Monday 6 April 2009

Bad computer games!


Comment on Laura's blog 22 March on the influence of bad video games.



This is quite a touchy subject in my household! I completely agree with Laura in that kid's should not be allowed to play 18 rated games. However, this has been somewhat difficult for me to do as I have a son of 9 and my partner has a son of 12 who is allowed to play whatever games he likes! He lives with my partners parents most of the time, because of this he kind of gets what he wants from his grandparents! As they have been the ones to do most of the upbringing (my partner works away a lot) my partner feels it is too late to interveen. Of course I disagree, but the problem is his son is at our house quite a lot, and in being so he plays his games with my son. So, what do I do? Do I ban my son playing the games? Tell him he can't be in the same room? Well, I feel that I am bringing my son up in the real world. He knows right from wrong, and I constantly remind him that these games are just that - games. Although this is difficult due to such realistic graphics. I vet any games that he plays, if I deem them too bad (which I have done, some of these games make me want to gag) I don't allow him to play them.

The thing is, if you ban your child from such things it will only make them want to do it all the more, and they will find a way round it. There will be parents who are more lenient who let their kids play whatever games they wish, so when your child goes round to play they will be exposed to them anyway. Although we would all like to wrap our kids in cotton wool, we can't. Yes, certain games will desensitise them to violence, but as long as you make them aware of what is real and not real, what is right and wrong I don't see how they can make a child grow up to be a murderer! It's down to the parent, if you sit a child in front of violent games and videos day in day out with no intervention, then it is the games and videos providing that child with its upbringing not the parents. It would then be no surprise if that child grows up to be violent because that is all thay have known.

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