I read a very interesting article about preschoolers and being addicted to M-rated video games and internet.

Quote:PRESCHOOLERS are developing violent behaviour after being allowed to play M-rated video games.

The shocking revelation comes as psychologists report a rise in calls about children who are addicted to computer games and the internet.

You can read the full article here.

This certainly raises the question of what these kids are doing and how the parents are allowing them to get access to this kind of material.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

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Parents, you guys want to know why video games are bad for your little kids? It's because YOU don't follow the recommendations. Geesh...Talk about lack of parental control...

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GU Rules

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Stupid Parents are stupid. By doing this parents are allowing there children to experience something that there minds can not handle at this stage. Get the games that are suited for your children, buy the E-rated games and then buy the more violent games when there old and mature enough.

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This normally happens when the parents buy the games in the first place...If you don't know the risks then don't buy it...and don't just buy the games to keep your kids occupied when they want to spend time with you because that's just gonna bite you in the behind when YOU want to spend time with your kids and they say "not now, i'm playing team deathmatch" and you'll never get them away from it.

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I personally think a lot of common sense is just lost in our society. If the psychiatrist want something to talk about, let it be that. Parents are either wanting to be best friends to their kids who want these games or they want something to occupy their kids so they have more time themselves. As for content, I am one for thinking violence at a young age can make people desensitized to it. That's never a good thing.

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It's the parents responsibility to protect their children... I don't see any reason to place blame anywhere else...
Parenting for me is being there every chance I get, being a positive influence, and showing them a sense of what's right/wrong.

To speak generally, where many parents fail today is the lack of interaction between them and the child... It's inevitable at times because working families have no choice. A child's mind is in constant growth, and their understanding of the world is constantly updating. I'm not a control freak, but I do know this fact, and it's my aim to give my son a more positive prospective, something he can ground his morals on... Then when I feel he's ready, I'll let him loose to discover his interests.. if that's violent video games, then so be it... but get your homework done...

Per this article
I think at very least you should buy age appropriate games for them. What this is, ultimately, is laziness on part of the parents to even do anything.. Parents need to face reality that you either adapt or you face the future consequences.. And those can be very unpretty.

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Parents need to be more responsible, yes. But I think that society in general needs to be more responsible in that it's turning a blind eye to the amount of bad parenting there is around these days. It's often a vicious cycle of a child who was poorly brought up becomes a bad parent themselves because certain values were never instilled in them.

Yes, some video games can be over violent, but society needs to also be the hand on a kids shoulder saying "This is bad, yo". The lack of understanding between fiction and real life is worrying.


I honestly don't believe that it's the games themselves that are the problem. There are plenty of kids (myself included) that grew up consuming media that were restricted above our age and it never affected us in an adverse way. The finger is being pointed in the wrong direction.

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(November 28, 2011 04:01:01 PM)Chloe Wrote:  Yes, some video games can be over violent, but society needs to also be the hand on a kids shoulder saying "This is bad, yo". The lack of understanding between fiction and real life is worrying.


I honestly don't believe that it's the games themselves that are the problem. There are plenty of kids (myself included) that grew up consuming media that were restricted above our age and it never affected us in an adverse way. The finger is being pointed in the wrong direction.

Hehe, I couldn't help but get a mental image of someone going "I watched violent stuff all the time, and I turned out alright!" Followed by silence in the crowd.

Putting responsibility on Society is one thing, but people must remember that always starts with themselves. Not pointing you out specifically but there's a lot of people out there that will say "Society needs to do this" but they will never lift a finger along with that statement themselves.

But you make good points. Essentially in the case of a child raised in a bad home, a good community is always a great backbone to fix a person who may not have it good in their home. Sadly, a lot of those community made programs are lost to government run programs or lack of care.

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From my own experience, I watched my dad play a few mature games, but the highest ESRB rating I was currently able to play was up to Teen or lower.

And it isn't the video games that cause the violence, it's the parents that LET their children play them. Imagine a kid playing something like GTA, where murder and sexual content run rampant? I've played it before at the age of 8, but I knew when it would get over the top, which is why I eventually quit playing. Some parents don't have a very tight grip on their children's gameplay or music, or they haven't taught them well enough on what is wrong and what is right.

To be honest, the only people to blame here are the irresponsible parents. It's not the video games, nor the publisher who makes them. Until the media understands that, these stories and studies are pointless.

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"We are ancient, forgotten warriors in a modern world."- Ben Yoshira, protagonist of my KH fanfiction, Twilight's Call.

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I think part of the problem lies in the fact that the ESRB thing is like tobacco and alcohol laws, they really don't do much if the parent buys it for the kid. I think getting a kid a hyper-violent game should be treated like buying a kid a porno. You get charged if you show a kid pornography, or if you get caught buying kids contraband. Should be the same!

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