Controlling When Your Kids Play Video Games

This week's GBE2 topic is Control, so that got me thinking. I've written about terrible video game controls, I could just recycle that. But lately, I've been noticing an outpouring of  "kids should get off their video games and play outside" type tweets, FB posts, articles, you name it. Yeah, I'm not impressed...

Why? Because just like parents have the ESRB to help them control what their kids play, they also have control over how long. Every console has parental controls that let you pick how long they can play for. If you want to get your kid out of the house, turn off the consoles, hide the power supplies if you need to. Put the systems in the living room, not in the bedroom. It's not the video games' fault. Although, all the "back in my day" FB statuses and tweets seem to think it is.

Even though gaming is a fairly new medium, when it comes down to it, parents are responsible for controlling what and when their kids play. And before video games, there was TV to distract children from the great outdoors anyway.

Who knows, maybe I'm overreacting. But instead of complaining about the "spell" video games have on kids, just tell them go out and play. It works for my son. When people blame the games, it looks like they're the ones who aren't in control.

O is for Older Kids and Video Games

When it comes to picking out video games for older kids or *tweens* (I don't like that word), it can be hard even for gamer parents. Personally, I throw the ESRB ratings out the window and use them only as a last resort. I know what my son can and can not handle. I also know a basic overview of recently released games. But what if you don't really know much about games? I have written about what games I think are appropriate for the almost teen boy.

There are some really cool video games releasing soon or that just came out. Portal 2 will be here tomorrow and it's rated E10+. The Lego games like Star Wars are awesome. My son and I love them. In May, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean will come out. And if your son watches WWE, he can play the new WWE All Stars game.

I admit, during this time in their lives, it's difficult to absolutely  say what ESRB rating  older kids fall in. Yes, there's E and E10+, but there are  many T (like WWE games) and even M games (like Halo) that I think the almost teen kid can handle. It's all about knowing your child and knowing what the game is all about.

E is for the ESRB

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Yes, they rate games and make it easier for parents to pick which game is appropriate.  I'm sort of grateful for that. I know not every parent is a gamer. But, parents can be lazy and blindly trust those rating. Then they turn around and blame the game. Or they ignore the ratings and then complain about little Billy being exposed to Grand Theft Auto at the tender age of six. Duh. That's not the ESRB's fault, but over the years I have found some of their ratings off. Usually, they err on the side of caution. For games that I think the ESRB has rated wrong go here.

But I'm not done. My biggest bone of contention isn't lazy parents who don't pay attention to their child's gaming habits. It's the AO rating. If you're not a gamer, you probably never heard of it. Why? It stands for Adult Only. Since 1994, only 20+ games have gotten that rating. It's the kiss of death. Retail stores don't carry them. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo won't allow AO games on their systems. It pisses me off, frankly.  Content is cut from games so they can be rated M. To me, that's censorship. Unfortunately, video games are still seen as toys.  Beyond any other form of entertainment, they are judged harshly and scrutinized  more. Parents, lawmakers, and other naysayers need to realize games grew up and so did the people playing them. There's a rating system, it's not perfect, but it's there. And maybe one day an adult gamer can actually enjoy a good game with an AO rating.  Since I like ranting about this, I've covered sex and nudity in video games on this blog last year.