Trevor McDonald - Video Game Violence

16011996

when i broached the subject with my son, he was quite relieved i was saying a definate no, as some of them scare him. thanks though glad for your advice, has really helped. :-*

jellyhead

i haven't seen the trevor mcdonalds programme but i was going to start a thread about this today!

my 8 year old says his mates (also 8) mum is buying GTA 3 for him!! i admit i have let my 8 year old watch some films that have a 12 rating (jaws, and gremlins) but 18 games are a definite no-no. son is concerned that he won't be allowed to play with this friend if GTA 3 is the game that's considered 'cool' at the moment and is the one everyone else is playing. also, my son doesn't actually want to play it, he understands that there are reasons behind ratings and although we do occasional exercise parental discretion he knows he has to ask us before playing or watching things and that we watch or play it first before making a decision. luckily this friend lives a mile or two away and we can easily avoid him after school. there's absolutely no way my 8 year old is playing that game and i also don't want him to be playing with any kid that does.

i went into the game shop and the assistant told me there's no way an 8 year old can play this game, he said the language is far too bad. hubby got a demo and has been playing it at night - it's revolting. terrible language, prostitutes, guns and drugs, etc. hubby reckons that if this 8 year old does start playing it he'll start using words and phrases without knowing that they're offensive and will probably be in the headmasters office or even expelled if he uses the word '!!!!!!'. it's a shame because this 8 year old is actually a nice lad, he's not streetwise or anything, he's quite innocent for an 8 year old. his mum must need her head examining!

i've discreetly asked other parents what they think and most of them haven't heard of the game so wouldn't know that they won't want their kid playing it. they did all say that their kids aren't allowed to play 18 rated games at the ages of 8 and 9, so hopefully my boy won't be too ostracised for refusing to play it.

there are so many fun games for kids, i really do wonder why anyone feels the need to buy them a game that's too old for them ... even adults agree that mario party on the gamecube can't be topped lol!

Glad

there are so many fun games for kids, i really do wonder why anyone feels the need to buy them a game that's too old for them ... even adults agree that mario party on the gamecube can't be topped lol!

or the crash bandicoot games
which we play together as a family (kids think I'm dead cool 8) cos I can beat them sometimes)

jellyhead

yep, my boy loves that kind of game. the only interest he has in car games is racing so hopefully GTA3 will never appeal to him!

luckily his friends will come round to play here because we have dance mats, eye toy, donkey bongos, mikes for karaoke, etc. because my hubby likes all that kind of stuff. we also play board games with kids who come round and that's something a lot of kids miss out on at home. when he and his mates get a bit older though they won't be impressed by board games, they might want the latest 'cool' stuff and while we'll probably always get the new games we won't be getting any that are 18 rated. i'm not sure how we'll feel when he's say 15 (but i don't see GTA3 being suitable for a 15 year old) but while he's 8 this kind of thing is just repulsive to me. i do worry sometimes that he'll be laughed at for having such protective parents though.

valiant23

I have two sons aged 11 and 13. They are both good students and cause no problems at school that I know of. We are often complemented on their manners and how they show respect for their elders.

I say this because they do play GTA 3 and GTA: Vice City.

They are old enough and sensible enough to make the distinction between fiction and reality, and know full well that any deterioration in their behaviour will result in privelidges being withdrawn.

Peer pressure is the real issue, not violence in video-games.

Do any of you or your kids watch The Simpsons? Do they think it's okay to be strangled by their father? Of course not. If they do..... .

It is possible to blame any part of modern society whether its rap, v-g's, kids tv or films for the corruption of youth, but it is also possible to use the same mediums to educate and inform.

Be honest, how appealing is it to a child to do the 'forbidden'? I think my wife and I try to make as little
as possible 'forbidden' in the hope that if we are not bothered about something then they won't be either.

I appreciated reading the views posted here, and its obvious you all take parenting seriously (not enough people do IMHO-another thread perhaps).

Look forward to the day your kids have this problem, and laugh.
;D ;D

jellyhead

:-)

i am not one of those who thinks video games cause all the problems in todays society, but my child is 8. it may be very different when he's 15, i don't know, he's my first child and i don't have much experience of teenagers. i expect you'll agree that 8 is too young to be playing GTA though? i think it might be 4 that my sons friend is buying, no idea, it's the one that's just out though.

well, the mother has bought the game now and since playing it this quiet innocent naive 8 year who's never had a day's trouble at school is constantly in detention for violence towards other children and for foul language. he's even kicking pigeons in the playground (i hate kids who do do that!). he's being ostracised from the group of schoolfriends he's usually in because the rest of them quite like pigeons lol! so my son is still playing with his usual friends apart from the one boy that plays this game. the other kids have no plans to start playing the game so i don't need to worry about mine being the only one not to play it.

scotnan

scotnan

you can now tell him that he is NOT the only one, you have an online friend who bans her children from playing them, and according to my kids most kids saying they have them often don't but are too scared to stand up and say so

Thanks glad.

The phase seems to have passed now and he's more interested in getting Football Manager 2005.
Phewwwwww, till the next time ::) ;D