Do you let your young children play video games with mature content?

Gtiracer

Gtiracer

Gtiracer

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We're having the age old discussion with our 9 yr old who's friends in class apparently all play 15/18 or over video games but we have always been fairly firm on the stance of they have age ratings for a reason.

But at the same time I do feel for my son feeling like he's left out when other people his age are talking about them

What do you allow your children to do and do you think your decision has affected then in a negative/positive way?
 
My son is the same age. He Plays Far Cry 3 & GTA IV. He's desperate to play GTA V but I've not caved in yet because the stripper scenes are too much I think. I think he's mature enough to know that games are games and reality is reality. He hears swearing in the games, yes, but know not to repeat anything outside.
 
Depends if the child understand boundaries really. I played GTA when I was like 6 and knew it was just a game and was horrified by the idea of violence.
 
Monkeynut said:
Depends if the child understand boundaries really. I played GTA when I was like 6 and knew it was just a game and was horrified by the idea of violence.
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But GTA when you were 6 is very different to the likes of GTAV now. Parts of GTAV could be considered pornographic - definitely not suitable for a 9 year old.

Well done to the OP and others who don't just blindly let their kids play age-rated games :)

In my opinion, each game would have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Would I let them play Halo, probably. Dying Light or GTAV - no.
 
I don't see it as a huge issue - when I was a kid games didn't have age ratings and plenty involved shooting/killing people... while graphics have improved I don't see it as being as bad as say violent movies.
 
Yeah, I do it on a case by case basis. I wouldn't let him play an 18 rated game that I had not already played through.
 
There is a big difference between COD and GTA and resident evil, despite all having the same age rating.

You know you kids a lot better than we do, but some "mature" games are probably ok.
 
I don't have kids, but my nephews were allowed to play 15/18 games from a young age, but they were games my brother in law or myself/my brother had played and knew what the content was like, and the nephews were both sensible.

So things like Unreal Tourniment (IIRC that was a 15 and my younger nephew was about 8 or 9)) were ok, as it was obviously not real, but games with nudity/sex/drugs or really scary no (until they were older).
 
Tricky one - I'm generally quite liberal with my nephew and games but I wouldn't expose him to games that had a significant amount of swearing or nudity.

Shame in a way about GTA V as I don't think in a general sense it would do much harm letting a 9 year old play it with a little amount of content moderation (if it had a parental control type option).
 
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My kids (8 & 7) play games that are mature content but they understand that it's a game and they can differentiate between games and real life. They play games like Gears of war and Assassins creed I've never let them play GTA as I think the sequel content is not suitable
 
Would you be happy to let your kids go to Sunday School? Far worse stuff in the Bible than Video Games.
 
Gtiracer said:
We're having the age old discussion with our 9 yr old who's friends in class apparently all play 15/18 or over video games but we have always been fairly firm on the stance of they have age ratings for a reason.

But at the same time I do feel for my son feeling like he's left out when other people his age are talking about them

What do you allow your children to do and do you think your decision has affected then in a negative/positive way?
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I dont have kids however I wouldn't recommend (most) 15/18 year old games for a 9 year old.

There are some however that are ok. Ie Halo 3/4 are 16 rated but generally killing green aliens with a bit of blood.

I think once kids are around 13/14 just let them play anything as it wont have much effect on them, im sure they hear worse at school!
 
Similar situation.. my 10 year old had friends who play COD a lot but we don't let him. Its not just the game, its some of the more adult chat that goes on as well.. He'll have to make do with Minecraft, Fifa, Dirt3 for a while longer yet..
 
A 9 year old is more than likely just going to drive around in the cars crashing into things. probably wouldn't even cross their mind that there are hookers etc. I think it would be fine to let them play in small doses with supervision.
 
I don't think games make people violent in life just like I don't think movies make people violent in life. Games and movies are escapism, they provide a sanitised outlet for fantasy. I believe kids know the distinction between fantasy and reality. Games and movies are simply a fun way to pass time. If you're a nutter who wants to hurt/kill people, you'll do it regardless.
 
Mark A said:
A 9 year old is more than likely just going to drive around in the cars crashing into things. probably wouldn't even cross their mind that there are hookers etc. I think it would be fine to let them play in small doses with supervision.
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My nephew was managing that by 3-4 (test drive unlimited 2) couple of years later he can play it mostly properly let alone at 9 heh. Kind of scary how quickly they pick that stuff up these days - picked up fairly good use of a tablet before he'd even started school and his 1 yro twin brothers have skype pretty much figured out :S
 
Yes, you need to do it on a case by case basis, and with a view on the personality of the child. I don't know what your son is like but I wouldn't allow gta v! My kids are much younger (5 & 2.5) they play videogames with me (typically Nintendo stuff: mario kart, zelda) and sometimes watch me play games. I am fairly relaxed about what my daughter sees, but more careful with my son (2.5) as I think I think he is much more likely to re-enact something he sees in a game. His vocabulary is much more violent than my daughters ever was ("I am going to cut your head off"! Etc), so I am careful not to let him see anything violent.
 
It depends on the child (and how the parent raises their children) and the game. If they understand that things like violence and swearing shouldn't be imitated then I can't see too much reason not to let them play them supervised. I do think some games like GTA and others that have an over reliance on swearing should be left until a little later though. Games like Metal Gear Solid 2 were rated 15 yet I can't really see why. Parents should vet certain games first regardless of the above though.
 
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