "my friends are all allowed to...." pushing the limits. But I was surprised when I asked around to find that their children are playing these things -even down to some 7 year olds. The parents all seem "nice" respectable people and to be fair the kids all seem well balanced. Are we being too protective? - he has watched these things at their houses without us realising so it's not as though he isn't seeing them at all. Is there a big difference between 18 cert. content in films, which I certainly wouldn't let him watch, and games? What do you let your kids do?

Speaking as a gamer, an avid film watcher, a regular user of the internet, a fan of theatre and art, and a keen reader, I would say the same rules apply to all forms of media. If you have watched/played/read it yourself, then by all means apply your own frame of reference to it - you know your own children and their maturity level better than any BBFC assessor and you know what references and images they are likely to have a problem with. If you haven't, and can't or aren't willing to, then the guidelines are there for a reason. An 18 cert game is no different to an 18 cert film. "All my friends do it" is no reason to cave. And in response to another comment about video games not engaging the brain whilst books do - that seems like a massive generalisation; there are plenty of mindless, stupid, pointless books out there that I wouldn't want my child reading, and there are well-thought out, plot-driven, engaging and absorbing games that I'd be quite happy for them to play.

I have a 9 year old relation who plays 18cert games all of time, yet whose parents talk about sex and bodily parts with him using 'cartoon' very childlike language.
I think it's about the whole context. This boys perspective of sex is either paying for prostitutes in the console games OR cartoon explanation when having a 'man to man' talk with his dad. And I guess playground talk is much more explicit. That combination I can't get my head around. Not once has he had a chat about relationships and emotions. I think such games can be dangerous in this context.

I don't think I'd let a 12 year old play an 18 rated game, but maybe a 14 year old. Depends on the child and on the game!
Same with films.