Violent Video Games, What's Your Opinion

I never allowed video games in my house.

One of my friends was upset about her son and his temper. He tended to get very angry about trival things. He played a lot of violent games, he stopped playimg them and his behavior changed.

I know I'm the minority but I can't stand them. My husband plays them and I just can't understand the appeal and I don't understand the point. My kids are still young (4 and 1.5) but I plan to keep them away as long as possible. I just think there are so many other ways they could be spending their time.

I'm okay with it. I was a little more protective of the older kids, but that was a lot harder to do with the younger kids.

So instead, I have let them play. I really see no difference between them and the older kids who had to wait.

The one thing with my 11 year old is that he loves to learn and study about whatever era a particular game is set in, he's a bit of a history buff. So it's not all 'bad'.

Love 'em!

Yes, they will be allowed to play them. If seeing violence begat violence argument held water, then how come watching musicals doesn't make people run out in the streets singing and dancing? Why aren't masses of 10 year olds playing Mario Kart and then driving the family car?

That old concern was a political stunt in the 80's. It has since, in study after study, been found to be laughably false.

So get 'em the new Call of Duty, learn how to play with your son, and point out to him that he knows this is fake, right? Discuss, and keep on playing! :)

You have to evaluate your own children and determine if they are mature enough to discern fact from fiction and capable of understanding it is just a game. For us, we let our son (almost 13) play them.
We have talked at length about the real/fake aspect of them. This works for our home, results may vary..... :)

I don't like them. I don't understand why blood and guts and gore and torture are entertaining. I didn't want my kid to learn that they are. We never had them, and he turned out great. I don't see it as enhancing a child's social or intellectual development, and I think they are particularly problematic in young people whose brains are not fully formed (which happens around age 25). So, with all the forms of entertainment out there, why choose this junk?

As my son matures, so do his games.
Appropriate is the key word.

Or--Are you asking if violent games result in violent kids? Because that has been proven false numerous times by experts.
A "typical" child has no trouble discerning reality from fiction. Again ghey should be child specifically age appropriate.

And no, I don't think the game rating system is the final expert. There are some M games that my 10 year old is fine with.
I'm more concerned with the language than the violence.

Yes I let my son play them, and my husband too.

I will Never let my kids play this at our house or anyone elses house. The people in our circle all have similar values and don't agree with violent video games. I think it desensitizes kids and it is a very very dangerous slippery slope into seeing that violence is ok and or cool. I am ok with other video games when they are old enough, but not anything violent.

For the record, I don't intend to let my kids play video games much in general. MAYBE they can buy their own one day with strict usage limitation (as in time spent, not so much substance) while they live at home..and they can play them at friends houses occasionally. THAT SAID, The safest and most gentle culture I have ever visited, with the most gentle, well-behaved, crime-free teenagers is in Tokyo Japan, the mecca of violent video games.

I don't think video games cause violence unless paired with many other destructive habits and factors.

My boys play(ed) first person shooter games.
They have also play(ed) gymnastics, football, baseball, basketball, soccer and wrestle from the time they were 5 up until HS.
Play music in and out of HS.
I also have 2 Eagle Scouts.
EVERYTHING in moderation.

I do NOT believe that violence in video games and movies makes violent kids/adults.

I DO believe that there are those among us that are severely mentally/emotionally disturbed. Regardless of what and how much they may and may not have played/watched.

~Each parent needs to know their own child and what they can and can not handle....and more importantly HOW their child is doing/coping in life!!!

My kids have played Call of Duty but that's about it . . . and it's not one of their favorites.

I tried to avoid them until they got older and we could discuss it.

I agree with Jim - it's dependent on your particular kids imho.

One of my kids loves sports games and the other one loves PC strategy and creative games.

With the escalation of violence in our world we also have an escalation in denial. It is time that all of us stop and evaluate our relationships to violence and to examine how we are each contributing.

We trivialize and deny abusive behaviors in our families. We minimize the fact that spanking and screaming at our children is violence. We feel justified and don’t consider that road rage is violence. We pretend that beating ourselves up verbally day after day isn’t violence. We think that revenge, vendetta, anger, fighting, arguing, war, taking what you want, harming another, and other forms of violence are justifiable and effective ways of solving our problems. We think that violence as entertainment is okay and not harmful.

Denial is our enemy. As long as we choose to look the other way, keep silent, pretend, hide, minimize, blame, and ignore the violence in others and ourselves we are continuing the cycles.

It is time to start eliminating ALL violence in our lives because collectively we are all contributing to the escalation. We must be the change we wish to see.

I don't like video games, even if they are teaching math and reading, lol. We don't have any. Violent doesn't sound good either, but it's mainly the idea of a kid staring at a screen that sounds unhealthy.

I have let my children play Halo. My son wanted to get another M rated game but put it back because he knew I would make him take it back anyway. Halo is the only M rated game he plays because his dad said he is shooting aliens instead of people. Whatever. My son is a great kid. He is very kind to his sisters and treats others with respect. He is gentle and artistic. He is not violent. I think it depends on the maturity level of the person playing the game. I know he plays games I do not approve of at others homes but he is still the kind, loving, gentle person when he comes home.

My son is 9, so he just wants to play Mario. He doesn't like violent games or shows, or anything involving guns. Which, is not from our influence, its just the type of kid he is. We don't condone violence or guns used incorrectly. So, why would it be any different for entertainment purposes?

My daughter played them as a child and plays them as a young adult. She is not violent, and in fact, is one of the most non-violent, compassionate people I have ever met.
From the time she was little, I made it clear to her that what she saw on a tv or movie screen was not real. she understood that when you shoot people in a game, they aren't real people, just pictures drawn on a computer.

We don't own or play any video games. My son is almost 7. We have no plans to change.

My kids are still younger, but I don't intend to ever let them play violent video games. They are allowed to play video games, but I see no need to play games in whish you are shooting and killing people.

Angry kids play angry games, angry games do not make angry kids.

My kids have never asked for these types of games but if they did I see nothing wrong with them.

I will never allow my children to buy or play them. Right now the oldest is nearly 6, and he sees commercials for them and asks for them, but I just tell him each "no" each and every time. I will continue to do so until the day they move out of my home, be it 18 or 25.

My kids are 8 and 10, so no way at their ages. When they are older? I'm not sure. Part of me thinks that some of them aren't so bad, but some of them are just too graphic. My kids only play video games on the weekend. I think too much of any video game, but especially very violent graphic ones, is not a good thing. It takes them too much away from reality and the violence can desensitize them.

The only game the kids play is Mine Craft and most of the time they are only on Create or build. They do play with the zombies too but they do that with hubby and both kids. They enjoy it a lot. I don't play that game.

They do not watch Kick Buttowski or any other show that has Martial arts in it. We watched the new Karate Kid movie with Will Smith's son and even though it was a good movie we had to live with kicking and hitting for a few days that was not needed.

Nope, but I have young kids. My husband will not play them in front of the kids either. I am afraid that we are become insensitive to blood and death and video games is part of that whole scene. Just my thoughts. :)

Honestly, I have let my kids play violent video games. Usually they'll just play Halo with each other, but have played Left4Dead, F.E.A.R., WoW, and even Silent Hill.

I've gone to extreme lengths to talk to my kids about what they're playing, and they know that it's just a game. That the behavior in the game is not anywhere near good behavior in real life.

They're also not allowed on the PVP aspect of the games without me, my husband, or their uncle accompanying them. And even then, chat is off.

Really, for us, it's not been a problem. My kids can handle these things, and in some ways it's been beneficial because we never had the monster in the closet and under the bed issues.

Heck, I can even credit games like Spyro with helping my Middle Daughter with her reading when all else was failing. Turn the sound off and make her read the pop up dialogue out loud.

Video games on the whole, aren't bad. The more mature games though, you have to really know you kids, and your comfort level.

As a former teacher and Mental Health pro I believe that these games should be thoroughly banned no matter what the age.
The characters in these videos can become Role Models to Children, just as TV characters can be.
Is a violent character something you want your child to model themselves after? Children can and often do unconsciously model after a favorite character whether such be from a video game, or an Athlete, Celebrity, Chef or even a neighbor!

I did not let my kids play them for a long time then I decided it was wrong of me to let my son go to air soft wars and shoot actual people but tell him he can't shoot imaginary people on the tv. He have learned different tactical things and helps him think out strategies.

I have a 15-year old girl and three boys, age 14, 8 & 6. We didn't have any video games at all until my oldest son was 8 and that was a hand-me-down from someone. I strongly dislike that my younger boys have grown up with gaming but I lost that battle a long time ago.

Anyway...we don't allow violent games, even for our oldest. I know full well that he plays those games at other kids' houses and has been since about age 12, and I'm not concerned that an hour of that here or there while hanging out with a group of kids is all that bad.

What worries me at the kids who have game systems in their rooms who put on headsets and play intensely violent games live with other players for hours and hours and hours on end. I know my son has peers who do this on weekends or vacations. I worry about why that is so appealing to them and why their parents allow it. There is an intensity and duration and level of isolation and focus that is not normal or healthy. I wonder if those kids are addicted to gaming, or if playing violent, first-person shooting games for a long time in isolation blurs the line between reality and gaming.

The only games we have in our house are sports games (various Wii sports, hockey and soccer), racing games, skate boarding games, Rock Band and the Lego games (Batman, Indiana Jones etc.). Yeah my kids would play all day if I let them, but we keep it to reasonable time limit and then shut off all screens and tell them to find something else to do. I dislike that it's often their default leisure activity and feel like if we didn't have a gaming system at all, they'd be doing other creative, constructive things like legos or puzzles or drawing all the time (they do those too, but games are their first choice).

A friend posted on FB recently a thought that it's demeaning to our boys that we give them a steady diet of violence as entertainment, and why don't we trust them to be capable of doing more that's productive and creative?

No, I do not allow my boys to play them. I hate the fact that video game makers glorify murdering,killing, and war. I truly believe that is part of the crazy things happening in our world anymore!