Children and video games

What is your opinion on it? (more of a focus on younger children getting M games and such) 
 
Personally i don't really care if kids get their hands on some M games, but there are some, for example God of War, or CoD 4, that although are great games, i don't think that kids should have.

Although in saying this im being a huge hypocrite (was playing GTA at 12) I don't think children should play 18 / M rated games. I played and enjoyed them cos i would say i was a 'mature' teenager but these days that is the minority and its just a bunch of stupid 10 year olds.
 
..or maybe i just don't want to have to hear ridiculously high pitched morons whilst im trying to play some Gears T_T

I think parents need to be more responsible with the rating system. I don't think kids should be playing GTA or CoD till about 14ish at least. I see too many videos of kids raging, cause they didn't get that headshot. Teach your kid alternatives in gaming. FPS seems like a over used genre atm and there's other great experiences.

It's not age that matters, it's the maturity of the child. I've played 18+ games for over 3 years now (I'm 15), and I agree that some kids should not have access to M rated games, not all.

age has no bearing on what games a PERSON can play. child or otherwise. its a matter of parenting, and thats what most people overlook these days. i was playing games like mortal kombat, primal rage, killer instinct, and other HIGHLY violent games when i was 10 and below. and then the 3d versions of those games as i become an older teenager. and i turned out ok.
 
ill play all sorts of games in front of my kids and not bat an eyelash. its my job as a parent to teach my spawn the difference between right and wrong, and that what you do in this game is unacceptable in real life. 
 
 
can you digg it? O_o

I don't care if under age kids play M rated games. The problem only starts if they begin screaming over the mic, then I do not wish to play with them. 
 
However that really has nothing to do with age, I won't play with anyone who abuses voice chat.

It depends on how well the child can handle the intensity of the game.  That's something only a parent has the right to decide, although I'll admit that all parents are not fit to make those decisions.   However that is the risk you take for living in a free society.  The game publishing community should inform and advise parents about there product, but there should be no legislative interference between consumers and retailers.  The parent is the only one who can ultimately decide what types of games to let their kids play.   Now, having said that, if you've ever seen a 9 year old playing certain "M" rated games, you'd rip the controller from their hands and send them to bed without dinner.  For some kids, the action is too much for them to absorb and they become hyperactive for a long time there after.  Not a welcome sight.

It's up to the parents to decide what's right for their kids. Unfortunately, most parents don't seem to understand the rating system no matter how simple the ESRB tries to make it for them, and the result is children who aren't mature enough for a game are able to play it. I started playing M games when I was 12, the game was Turok 2. And I was allowed to play it because I didn't scream at it, I didn't get scared by it, I took it for what it was, a video game. On the other hand, I've seen kids playing games they clearly aren't able to handle, such as my friends little brothers. They're both in elementary school, and they play some wrestling game all the time. They scream whenever they start to lose, when one loses to the other in versus he hits the other, and they make up rules as they go. That's a perfect example of someone who is not ready for a game like that. Keep in mind, this is a wrestling game, not some ultraviolent shooter. If a child is unable to control himself while playing something, it might not be something he should be able to access. With the advent of online play on consoles, most parents have more to worry about. Now, admittedly I had learned most of the darker parts of the english language from playing Counter Strike with my older brother, but at the same time, I was able to look at that and understand "Hey, I probably shouldn't call people that word in public". Now that kids have easier access to online play, (because honestly, not many children are going to be playing on Steam) the chances of them not being able to make that distinction is much higher. If a kid can't handle a game in the first place, and then starts playing it online and hears a bunch of less-than-appropiate words, he's probably not going to be able to seperate those words from what is acceptable dialogue.

There's an assumption by many people still that ALL games are for kids.  So when you see people pulling out their hair and trying to ban video games, it's because they think that these evil game makers are playing fast and loose with what is generally accepted to be not the best thing to put into the hands of little tykes.  
 
This is pretty silly considering the wide age range of people who grew up playing video games, but it sets up people who don't understand video games to assume when their kid is clamoring for a game, that the game is automatically age appropriate.  The age ratings were supposed to combat this, but some parents don't care, and many parents don't know.  Still other parents, the cool ones, know the specific limits of their kids.  So like V was saying, some M games are less "M" than the single category lets on, while others are worse than their rating might suggest.

I think it's up to parental discretion. Something like Killzone or something, maybe, but if it's got adult themes, sexual content, and all this other crazy shit like that (like Killer7) then I wouldn't go for it at all.

Once you are over 14 unless you are a total recluse you will have watched porn or at least have seen a picture or two(well you should, your a teenager). Therefore games With sexual content in them should be 14+
 
Gore should also be allowed because lets admit it we are used to flying spurts of blood. 
 
Violence is the basis for most video games and is fine.
 
Bad lanuage should be 10+ because by the age of ten you will know most of 'em already.
 
Games should have a disclaimer so if you buy the game and think its disgraceful you can fuck off and read the disclaimer.

Just depends on the kid...i agree with MrSnow, most kids nowadays now everything about everything so it shouldnt be a major problem. As long as the kid isnt some psycho and doesnt go NBK on some school then its all cool.

It should be established, at least by us, that it's up to the parents in question here. But if I were a parent, I'd let my kids play fantasy violence M no sweat (once I've had a few talks about realizing what's real and what's not). But I wouldn't let a kid get a realistically violent game (MK=Yay!, GTA=Nay!). The stimulation of doing obviously questionable things in a real-world setting is probably too much credit given to such a malleable brain. But by the age of 15-17 (with exceptions for under and over) I think there's a good shot the kid is mature enough to grasp even the most intense game relatively maturely.

But aside from the AO rating, I'm fine with the ESRB, and with young people not being allowed (but able) to grab an M rated product off of shelves, as flawed a system as it all is. Hopefully the next generation of kids have a higher percentage of parents who understand what any of what we're talking about even means and what effects it could have on those kids.

Young kids should never be playing M games period. I grew up with Doom and Mortal combat, I get it. But I was also old enough to know the difference between real and fake. I saw some kids playing GTA4 and I was kind of shocked their parents were ok with it. I would never expose my kids to a game like that because it isnt a game designed for kids.

Why not? I mean, me and my friends grew up playing M rated games and we never killed anyone or jacked someone's car. If I have kids, I'm gonna let 'em play M rated games. First of course, I'm going to tell them what's real and what's not. You see, once a kid understands this stuff, he/she is invincible to TEH CORRUPTING POWERZ OF GTA. 
 
Period.

I don't care if its fake, I don't want my kid to be some kind of freak who gets off watching fake violence until he's at least 13. Hostel is fake, too, but I'm silently judging anyone who gets enjoyment out of that shit just like I judge people who masturbate to staged rape.

a.) Moot point, since parents still have control over what their children play.
b.) Kids can tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and have known this for YEARS.
c.) Games don't teach kids how to use the weapon at all.
d.) Games don't spread immoral messages for the hell of it (or at all), like "Kill children, rape the innocent" or crap like that. Unfortunately, the messages that games do deliver are often shallow or non-existent.