So I've had Silent Hill 2 and Max Payne for a loooooong time and have never played either one. Seems like anytime I have to play them my 4 and 6 year old boys are around. I suppose I could move the xbox from our 33" TV with s-video to the 19" bedroom TV with an RCA connection but that's a real bummer. Then I'm looking at Buffy yesterday and nearly ready to buy it but then it hits me, "when you gonna play this one"? It's not like I want my little kids seeing that kind of crap (at least not til their 16 or so anyway ) So how do you gaming parents handle "M" rated games? you just play in front of your little ones or stay up late after bedtime and "sneak" in a game or two.... ?

My daughter is only one, so it hasn't really mattered. I do most of my gaming after she goes to bed, so I'll just make it a general rule to do so for all my "M" and "A" rated games.

I find that getting children really, really loaded on cheap wine causes them to pass right out. After that, it's a free evening full of whatever entertainment I choose.

Just let them play with you and talk about the difference between real and pretend. Then get them some play guns and fake blood and tell them to go "pretend" in the yard.


Just kidding. I'd just play after they go to bed.

Buffy is rated 'T', and at least in my opinion, the level of sex/violence/whatever isn't any greater than much of anything on TV. It's definitely a little tamer than the TV series.

Don't let they stay up late, and play once the go to bed! Find a reason to punish them, and send them to bed early *bonus*.

I have to cram in all my RE playing after they go to bed, or if they are taking a nap. Kind of a pain during nap time, as you have to make sure you are near a save point once they get up, or pre-occupy them with a snack in the kitchen until you find one.

I don't really have anything to add to this thread since I'm 17 and without kids (whew) but its nice to see some parents caring for their kids and what they should or should not be seeing at early ages.

By the time I turned 17 I've seen porn, violent movies you name it and still turned out normal.

one of the reasons I decided to not have children- they would play with my stuff and cause me to change what I want to do.

I respect that parents want to make sure that kids do not see things that they would find offensive or might mentally harm them. I guess those compromises are what you must live with to be a good parent.

Sure glad I don't have kids- I guess I can go kill some more people in GTA3

If you raise your kids right, they should be able to handle most subversive material by age 10 or 11 or so.

I am in the same boat. Luckily I have a room with a door and my children will knock especially if I am playing a "grownup game". My kids wouldn't want to play Enclave even if I let them though. At 4 and 6 I would even screen E games since one persons idea of a rating is not necessarily the same as mine.

Trigger - I am going to have to disagree that a child would be prepared to handle any type of material by age ten. That is a nice thought but I don't think we as parents need to subject our children to every twisted and perverted thing so that we can prepare them how to react to them.

el_jer, I'd agree, what they can handle and what they should see are different things. Also, I figure if I cut them loose on this stuff to early, then what do they have to graduate up to then? I figure if I keep them sheltered a little bit, with a little bit of guidance about what is out there so they are not completely naive, that's probably the best way to go. If they are playing M games at an early age, what will it take to have them think something is cool later...

That's my story too!

Funny I usually ask my brother to come watch while I start blowing away some police officers in GTA3. Mom usually gets mad but my little bro knows the difference.

Responsible parenting gets a from me. Hell - I'm supportive of any parent who takes on the responsibility of monitoring what their kids are exposed to rather than let some review board or school or PTA group or whatever decide. Only you know what's best for your kids. My personal feelings on it are that I'll monitor what my kids are exposed to and I'm probably going to be more liberal than most parents once my kids are a certain age - I'd just rather they get exposed to it through me so I can teach them and answer questions rather than have them learn it at school from other parent's kids.

I screen nearly every game for my 6 year old. Not only for content, but also for his "playability" level. I hardly ever look at the rating level, because they don't fit every situation. I'm not going to play a GTA3 type game with him around until he's much older. I don't think there's a "magic age" when he'll be ready, it all depends upon his own mental maturity level.

thanks for the replies

I just wanna add that the tremendous blessing of children far outweighs the bit of lifestyle changes that I have to go through. I mean in the big scheme of things staying up late to play a game is not even comparable to the joy I get from being a daddy

And yes, I realize that you can not keep your kids sheltered forever but my wife and I agree that the home should be a place of shelter, refuge and safety for our kids. Let the world beat up on our kids and try and warp them the best it can but there will always be a safe refuge to come "home" to....

I definitely agree...