[Closed] Buying 18 computer games for kids.

I had this dilemma with my 15 (almost 16) y-o son and Grand Theft Auto.
I was adamant that he wasn't getting it but realised that he had access to far worse things on the internet should he wish.
He was very sensible and conservative for his age and considering a couple of other personal traits then I allowed it.

He's now in his early twenties and never stolen a car nor murdered anyone yet.
Trust your instincts.

Edit; being quite old fashioned myself I think games like GTA are unnecessarily violent.

Really not a bad game at all, other than a bit of blood there's nothing very shocking at all. Probably stems more from the fact you can play as a terrorist than anything else. If anything the ribbing you'd get from your mates for not being allowed a game was probably worse than anything else!

My dad did lot of gaming and was always happy for me to play 18 games ahead off my time, really 99% of ratings are for a bit of unrealistic gore and swearing than anything shocking. I do remember playing dead space around 13 with the lights on and the sound very quiet though 😀

I kinda think that age ratings are like speed limits. That they will always take into account people who will push the boundaries. I certainly enjoyed age-inappropriate games (such as they existed) and movies when I was young. I watched the 18-cert film The Terminator when I was maybe 14 or 15.

I find it weird that you can get married, have sex and indeed have babies at 16, but can't legally watch someone else have sex for another two years. I think maybe, it's a rule of thumb - there are many mature 15-year olds and and many immature 18-year olds. Maybe fixating on pure numbers is a poor metric? When you're 17 and 364 days old you're not prepared to play something, the next day it's all golden? Makes little sense to me.

I don't know Rainbow Siege but I assume it's 18 because of violence and / or language. In which case it's a world apart from GTAV which is frankly ****ing wrong on many levels.

18 is just a number. Nothing magical happens to your brain on your 18th birthday. There will be many 14-15 year olds more developed mentally and emotionally than many 18+ year olds.

Is your boy a mature and reasonable person, can he tell the difference between reality and fantasy?

Does he have access to the internet? If so he will have seen alot more potentially damaging things there than on a video game.

My son was playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 on it's release in 2009. He was 10. As far as I am aware he hasn't shot up an airport terminal.
He didn't get GTA on release. In fact, I wasn't going to let him have it, but his mother bought it for him without checking the sexual content. He hasn't raped and murdered any hookers either.

Never understand age ratings!

A 16 year old can have sex but not watch it

Even more bizarrely call of duty use to be an 18 rating. Yet you can join the army and shoot real people at 16.

We treat games no different to films. Wouldn't let him watch scarface so he doesn't get to play GTA. Will let him watch star wars so he can play battlefront. Won't let him watch platoon so won't let him play cod. Won't let him watch saw so he doesn't get to play the evil within Themes, stories and on screen visual content is pretty much the same.

Depends a lot on the child can the separate fantasty and reality? How will they cope with mature themes when presented with them.

It probably helps/hinders that I play games and know what to expect. If there's a game he really wants. I will play it and make my own mind up much like a movie.

Doomanic

Interesting your happy with extreme violence but weary of sexual content.

It's not so much the games but the live chat you've got to watch...

Tpbiker

16 year old recruits aren't allowed in to combat until there 18. So not allowed to shoot anyone until then.

Wrightyson - agreed on the chat. Until recently it's always been a no headphone rule in the house...

I've watched a few vids of rainbow six tonight, it doesn't seem that bad still.

Blakec - similar thoughts here, hence my concern. I'm still not into GTA or others that overly glamourise violence.

I'd say Youtube comments are worse than most 18 games.

All depends on you and your kid but for me 16 is old enough for most mainstream 18 certificate video games within the home environment, you know what he's seeing and can address anything you think is a bit much head on. To some extent this gives you more input and influence than denying him access and him playing the same games round at a mates house.

It's not so much the games but the live chat you've got to watch...

True enough, but the live chat on a racing game with a very low age certificate can still be wall to wall effing and jeffing, honestly it's like bloody mumsnet on there some days.

Gta is the only one I haven't allowed in the house for laddo. It's just a bit too much I think with the whole drugs and prostitute undertones.

agreed on the chat. Until recently it's always been a no headphone rule in the house...

There is a world of difference between chat with friends and public chat. I won't do the latter now and I'm 45.

My lad is very 'street' and mature beyond his 14 years ..has been playing 18 age rated games for a few years now ( Black Ops was probably the first when it came out ).
He is a very respectful kid and well liked ..the only thing that sometimes concerns me is who he speaks to online but he seems more than capable of assessing & blocking anyone he is unsure of .
He hasn't turned into a monster and has developed social skills through chatting to others older than himself ..
I'm not offering advice but if your son is mature enough let him off the leash ( in the nicest possible way )

If his mates have it then you're safe. There's always the risk of being known as that one parent who buys their kids X rated games; once word has got back to other mums and dads, you'll never be trusted again 😉

I would say though, he'll be left out of gaming bantz when all his mates are in school the next day chatting about all the fun they had killing each other online last night.

I remember playing Grand Theft Auto and Carmaggedon when I was a child; the graphics were terrible and they weren't realistic, so they never did me any harm! I had to go out and throw cats onto the main road when I wanted my fill of blood and gore. Kids have it easy these days.

The lad was exposed to fast moving violence, aggressive behaviour and foul language in a public arena from the age of 8.

He's stopped playing ice hockey now though, and sticks to cod/rainbow etc, much more moderate

Found an old call of duty game the other day rated 15
I don’t know if games are just more violent/graphic nowadays but
Lots of games are now 18 rated and earlier versions weren’t

Gta is the only one I haven't allowed in the house for laddo. It's just a bit too much I think with the whole drugs and prostitute undertones.

I'm not sure prostitutes have been a thing in GTA since 3. Sure they exist but there are far more interesting things to do. Bit like real life I suppose. Probably the only questionable part of the game is a single mission segment where you (Trevor) torture someone. Doesn't do much to be honest, they missed the mark there.

The games are actually more about corruption than anything else in whatever form that may take. Sad to say life imitates art more than the other way around, if they are mature enough to know satire when they see it then I'd say go for it.

The 18 rating in games has very little cosistency. it could be there for swearing, excessive bloody violence, sexual content or a mixture of all 3.

I must have somewhere between 60-80 18 cert PS3/4 games in the house. There's not one my 15yr old isn't mature enough to play. (including the likes of GTAV) But I have no idea what your kids are like.

Any game you have doubts about. Play through yourself first. it all seems a bit Daily Mail otherwise.

I watched Alien at primary school age.

There's kids in my boys class at 9-10 years old who are allowed to play Call of Duty etc.... My lad has recently been allowed Fortnight, which is a shooty type game, but chat outside of his friends is not allowed.
I'm not quite as strict as Mrs Weeksy, for example, i don't see HALO as being wrong for him to play, but she frowns upon that idea massively.

If his mates have it then you're safe.

At age 5/6 we had an acquaintance who was happy for her kids to watch 18 flims.
At age 8 one of the kids in class at primary was obsessed by GTA and Doom.
By age 12 one of the classmates was showing hardcore porn to anyone who went to his house, as his house was so big and mum so sozzled that he could show all on his 60" TV in mansion sized bedroom.

So no, I have no trust in other parents unless I know them.

I've a request from eldest at not quite sixteen for his first 18 (Rainbow Siege). I know in overall plan of 18's it's not *that bad*.

Problem you have there is that the eldest might be mature enough for the game but his younger siblings probably won't be. How do you stop the younger ones watching / playing the game?

I'd explain this to the eldest one.

If he's mature enough for the game, he'll be mature enough to understand why he can't be exposing his little brothers to it.

How do you stop the younger ones watching / playing the game?

You are right though PP - words to be had.

I played 18 games (GTA, etc) from about 8 onwards. I remember the first GTA game fondly. As I said, I was 8 at the time. I turned out fine.

IMHO I've seen people perceptions of the world altered more by TV than video games. Video games are clearly a work of fiction - there's very few games that are hyper realistic, you always have some sort of 'mechanic' which clearly demonstrates it's a work of fiction.

However TV, using live actors, looks as real as it can get. Some people genuinely believe life should be as drama filled and stressful as an episode of Eastenders.

is this really any worse than typing your Hi-Score name as ASS on Outrun in the arcades? Then fending off a paedo while playing Double Dragon?

Yet you can join the army and shoot real people at 16.

Pretty sure you have to wait until you're 18 before you get to shoot real people.