As a parent you may be concerned about what kinds of video games your children are playing. Or you may be a gamer yourself, and wonder how to play the games you like when they aren’t appropriate for your children. This article discusses all these issues and more, covering parenting concerns related to video games. Let’s go through each of the big questions.
How Do I Know What Kinds of Games My Children are Playing?
First of all, if you’re not involved in the purchasing and monitoring of the video games your child plays, you should be. Despite the “games” in video games, they are a form of entertainment that is as varied as music and movies. In other words, there are video games for kids, and there are video games for adults.
The easiest way to know who a video game is made for is to check the ratings on the game’s box. You can learn about ratings and content descriptors at the ESRB’s website. Content descriptors on the game box will tell you what kind of objectionable material is in the game, but it is still the responsibility of the parent to make sure the games their children play are right for them.
The best way to do this is to sit in on their gaming sessions or even play with them. Try to get interested in what they are playing and ask them questions about what they are doing in the game. It should not be an inquisition, but rather an informal communication, much like sitting down with your family to watch a movie together.
What If I Don’t Like What My Child is Playing?
Some parents are going to tolerate different activities for their children. Some may object to the continual violence of a Spider-Man game, while other parents will have no problem with it, since there is no blood or gore.
If you’ve decided that the game you bought for your child is not to your liking, it’s probably too late to get your money back. Most retailers have a policy that does not allow them to take back opened video games. However, places like GameStop and Best Buy will give you some store credit for your opened game.
Another way to approach this issue is through prepared buying. This means you avoid the need to lose money on a new game purchase. You can do this by buying used games, which are generally refundable before seven days at the retailers that sell them.
You can also do this by learning about the games you’re buying, typically through reading magazines or websites that cover the games. If you’re just interested in what kind of content is in the game your child is interested in, the ESRB website is, once again, a great source for this.
Another thing for parents to keep in mind: just because one game in a series received a teenager-friendly rating, it does not mean that the rest of the series will too. There are several popular video game franchises that started off as games with Teen ratings, only to have later releases in the franchise receive a Mature rating. These series include: Call of Duty, Syphon Filter, Splinter Cell, and Medal of Honor.
What if I Want to Play Games I Don’t Want My Kids to Play?
Lots of parents grew up playing games and now play games made for adults. They face the problem of wanting to play games they would not let their children play. The most obvious way to deal with this is to simply play when they are sleeping, at school, or away with relatives.
There are also ways to modify the settings on many video games to censor their objectionable material. This includes turning off blood and gore effects, silencing obscenities, and covering scantily-clad characters. Each game is different in what it will allow to be censored. Most of these options, however, can usually be accessed through a game’s pause menu.
Parents who own games they don’t want their children to play also run into the issue of how to keep their kids from playing those games. The best way to do that is to let your children know which games are acceptable for them to play. Monitoring what they play also works very well here.
Another step parents can take is to establish parental controls on video game consoles. Most modern consoles allow for parents to choose what ratings are acceptable for games their children play, and the console will restrict play of all other games. When parents want to play those games themselves, they can use their own accounts on the video game consoles. These accounts should be password-locked to ensure children cannot use them.
Another equally successful, but slightly more drastic measure that can be taken, is to lock away inappropriate games in a cabinet or safe.
All of these are useful ways to keep undesirable content away from children. But the best way to make sure your children are playing games that are right for them is to communicate with them and discuss what they are playing.