GTA V & Parental Guidance - A Poll

[chris g]

I think as with all things like this, as long as the parents have had a think about it and come up with their own opinion, then that works for me

My 29 year old daughter had a glass of wine at 14 and learned to drive at 14. Rules are guidelines for adults to make grown up decisions around.

It is a bit like facebook- what age do you let your children have an account ? I think its less to do with the rules than how you look after them on it.

 

[original guvnor]

In GTA5 you can:-

1. Have private dances with topless women in strip clubs and feel them up
2. Pick up prostitutes
3. Assault and kill random individuals at will
4. Murder policemen
5. Take mind-bending drugs
6. Deal in drugs/arms
7. Go on psychotic rampages where the aim is to kill anywhere between 20 and 30 people in a very short space of time

I could go on....

Still suitable for children?

 

[PlumbNB1]

I have 3 girls, the youngest two are 17 and 16 and we all play CoD, left for Dead etc (all 18s) However the 17 year old strongly suggests no one under 16 or 17 should be playing the latest GTA (the earlier ones weren't quite as bad). Her friend said her younger brother got really messed up playing GTAs when he was 11 years old, he became distant and quiet with bouts of anger. His mum didn't know the cause till she saw what he was actually 'playing'. After he stopped playing he was ok.

Sorry I may have been misleading, by saying "after he stopped playing he was ok" I actually meant it was so bad an influence he shouldn't have been played in the first place. Who knows if theres any long term 'damage'

 

[Bing]

A quick poll of some of the parents of my rugby squad this morning - the squad are all 13/14 year old boys - threw up precisely none who have allowed their child to have the game. They've all had the same conversation I have had with my boy, including the "but all my friends have it" argument. Even allowing it at 15 was not popular - though none of our boys are that age yet.

I think parenting is an art that is sometimes learnt but mostly made up as you go along, and we all have to make judgements that bend rules and make allowances every day. I am however happy that on this occasion my inflexibility and denial are the appropriate response

 

[hype]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Hahaha. Brilliant. I think this every time I'm behind one.

 

[fixit man]

A quick poll of some of the parents of my rugby squad this morning - the squad are all 13/14 year old boys - threw up precisely none who have allowed their child to have the game. They've all had the same conversation I have had with my boy, including the "but all my friends have it" argument. Even allowing it at 15 was not popular - though none of our boys are that age yet.

I think parenting is an art that is sometimes learnt but mostly made up as you go along, and we all have to make judgements that bend rules and make allowances every day. I am however happy that on this occasion my inflexibility and denial are the appropriate response

My son wanted to play a few 18 games including GTA 4 a couple of years back and we said no.

He's 17 1/2 now and GTA 5 is out, he asked again we said yes, he said after playing it that he can understand it now and is glad we said no back then and he appreciates it

 

[Bing]

fixit man,

I hope that when WB is a few years older he will be mature enough to take a similar view, and will have learned a valuable lesson for when he has his own kids.

 

[Mowflow]

I admire those that have said no to their children. I have 2 kids but they are both only babies and not even at the age of wanting games of any description. I like to think that it is my duty as a parent to protect their innocence and allow them to enjoy their childhood and discover things in life for themselves as and when is natural and suitable for them.

I wish more parents were as responsible.

 

[domsz4]

I have 3 girls, the youngest two are 17 and 16 and we all play CoD, left for Dead etc (all 18s) However the 17 year old strongly suggests no one under 16 or 17 should be playing the latest GTA (the earlier ones weren't quite as bad). Her friend said her younger brother got really messed up playing GTAs when he was 11 years old, he became distant and quiet with bouts of anger. His mum didn't know the cause till she saw what he was actually 'playing'. After he stopped playing he was ok.

Sorry I may have been misleading, by saying "after he stopped playing he was ok" I actually meant it was so bad an influence he shouldn't have been played in the first place. Who knows if theres any long term 'damage'

thats interesting.


if hes playing it at his mates then i don't see why he cant play at your house. maybe impose some sort of "only in a communal area" type restriction or limited to a fixed amount each day to stop him playing all hours on his own. i don't have kids but have played all the gta games and they are a bit close to the mark (havnt seen the new one yet) but a well adjusted kid who knows right from wrong should be able to play it without going off the rails. i don't believe for 1 moment that a game is solely responsible for anything without other influences too.

that list up there only no1 is new .. the other games you could do something like the other points.

as for censoring kids... they will get around the censorship one way or the other and carry on. you might as well educate them to the right path (such as who ever it was with giving kids alcohol) and let them get on with it. step in if you think its going too far from the mark.

 

[Bing]

So, go on YouTube and search for 'have sex in GTA V'. None of it is explicit, but the game doesn't leave much to the imagination - you can pick up a hooker on a street corner, drive down an alley, get a BJ (her head bobbing up nod down in the character' slap, his hand on the back of her head), have sex (her bouncing on the driver, or vice versa) and then go back and drop her off. One guy who had recorded his exploits then decided to shoot her in the back of the head for a laugh.

Similarly inappropriate results from searching for 'take drugs in GTA V'.

He may well get round our rules - let's face it, as kids we all got round our parents rules somehow, some way... It is part of growing up and I am no angel. However he knows that that he is breaking our rules and going against our wishes & morals, not engaging in it with our blessing, which I think is an important distinction. Saying 'he'll play it anyway, so why not' is just lazy parenting IMO.

 

[Adam D]

Once 'Trevor' turns up things go from distasteful to just plain F'ed up - brilliant game but definitely not for kids