fps games; why do parents have such an issue with it??

I'm not in this situation, my cousin is, his mother is all " no games over your age limit!"
It's like she wants him to play "my little pony."
Anyone who cares to elaborate is more than welcome.
Thanks peace out
Stan***

Stan, welcome to the forum I think, as a parent, that there are certain things that can be absorbed in a more balanced manner when age progresses towards adulthood. If there are images and characters that are extremely violent it can have a bad effect on the overall view on life if getting into those (by gaming for instance) when the brain isn't "full grown" yet. Meaning having absorbed and learned to balance.

Trixx, in regards to your reply to my topic, i see your point, but imagine you were a 14/15/16 year old child (not brain damaged i might add) and you are old enough to tell the difference between whats real and whats fiction and what is JUST a p.c/x box/ps2 game. Parents often think that us children are naive snapper heads and in some cases this my be true but believe it or not, 80% of us aren't, parents often only here about the bad stuff and i mean the REALLY bad stuff, IE;the kid that played WOW non-stop living off just caffeine drinks and, and urinating in bottles, he didn't leave his chair...the terrible end result was that he died of mull-nutrition, but was this the poor child's doing?? no no no it was WOW, evil WOW. So, do you see my point that parent should give us NORMAL kids a break cause 80% of us are responsible, and are not going to die of p.c games.
Thanks

Are there really so many people interested in Games？ I am not in that suitation.
It's just for fun!

Stan wrote:

Trixx, in regards to your reply to my topic, i see your point, but imagine you were a 14/15/16 year old child (not brain damaged i might add) and you are old enough to tell the difference between whats real and whats fiction and what is JUST a p.c/x box/ps2 game. Parents often think that us children are naive snapper heads and in some cases this my be true but believe it or not, 80% of us aren't, parents often only here about the bad stuff and i mean the REALLY bad stuff, IE;the kid that played WOW non-stop living off just caffeine drinks and, and urinating in bottles, he didn't leave his chair...the terrible end result was that he died of mull-nutrition, but was this the poor child's doing?? no no no it was WOW, evil WOW. So, do you see my point that parent should give us NORMAL kids a break cause 80% of us are responsible, and are not going to die of p.c games.
Thanks:) :)

I definitely see your point, Stan And, I agree with you. But... you know: parents want to prevent things and you never know what might develop when your children get 'into something' - a parent likes to keep his finger on the pulse to know what's going on. Perhaps this is bad - but I hope you can see it's understandable. Besides.... you know? 14-15-16 year olds are soon over 18-year olds and thus some patience isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Okay, now in all seriousness, do you play games?
An honest opinion. (I'm putting you into a situation here, okay?)Your parents badgering you, "keeping their finger on the pulse" it's an annoying thing, and in all seriousness playing a game like GTA, Crises, or Oblivion etc, are not going to have a life threatening affect on the generation of today, and as Suri said MANY people are into games and it IS just for fun. Parents are becoming over protective, children need to be exposed to a certain amount of things (if it is their will of course, not watching "My little pony" till the age of 14/15/16,and believe me i don't mean watching porn from the age of 10 either) , because as the years move forward parents are become more and more inclined to expect that of which is not happening (watching "My little Pony" that is). Kids just want a break and I think they deserve one.

hey Stan, I already wrote it: I understand you. I have been a teenager once as well, you know? as well as I am a parent right now. Call it two weights trying to balance the scale. I am sure parents cannot prevent everything from their children. But... those things they think they can prevent they will always try to enhance.

I really KNOW what you are talking about. But... give them a break, son. (or daughter?) - Parents have such a difficult 'job' as it is, let them -at least - try to feel they are doing the best they can to educate their children. You know? One time you will be in their position and then...

hey Trixx
I hear you and I know that parents have a long, hard and tedious job. I have baby sat for 5 years now, and believe me i have a pretty good idea of the skills and patience it requires to bring up a child, on our own my mother and i looked after my sisters baby till he was of the age of 3, my mom provided the financial support and I looked after him day and night til his mom was able to take over.
Yes I am a girl (it's a long story-the name that is). I take my hat off to you and all parents out there, because it's not easy. If parents could just take it easy, maybe not be so paranoid? Kids will never rebel if parent don't try to control their children. I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to debate with me on this subject, and points have been seen which is exactly what I was hoping for. Hope you and the kids have a very easy going life together
Keep it real Trixx
Lol Stani (F)

I found this a very interesting subject for discussion Stan and from what I gather you have your head screwed on very balanced (meaning you can see the 'other side' as well, for which kudos)

I know it's the 'control' thing. Parents having to let their children (for whom they always had to make the most important decisions) "go" and make their own decisions.

Ahwell, it's not easy to find a perfect balance in that but I think mostly these are small problems and with time all works out just fine

You have a great time gaming, Stan and thanks for the thought provoking thread

Honestly my mom didnt give a donkeys ass what game i got no matter how old i was. I love my mom

TheSubGamersKing I bet your mum is a very budy woman - sometimes parents cannot dedicate themselves to the education of their children as much as they would like to -

well it is just a game its not ike im gonna go out and do it.

So what was that sad smiley about?

Sorry i feel random sometimes

ok

yep....

hey y'all!!!, sorry about the long period of no reply, but i was in Mozambique for 3 weeks and didn't have a chance to get to a PC. I would just like to say thank you to all the peeps for reading this topic and commenting. And Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year to all!!!

Wow sorry it took me 8 months to reply but anyways your welcome

from my experience parents get worried after watching you play for long hours like the world does not exist.

for example all a parent has to do is Google game caused suicides and there protective hormones come out in full force. And me being a father I cant help but wonder...is my child emotionally safe? ( when he gets old enough to play games hes only 16 months old ) maybe...maybe not, its hard to tell what lies underneath the surface of a child's emotions or how under developed or fully developed there frontal lobes are. Frontal lobe has alot to do with how a human being can make the right decisions..or the wrong ones.

but right to the point...most fps contains war like situations, and one of the most well known facts about war? its like a drug, its extremely addictive. same goes with fps shooters, there a war simulator. (depending on the fps i suppose)
so i can understand how a parent must feel especially knowing alot more then their kids, and full knowing that over exposure to abuse, traumatic situations, prolonged violence , can cause much conflict within ones personality.

my conclusion is...as much as my parents pee'ed me off in the past that parents have every right to be a pain in the ass .

I said alot of more informational indirect stuff in this post more to help people think outside the box instead of how much there parents annoy the crap out of them. its a complicated thing the brain is hehe

I personally don't get why there is so much emphasis on effects of violent games on teenagers.. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it's new type of media, and maybe some adults don't understand it very well. It's easy to demonize what we don't know.

There is so much violence/sexual content in a lot of great literature. Just look at how much violence and sexual innuendo is in Shakespeare's tragedies. Let's say I have a 15-16 year old child who is really into films, should I forbid him to watch films like "Taxi Driver", or "A Clockwork Orange" because it's too violent and disturbing? But if he/she really wants to get into film and want a career in it somehow, what gives me the right to stop him from watching two great masterpiece in the history of cinema?

I think if teenagers are allowed pick up George Orwell's "1984" or Nobokov's "Lolita from the bookstore, I don't see why video game should be any different. I remember reading about how the kids from the columbine shooting were playing videogames and reading Neietze, and there were public outrage over violent videogames, but I didn't see that many people who wanted to ban Neietze from bookstore.

I do agree that video games do tend to sensationalize violence, and maturity level of teenagers can vary.. but to me, reading Nietze can be just as dangerous playing doom for a teenager with unstable mind, and the problem was there long before they started playing video games.

I think the only thing I don't like about video games is that they tend to take imagination away from the children. Maybe its me, but I'd rather have my kids grow up like they did in "to kill a mocking bird"(without the racism of course)... where things like tires and other mundane things became toys through their imagination.. but maybe I am asking too much.

Generally parents have a pretty good idea about the maturity level of their children so I can see your point of view but on the other hand, like I high-lighted last year some parents will always take it to a completly different level and go "lock-down" on their children, it's then up to that parent to deal with the possible outbreak from the child because of the walls the parent has built around him/her to "protect" them...I always respected my parents because they gave me that little bit of freedom it's just one way of showing one anothers trust. Peace =D

etcetra... I like your thinking and completely agree with you, I think we'll just have to wait and see what the technology has in store for the future generations.

Stan,

Thanks I am Asian and I've seen how overprotective parents can ruin kids' future. This kid literally failed his first yr of college because he discovered TV for the first time and he couldn't stop watching it!!

anyways, there was a time when Stranvinsky's "Rite of Spring" caused public outrage and many of the books we read were banned for their content. I am not saying video game is 'high art', but i guess all forms of media go through tat at one point or the other. The problem is that when we demonize something we don't know we don't tend to understand it and come to appreciate it. I mean there is a lot to appreciate about games likes Metal Gear Solid series.

Totally!

Yea well all parents are different one might allow you to play Left 4 Dead while your 10 and one might not allow you it all depends on your parent but if you cant play a game cause your parents said no and your at the age limit then your parent is over protective.