My son is 13. I have always tried to keep him away from 18 rated games eg GTA, The Getaway etc... but he just goes round his mates houses and plays them there cos some parents just dont seem to understand what ratings are for!! :shake: Because of this i relaxed the rules a bit and he is now allowed to play the GTAs. He wanted Warriors for xmas but after speaking to someone who has it i have struck that off of the list......now however he has seen the 50 Cent game that is out on Friday and has put that on his list, what do i do?? App it is about guns and drugs etc etc...

paula hun i dont think im in any position to give you advice when it comes to your kid as i dont have one! but i do no that if hes been playing on it as his pals house wouldnt it be better you had him at your house where you can keep an eye on him? im not a believer in the whole 'games are bad' scene as they never done me any harm! your obviously a caring parent (which seems to be rare these days!) only you will no whats best for your son

i rmemeber watching warriors the film when i was about 13/14!

My advice may be good or bad, I haven't decided myself yet....but I'd say let him have them. I personally think that the rateings these days are too harsh, most kids know about guns and drugs etc waaaaaay before us old gits did at a similar age. The shock factor has gone out of a lot of games and films these days. Besides, if he's already playing these games I don't see how you can argue that he can't have them. A bit of background research into each game would be advisable to put your mind at rest. :)

p.s Don't get 'Manhunt' or 'The Punisher' because they're both rightly 18 certified...talk about gore and brutality.... :err:

Kyle is one of the nicest, well behaved, swattiest(?) and down to earth 12/13 year olds I know or have met. He's the only kid I know that wants to do his homework on a friday as soon as he walks through the door.

He has and has played most of the 18 rated games out there, ManHunt (one of the most real life gruesome games you could buy, now banned), GTA SA, Getaway etc etc etc

In short I don't believe that games, or films for that matter, have any real effect on kids IF they are brought up correctly. Life's rights and wrongs are taught in the real world by the parents not by some video game. I accept there is a limit because the child has to be old enough to know that it is simply a game and that actions and attitudes like that in life are NOT acceptable. If those ground rules are set then I personally don't think it does any harm what so ever.

In short I'd let him have them but make sure he understands it's just a game.

I was watching 18 rated films (not porn just robocop etc) from the age of 9 and I consider myself a well educated, intelligent, well adjusted adult, I have yet to blow somebodies arm off with a shotgun.

I don't know Gra, I think to be honest, if it were me, I'd speak to the parents of the other lad and inform them that the games are 18 rated. They might not have realised.

I know the shock factor is low from our perspective, but from a 13 year old's eyes, there's an awful lot of effin' and jeffin' in GTA games, and the violence and crime is so explicit that I really don't think I would want my child to have carte blanche use of it.

Would you give your child a copy of Hellraiser to watch, or maybe a stack of porno mags?... no.

We never had these kind of things when we were young. There's only so much violence that 2 colours on a Spectrum could portray on the Lounge TV. These days, it's different.

Would you give your child a copy of Hellraiser to watch, or maybe a stack of porno mags?... no.

I think there's a big differene between porno mags and hellraiser, and yes I'd probably let him watch hell raiser if he wanted. Speaking as someone with a surrogate 13 year old I think you'd be surprised with how they handle these things, in fact not dis-similar to how I or most other adults would i.e. It's just a game/film.

I dunno :S

ok, maybe porno mags and hellraiser is a reasonable difference. But let me tell you, I would have been scared witless by hellraiser at 13, 14, 15,....... you get the picture.

I think saying they "handle it" is a tricky thing to interpret. When I was that young, I was still governed by a "bed time", and I couldn't have a TV in my room, and my time spent on the family computer was rationed. All things that I hated at the time, but I consider to have been beneficial to my childhood. The fact that I knew about horror films and other "adult" flicks etc and maybe was curious about them, again I feel a better person for having not been allowed to see them. I didn't know curse words until my early teens, and even then, I knew they were strictly exception and forbidden as a child. Yet even playing GTA as a twenty-something adult, I am a little taken aback by the swearing at times.

But then I am a picture of innocense ;)

I think saying they "handle it" is a tricky thing to interpret.

Perhaps to you as you seem to have had a more than average strict up bringing (nothing wrong with that, each to their own etc). I had a different up bringing, still with respect and discipline built in but perhaps a bit more relaxed, I also know kyle, how he has been brought up, what he is and isn't allowed to do and what he is like as a person now. So from my perspective and my opinion, I think with the right parental guidance yes they can handle it, in the sense of distinguish reality from fiction/fantasy.

by the age of 10 i had probably racked up over a 100,000 kills from many games, thousands had fallen under my wheels and many more had died from being on the wrong end of my gun sight.

now according to jack thompson after years of playing 'murder simulations' i should be a complete nutter wandering around shooting police, but i and the millions of other games around the world arent.

kids who play violent games dont harm anyone, kids who are screwed up in the head and have had the worlds worst parents do.

Perhaps to you as you seem to have had a more than average strict up bringing (nothing wrong with that, each to their own etc). I had a different up bringing, still with respect and discipline built in but perhaps a bit more relaxed, I also know kyle, how he has been brought up, what he is and isn't allowed to do and what he is like as a person now. So from my perspective and my opinion, I think with the right parental guidance yes they can handle it, in the sense of distinguish reality from fiction/fantasy.


you're probably right. I tend to over-sensitise myself to some issues.

But then we mustn't forget that not all children cope with the reality/fantasy devide the same, and certainly not all parent seem to give a damn about their child's correct upbringing.

yup i agree but remember paulas posted on here so she obviously does really care or she wouldnt of bothered, much like her childs friends parents

oh of course deelunn, but I was trying to comment on the broader picture of the subject, and how an identical situation with a different set of people may glean entirely different results, such is the sad state of society.

Looks like ive started a good debate here!! Its not so much blood and gore that i have a problem with as he takes after me in having a liking for the gory stuff, nor is it the so much the content as he knows that he cant go running around motorways dragging people out of cars and jumping in and driving off, its more the language really. The reason i wont let him play the Getaway is because of the use of the C word.

Im not blinkered i know that when he is out with his mates they all swear like troopers cos they think its big and clever but he doesnt in the house so should he sit listening to it?? He put the new 50 Cent CD on in my car the other day and it was all M****R F****R this and that, is the game going to be the same??

yup i agree but remember paulas posted on here so she obviously does really care or she wouldnt of bothered, much like her childs friends parents

I think that is a bit harsh, saying the other parents dont care...They may have had this exact same discussion but have come to a different decision. :cus:

My arguement is, that when I was 13, I wanted these sorts of games too, my parents were worried about giving them too me as they were rated 18. But I have watched 18 films, I have played 18 games at friends houses etc. Its not games that make people into violent criminals its their upbringing. People who dont know right from wrong, people who havent been taught respect.

My advice would be, if you believe your son is responsible, and that you have raised him to know the difference between right and wrong, then let him have the games. If your really still worried then talk to him, say "I will let you have these games, because I know that you are responsible and know the scenes of violence and crime are games only.":)

P.S - I had them and I turned out ok.......I think :err:

I think that is a bit harsh, saying the other parents dont care...They may have had this exact same discussion but have come to a different decision. :cus:




That's not what deelunn said... is it?

the other side to this GreenyGod, is that the items specifically state that they are not to be viewed by under aged minors. They are rated 18 for a reason. By a parent condoning the child's use of this rated product, they are in a way saying to the child that it's ok to ignore age restriction regulations. - which can't be a good thing, surely?

i think if all children were raised with the good manners and decency and knowledge of right and wrong that the majority are, then we wouldn't have a problem, but it's trying to cater for the section which aren't raised well, and have little regard for others, in many cases because their parent's are cut from the same mould, that we run into these problems.

I reckon so anyway.

I agree Steve that these have been moderated for a reason. But like films that are on TV, it is ok to offer these ratings as guidlines, but young people watch them, with or without parent consent. As in this case the younster has already played the game, and knows all about it, surely there is nothing to gain in withholding the game from him. In an Ideal world you could decide exactly when and how your children are exposed to certain films and games, but we live in the real (not ideal) world.

And as I stated it comes down to the person, I believe a responsible 13 year old will know the that this is a game and that this sort of behavour shown is not acceptable or anything to aspire to. I agree its the minority ruining it for the minority, but in PaulaM asking for advice, it shows she is a caring considerate parent, and I would guess she has done her best to teach her boy right from wrong, and should therefore trust him!

As for what Deelunn said, I though the last part was implying that other parents hadnt had this discussion or cared for their children, I could have misinterpreted it, in which case I apologise Deelunn!

I agree entirely, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather live in the ideal world these days, as the real world has too many pillocks in it :)

It's funny, as throughout my childhood, as the mature-for-my-age and wizened young teenager that I was, I was all against age limitations etc, and in my case along with a lot of others, viewing such material may have been alarming, but my understanding of the films and media would have been clear, and that's the key. But the moment I hit adult-hood and started to view the world's bigger picture - seeing other youths in nearby areas who had clearly had less guidance and boundaries in their lives, as well as having a little nephew of my own to protect from the evils of the world, I started appreciating restrictions more.

Ok i am in know way a parent but i might as well post my opinion, everyone else is! I think you should let him have the games but conditionally, say if you ever hear him using the kind of language that is in those games then they will be taken off him. Also explain to him why those words are offensive and that it isn't ok to use them.

Either that or say he can have them if he can buy them!! Speaking from experience, and this is really embarassing, but at the age of 21 i got asked for ID when buying GTA. That will make you seem like a great mum and the shop assistant will be the baddy!!!!

Just wait until he starts asking if he can go out to clubs!!!! Ha ha ha! rather you than me!

Just wait until he starts asking if he can go out to clubs!!!! Ha ha ha! rather you than me!

He does already, our local Ikon does a teen night and he is always asking me if he can go!! :err:

i kinda also agree with these teen nights at night clubs....

just because if hes in a nightclub which is obviously going to be looking after these kinds (i mean they would loose their license if not), then hes not on the street mugging grannies or drinking cider etc etc its also teaching him he can go to a pub/club and not need to gety completely rat ar$ed to have a good night out - which alot of adults seem to forget these days

greeny i kinda meant the other parents obviously dont care - fair enough they have made the desicion to let their kids play on this game, but shouldnt they inform paula that her son is also playing? or better still be asking paula if its ok if her son can play on these games too? that to me would be the responisible parental thing to do?

Exactly Dee, if it was the other way round i would check the parents wouldnt mind first. I mean it got to the stage a couple of years ago when his mate was coming round afer school for tea and smuggling GTA into my house in another games box!! I got suspicous when they kept turning the tv off everytime i walked into the room and caught them out in the end, so they were only 11 at the time playing an 18 game which i think is not acceptable.