Second Life ?

Bumpmakesfour

mishkanorman wrote: »

Thank-you badger - lady. I would like to find a way for him to channel his interest (&if that can be done away from second life then great) without it reaching obsession level. He gets hooked on anything that he enjoys - even food.
That's the reason for posting, I didn't expect such a hostile response !

Seriously now OP.You post saying school are concerned,and you are allowing your son to(illegally) play a game aimed at people ten years his senior?And didn't expect a hostile response?However much you monitor or restrict the access the simple fact is this game is NOT for 8 year olds.
I have an 8 year old son myself who has aspergers and becomes OBSESSED very very easily with things.It just worries me that you'd sign him up in the first place for something older than him...it's like the 9/10 year old kids of friends who have FB.WHY? Maybe I'm old fashioned but my children stick to age appropriate activities:o I can hear you getting very angry at the responses but I honestly don't know what you were expecting people to say?

meer53

mishkanorman wrote: »

Thank-you badger - lady. I would like to find a way for him to channel his interest (&if that can be done away from second life then great) without it reaching obsession level. He gets hooked on anything that he enjoys - even food.
That's the reason for posting, I didn't expect such a hostile response !

Maybe if you stopped trying to justify your actions the responses wouldn't have been so hostile ? Surely you can see what people are saying ? Can't you also see that whatever you do HAS to be away from Second Life ? There's no "if" about it. My son was hooked on Sega games when he was 8, but i was the one who switched the machine off when i said he'd had enough. All kids get hooked on things, it's YOUR job to control it, not join in.

ShAnE

I played Second Life as part of my university course, believe it or not.

My lecturer had set up an Island and actually gave online lectures during the snowy period last year. I learnt a lot of my programming skills on there, building a working submarine and implementing a few 3D models I have created in another program.

However as has been mentioned, there are a lot of dodgy areas in Second life, and i'm not sure there is any way to filter these away from children. It's a shame as it could be really useful for youngsters if you could filter this.

RacyRed

Ok, The Sims 3 has a tardis feature

Here is the link to the free download for the Tardis

Here is the game you need on Amazon.

Now will you please leave Second Life to the adults it was designed for?

ShAne, the BBC planned a child version of Second Life some years ago, but I don't think it happened/lasted.

VitaK

Even though you are able to shield your son now dosent mean that you will be able to do so forever. It may be better to substitude second life with something else. If he likes food then maby spend more time in the kitchen with him.

onlyroz

You talk as if Second Life is the only online game that your son could ever possibly enjoy playing. Others (myself included) have suggested similar and more appropriate games where he can safely interact with other young people, should he want to, and build his own virtual world. As a parent, it is your job to steer your children towards healthy, age-appropriate activities, and put bars in place if necessary to prevent them accessing inappropriate material.

Carl31

peachyprice wrote: »

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with leading to a life of crime. The SL comminity is riddled with sexual predators, it's well known that it's a pedophile grooming site, it's well known that adults use it to fulfill their sexual fantasies. Unless OP is sitting there next to him, every single minute that he's on that site, watching his every move, he's being exposed to those kinds of people.

It's all very well saying he only flys around in his tardis, but he will soon bore of that and will find ways to get into other areas of the game, the older he gets the sneakier he'll get at hiding this from him parents. Best to stop it in his tracks now, no?

I see your point, but if your concern is !!!!!philes, they can be anywhere, moshi monsters, a specific kids site is known to be riddled with them. There could be 5 down the street he lives. Theres a certain out dated attitide that the internet is some sort of !!!!! access point to children. Yes theres a threat, but no more than walking down the street, at least over the net theres no initial physical risk.

meer53

Carl31 wrote: »

I see your point, but if your concern is !!!!!philes, they can be anywhere, moshi monsters, a specific kids site is known to be riddled with them. There could be 5 down the street he lives. Theres a certain out dated attitide that the internet is some sort of !!!!! access point to children. Yes theres a threat, but no more than walking down the street, at least over the net theres no initial physical risk.

I don't agree, i think you're far more likely to come across this type of person on the internet than walking down the street, especially when you're 8 years old.

Gigervamp

Minecraft has been suggested a few times. You've asked it there is a game where your son can build a Tardis. If you google Minecraft Tardis, lots of stuff comes up, including mods for the game, so you can build a Tardis. Click here: Minecraft Tardis.

peachyprice

Carl31 wrote: »

I see your point, but if your concern is !!!!!philes, they can be anywhere, moshi monsters, a specific kids site is known to be riddled with them. There could be 5 down the street he lives. Theres a certain out dated attitide that the internet is some sort of !!!!! access point to children. Yes theres a threat, but no more than walking down the street, at least over the net theres no initial physical risk.

My concern isn't just pedophiles, the whole game is designed specifically for adults to fulfill their fantasies and to become addictive, it poses far more of a threat to an 8yo's than walking down the bloomin street!

The designers have rated this game over 18 and it is illegal to allow children to access it for a reason. It is an adult environment, and if you're wanting to make comparisons to RL as you have above, it's like allowing an 8yo to spend time in a go-go club. Would you think that's appropriate?