Stop buying M rated games for your kids

[Shiba1227]

On 2008-05-18 10:50, Raine_Loire wrote:

On 2008-05-17 23:42, Shiba1227 wrote:
I find the issue of parents pointing the figure at everything except themselves infuriating. I myself turned 14 a few weeks ago, but I've been M rated games for years now.

I wonder though, why would you bar any one under the age from playing them? If you don't suck as a parent, you should know if your child is mature enough to play said games.

If you don't suck as a parent you know that no one under a certain age is mature enough to play said games. If you don't suck as a parent you aren't afraid to make "unpopular decisions" even if your kids scream that they hate you. If you don't suck as a parent you know that EVERY KID in the history of the world has thought they were mature enough for something they weren't old enough for.

Ditto. I meant you YOURSELF should make a choice on whether or not your child is mature enough to play M ratted games. If you don't think they are, don't get the damn game.

I don't know how you could have gotten parents caving into demands by their kids from that. :/

[Raine_Loire]

On 2008-05-19 07:03, DreXxiN wrote:

Also, I'm not one to beleive kids shouldn't be able to play M-rated games until they are 18.
I stand by this because it's a bad idea to me to keep people in Dragon Tales & Barney....& Friends... Land until they are an adult, and then throw them into the world with no "preview" of the upcoming violence, sex, etc that they will be witnessing later on in life. M rated games can pose a decent problem for those who cannot differentiate what your objectives should be in a video game versus what should be done in real life. (AKA, A LOT of the population) If you ask me, this is much less troublesome than child sweatshops, throwing them into a sex slave position, or raising them as soldiers from birth. Also on a religious note, I'd much rather have my kid learn from himself (if I deem him qualifying to handle such content) rather than have him forced into Christianity, or any religion for that matter, and get fed lies and propaganda. In other words, I want him to make his own beleif in faith on his own.

First of all, I'm an adult, and have been a while. I have never seen anyone die in real life. I've never cut someone's head off, I've never watched other people have sex, I've never done drugs or watched others do them, I've never shot a gun or been shot at, I've never been nor have I met anyone who has been a slave in a sweat shop, I was not nor has anyone my life has come in contact with been raised to be a soldier from birth... and well, pretty much all the other crap that you claim I wasn't prepared for because I wasn't allowed to play M games or watch R movies before the rating system said I could.

There is a HUGE difference between Barney, and GTA4. And there's a middle ground. Most people walk the middle ground for their entire lives. The ones who don't- well they don't need GTA to show them what life on the streets is like- they know it long before some DBs make a game about it. Games like GTA are for sheltered, spoiled, middle class kids to play and live vicariously through.

Chuck, you're right, there is no NEED for video games. They're a luxury item, unnecessary at best, like movies. However, like movies, there are age restrictions on them, which were set by a panel of people who are capable, unlike MANY people on these forums, of thinking about what is in the best interest of children. They rate the games, they put an age limit on the games, and there are laws preventing minors from walking into the stores and buying these games. Now when a parent goes in and buys a game for their kids to circumvent the laws trying to keep the games out of the kids hands, they're showing their kids that they only have to follow rules when they agree with them, they're teaching their kids "you're different from everyone else, the rules don't apply to you" and they're saying "I approve of what happens in these games." Explain which of those 3 statements is healthy for children to hear.

So I say, if I'm going to help my child go around laws that were put in place to protect him, I want a reason. As in what I say to my son when he wants something when I've already said no- "Tell me why I should. Convince me." I'm a tough sell, by the way. I have yet to hear one single reason from you kiddies- and adults who haven't realized you aren't kiddies yet- why any parent SHOULD go around the rules and give their kid something they aren't allowed to get for themselves. Should a parent also supply their children with alcohol and cigarettes if they "know" their child is "mature enough" and won't get addicted or go out and hurt someone? Should they buy their kid a hooker if they "feel they're ready" for it?

I have given you a very good reason why they should not- because kids have a long life once they turn 18. They have years and years after that. But they only have the first 18 to be children. As parents, we should be protecting those 18 years, it's our responsibility to protect them for our children. The rest of their lives, it's up to them- what they do, the choices they make. But for the first 18 years, it's up to the parents. Set limits, instill values and morals. And all of those things are declining as each generation fails the next by trying to be "cool" and "understanding" and "helping their kids grow up faster."

Children are NOT just small adults. Teenagers are not adults except for their age. If you need proof, join a multiplayer GTA mission. Kids screaming and swearing, doing missions wrong on purpose so their teams lose, and just generally getting on other people's nerves. I bet all their parents thought THEY were mature enough for the games too.

Jackel, I'm not saying that I go up to people and tell them they need to stop buying M games for their kids, although if I worked at gamestop, I would indeed not sell to parents who are CLEARLY buying them for their kids. But I think we need laws like New Zealand's law banning people from buying M games for their children.

I don't approach people, but that's not to say if I did I wouldn't be within my rights, because I would be. The only way what other people do wouldn't be my business would be if they in no way affected my life. The thing is, though, that other people's decisions DO impact my life. The same as I am careful about noise in my house and keep my music down at all times- yet my neighbor has her music blasting at 3 AM on a Sunday night/monday morning. I am raising my son to be a good person, and I have a right to try to prevent someone elses kid from turning into a shitbag BEFORE they shoot up my son's school. Everything you do affects people around you, and the effects can be far reaching- even to people you've never even met. That includes how you raise your children.

[Nai_Calus]

You know, Raine, it's ironic how you condescendingly call everyone 'kiddies', when your own posts are so self-centered and childish as to make me completely dismiss your opinions out of hand. 'It's not the way I do it so it's wrong' is an egotistical, unthinking viewpoint with absolutely no validity.

And I'm glad you're so sheltered, but other people are not. I have seen people die. I have seen people having sex and doing drugs. I have met people who were raised to kill, and people raised as the targets of people who wanted to kill them, all of them probably half your age(From the constant 'kiddies' b.s. I'm presuming you're in your early 40s) and with more years and maturity on them than you'll ever have.

People are not stereotypes. I know 16 year olds I'd trust with voting, fighting wars and driving my car. I know 45 year olds I'd trust with none of them.

It's nice if the 'Don't trust anybody under 30' mindset works for you, but it's not a one-size-fits-all thing, sorry.

It's an academic discussion for me, since I, recognizing that I would make a terrible parent due to a lack of patience and a lack of giving a damn, have decided not to breed. But if I had kids, sure, I'd let them play violent video games. I'd sit down with them while they played, too, and explain each and every single thing that happened until they understood damned well that this is A: Fake. B: Wrong. C: Not something you should ever do, but D: Can be quite fun if you are, in fact, capable of understanding that this is, in fact, make-believe. Any kid I'd have would know how to use a gun and exactly what a gun is capable of doing, and would know damn well that just shooting someone for the hell of it or to get what you want is stupid, wrong and completely not the sort of thing you should do. This would, of course, make me a 'bad parent' in your eyes, and yet I seriously doubt that my kid would end up shooting up his school because he did it in a video game.

Sheltering kids and making sure everything is safe for them is a great way to have them hit the world completely unprepared.

But I am very, very deeply cynical, so. XP

[ljkkjlcm9]

On 2008-05-20 00:40, Raine_Loire wrote:
Jackel, I'm not saying that I go up to people and tell them they need to stop buying M games for their kids, although if I worked at gamestop, I would indeed not sell to parents who are CLEARLY buying them for their kids. But I think we need laws like New Zealand's law banning people from buying M games for their children.

Ok, if I really want to buy said M rated game for my child... I walk into the store alone, buy the game, and bring it home to my kid. Laws like that can never prevent it. It's up to the parents and any "laws" are just dumb. So what next, if we find the parent bought the game and lets the kid play it, we arrest the parent?

Look, this is a dumb argument. The rating system is there for a reason, if a parent chooses to ignore it, it's their choice. We can't force them to pay attention to it.

THE JACKEL

[granis1233]

i have 2 words to say HELL YAAA.

[DreXxiN]

To Raine: About the whole barney thing, Yes I understand there is a middle point, I was just exxagerating a bit xP.


Also I agree with pretty much everything Ian has said (as usual).

[Chuck_Norris]

On 2008-05-20 14:09, DreXxiN wrote:
Also I agree with pretty much everything Ian has said (as usual).

Indeed.

[washuguy]

On 2008-05-07 23:22, Uncle_bob wrote:
Are you a parent? Do me a favor, stop buying fucking M rated games for your little snotnosed shit-for-brains kids. I'm tired of playing with them, they're fucking annoying.

Shouldn't you be buying them Barney or something? Or better yet, SPEND TIME WITH YOUR KIDS? Instead of getting high on meth and partying?

Fuck. You.

Thanks.

Post-rage Edit: The main reason I posted this is because I run a Garrys Mod server for myself, friends, and whoever else wants to join.

My problem is all these fucking kiddies that join, start yelling and screaming into their mic, and demand that I give them god mode, weapons, admin rights and whatever else they feel they're entitled to. When I tell them no, they attempt to crash the server or do whatever else they can to be disruptive and annoying. Good god, fuck all of them.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Uncle_bob on 2008-05-09 19:21 ]</font>

YES... OMG... I play saints row online, all those kids do is curse and yell, its so annoying. This one kid was like 10 years old and I swear he used every curse word you could think of within the 20 minutes we spent playing. It was ridiculous.

[Nitro Vordex]

As a teen, this thread makes me want to cry.

Everyone of you sound like kids arguing for no apparent reason.

Uncle_Bob- I don't know about the yelling and screaming, but damn dude. I feel for you. (Or should I call you sir instead of dude? )

[Uncle_bob]

tl;dr I'm right, you're wrong. Go away and let me have my fucking rant.

The laws and ratings exist for a reason. I don't care if you think your kid is "mature" enough, he's not.

I think I'm going to start reporting underage accounts/users to Valve. Really, you don't know how fucking sick I am of this bullshit. I'm tired of having them shit up the community. Sure I can ban them from my server, but they can still go join one of the other hundreds of servers and cause trouble there.

On 2008-05-20 16:06, Nitro_Vordex wrote:

Uncle_Bob- I don't know about the yelling and screaming, but damn dude. I feel for you. (Or should I call you sir instead of dude? )

Whichever one fits best.