Allowing kids to play 18+ games

[Bizdustry.com]

Some parents and guardians to pay attention to the age restrictions and guidelines provided by video game rating systems. Some parents believe that they are in place to make sure that their child is safeguarded from harm. What do you think about allowing kids to play 18+ games?

[Shortie]

18+ games are something that I am very cautious about when it comes to allowing my children to play them. My two eldest are old enough now to make that decision themselves but my younger two I tend to not allow unless I have played the game myself and I am happy that they can play it without running into issues.

For the most part, though, I tend to avoid 18+ games for my younger two. 

[Uncrowned Guard]

I have always felt like there is an odd disconnect between game ratings and movie ratings.  I have seen firsthand many parents that at set on not allowing their kids to watch an 18+ movie but Call of Duty is perfectly fine to play as a game.  I'm not sure if this results from a mindset that all video games are like Super Mario or something, but it does seem fairly common.  Personally, I try to limit our kids based on ratings, but generally I feel that most ratings are slightly too high.  

[Excommunicado]

You haven't lived life if you haven't played an 18+ game as a kid. It's character building, you have to let nature take its course. I will not be restricting my kids to that extent; of course I will not be exposing them to indecent or inappropriate material but on most games, it is a minimal part of the game. 

[Heatman]

On 9/20/2023 at 5:36 PM, Excommunicado said:

You haven't lived life if you haven't played an 18+ game as a kid. It's character building, you have to let nature take its course. I will not be restricting my kids to that extent; of course I will not be exposing them to indecent or inappropriate material but on most games, it is a minimal part of the game. 

This is a fact that can't be argued because it's so true. In fact, kids crave playing such video games so much more than the regular games they're supposed to be playing. It's like how most kids got into playing GTA games which are a bit too much for kids but they play it. 

[Grungie]

If I had kids, I’d either restrict them, or do research on why the game is M rated.
 

Though that’s when they’re in elementary school, and by the time they’re in junior high, it’s like whatever, they’re gonna find out eventually.

[Henrywrites]

I personally pick the games my siblings play. I ensure that they are games that are not 18+ since both are younger than that. Paying attention to such is quite important to have a balance between the kids having fun via playing games and not making mistakes. 

[iXanon]

I played the likes of Mortal Kombat II when I was about 10 or 11, and the original Grand Theft Auto at about 13 or so..

It didn't do me any harm. I think some of the media coverage linking violent crimes to videogames are using them as a bit of a scapegoat. 

[Uncrowned Guard]

On 3/14/2024 at 5:27 PM, iXanon said:

I think some of the media coverage linking violent crimes to videogames are using them as a bit of a scapegoat. 

This is the real problem.  We aren't dealing with the real problem.  

Every study shows that games, movies, music, etc. have little to no effect on a person's behavior and I don't know of any study that has shown games to be more influential than the others mentioned.  So what is the push to blame games?  Perhaps it is just easier to blame the "new" media forms than to fix communities and cultural norms.