I need your opinions please ladies...

Shirley Suzy - posted on 02/03/2010

I have 2 boys and I used to be very strict about the video games they played. However, my oldest son came home, he was about 9 at the time, and talked about playing Grand Theft Auto at a friends. I realized that my children are going to be subject to these all video games, movies and music eventually whether I allow them in my home or not. So I would rather them enjoy them in my home where I can supervise and make sure they are not having a great negative effect on them.

It turns out, they still behave the same as they always have, and it's been more than 3 years. Also, I ended up enjoying most of the games as well. So it is something we can do as a family.

Jodi - posted on 02/03/2010

LOL Nanci - you haven't read Stephen King's "The Regulators" have you.......you just never know ;)

Debbie - posted on 02/03/2010

lol Nanci! I didn't put on the original post my own opinion as I didn't want to bias any answers, but I agree with everyone here - it's crud. I don't think you need worry about your little power ranger somehow! My kids played this game called Sly Raccoon which was age 3+ very cute cartoony characters but they had machetes and pickpocketed the bad guys for loot (bit of a Robin Hood steal from the rich type thing). I saw no problem with it at the time but my dad (now 71) thought it was a dreadful game. Different generation I guess...

Nanci - posted on 02/02/2010

uh oh does this mean my 4 yr old son cant watch power rangers anymore..am i a bad mom..he thinks he is one and does chops at the dog or his skateboard..but not hurting himself or others..is that ok?

Sharon - posted on 02/02/2010

My oldest is 14 and I'm very particular about what games he's allowed to play.

I'd like to shut him away from violent games completely but if I did he wouldn't be able to relate to 90+% of the boys in his grade. Even the nicest friend of his - plays these games. Mind you he isn't allowed anything for adults or 'mature' rated.

The answer is no. We have told him repeatedly that these games are just games. On par with teenage mutant ninja turtles. If I catch him acting out something on one of his games I'll snap it half. No wrestling moves, no pretending to shoot someone in the head, NOTHING. Games are fictional like his books.

For that matter I told him that Lord of the Flies was fictional too and there was a lesson to be learned - not something to emulated.

Krista - posted on 02/02/2010

I think video games, like any other form of media, do not exist in a vacuum. If a child is raised with a lack of guidance and a lack of good influences, and has a predisposition towards aggression, then violent video games could potentially exacerbate the situation. However, your average kid is not going to be "turned" violent solely because of the video games that they play.

Anne - posted on 02/02/2010

It hasn't done my sons any harm - they obviously know that if you play Grand Theft Auto then you don't have to go out and steal a car. To be honest I do not stick to the age range as the boys tend to play these games together - and are a wide age range.
For all the negativity surrounding this issue, I love the 4 of them sitting in one and being together ( even if they are attempting to shoot each other lol) As I am in Scotland where guns on the street are not the norm, I may possibly have a different view if I lived elsewhere!

Tracey - posted on 02/02/2010

my daughter is only 4 1/2 and i have not allowed her to play any game that has violence in it. she plays games from sesame street cuz they are easy. but my cousin was a big video game player as a child. he had ever system i can think of. i know some games back in the day were not violent but as we got older there were some with violence. and he has turned out ok not violent. my husband has played some fighting games with gory violence if you set the setting to allow it and he has a slight temper. i think i really depends on the person. i mean my husband is not a violent man he would not go out and start a fight or kick someone's butt for no reason. he knows when its ok like in self defense. i think its all on the raising on the child i mean if thats all they see all day long is that stupid video game then yeah thats all that they are gonna know is that violence is ok. which it is not. my husband has an understanding on what is ok and not but thats because he went to church. its really not the games fault its the parents for not talking to there child and to allow them to continue to stare at something that is gonna corrupt there innocent mind. cuz you think about it they see violence in there game and then on the television and in movies. its a vicious cycle.