GameTalk: Playing With Fire
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What kind of parent are you and how much attention do you pay to what your kids are doing? To quote my good friend Duke from "G.I. Joe," knowing is half the battle.
Parents in America have had a guide to video games for years that they may not know about called the ESRB that makes it very difficult for kids to buy game content that is not age appropriate.
The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) is a ratings system created by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) that puts descriptors on all game-related content. These labels in turn help retailers decide whether an underage consumer can buy a game without providing some form of identification.
The system works pretty well, but it is not 100 percent foolproof if parents and retailers do not cooperate.The ESRB has a board that helps decide what rating is appropriate for a given title based on things like adult language, sexual content, violence, adult themes, alcohol and tobacco use, and a lot of other criteria. The system works much like the ratings systems for music and movies in that it is self-regulating and not mandated by the government.
Video games sold in the United States and Canada almost always carry these ratings.
There are a handful of places in our area where you can buy games and most of these retailers adhere strictly to the rules of the ESRB; Wal-Mart in North Adams and Pittsfield, GameStop in the Allendale in Pittsfield, EB Games and Target in the Berkshire Mall and a handful of places where you can buy used games in Adams and North Adams. Most of the aforementioned retailers (excluding a few that are privately owned) stick to the ratings system and do not allow underage gamers to buy mature-rated games even with a parent present.
And in the cases when kids do manage to purchase these games, it is usually with the help of a parent who is either duped into believing the game is age appropriate or who has given consent.
As an example, my son and I have played "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" and "Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" on the Xbox 360. While the ESRB rates both games "T" for "Teen," and my son is only 8 years old, I feel comfortable letting him play them.
Why? Because I have played both of them from start to finish and know that 90 percent of the content is safe and appropriate for a general audience. Still, I am there watching him play these games and explaining anything that might be considered inappropriate for his age level.Of course, it is a lot harder to do this with teens, so parents should really find a Web site or two that they can trust to explain what exactly a game's content consists of. If your son or daughter is clamoring for a copy of "Grand Theft Auto IV" or "Metal Gear Solid" (as examples), you should probably do the research first; both of these games are for adults.
Some parents feel comfortable letting their kids play games that are above their age limit; that is fine if you're going to pay attention to a game's content and your child's resulting behavior.
Parents also have to understand that kids who really want to play a game will usually find what they seek at a friend's house. If you do not approve, there is nothing wrong with talking to other parents about what you do and do not allow your kids to do.
The ESRB system works pretty well and educating yourself on the issue is paramount, but parents have extra tools beyond those safeguards right at home. Every current console system has parental security features that allow parents to lockdown content based on ratings. Parents need to do a little bit of research to figure out how to set these safety features up.
The Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii all have safeguards built in, but if parents do not take the time to learn about them then they are all pretty worthless (some helpful links can be found at the end of this article).
.jpg) Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., has filed legislation to increase scrutiny of video game ratings. |
Some in government would love to create a nanny state in which it can control what your kids can and can't have access to, but as parents, it's our right to decide. All they want to do is punish people punish parents, punish retailers, punish kids, etc., by passing laws that take the responsibility out of parents' hands.
Parents have the lion's share of responsibility in this. If you are not willing to take the time to find out what your child is playing, then what is the point? Just like television, movies and the Internet, parents need to wake up, watch and interact with their children when it comes to gaming.
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