When I became a parent, I swore my kids would have the time of their lives. There was one thing that I wanted them to be — happy. I believe that having a wonderful life started by having a happy childhood. Of course, this had to be balanced by helping them develop self-esteem. They had to have a sense of achievement — knowing that they are capable of doing something with their lives. Making them independent and responsible was balanced by having fun playing with each other and friends. For their leisure, I wanted them to have the best — it was a way of making them believe they deserved the best. This meant that I had to provide them the best entertainment any kid could have — state-of-the-art games and gadgets.
Game consoles had then become something they looked forward to every Christmas. Of course, they had to have good grades and no major misdemeanors were allowed throughout the year. The first console I got them was an Xbox. They were already given a PS2 as a gift earlier, so it was the next console on the line. The following year, it was a PSP and then an Xbox 360 in the next. Between my gifts and those they got from their uncles, my kids almost had all the consoles in the market right at their fingertips. Other than those I mentioned, they have a gameboy advance, a gameboy SP, a Nintendo gamecube, a Nintendo DS, and a PS3. There was one thing left they didn’t have, it was the Nintendo Wii. They were already expert gamers and the Wii was the last option because they thought it was for babies — the games were for adults playing tennis or little kids swinging swords.
Yep, my kids were considered the luckiest kids on the block. But there are times I am concerned when I watch them playing games that border on violence and notoriety. As I watch games becoming more explicit and violent, I started to be more strict with what they play. I don’t usually mind the ESRB Ratings on the box, now I am more conscious. I started when I watched my kids laugh while they ran over someone while steering a stolen car in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I bought the game based on their request, not knowing that it had an M (Mature) ESRB rating.
After having a serious talk about how these games can affect their perspective about things in life, they were not allowed any more Mature rated games. The most they were allowed were T (Teen) ESRB rated games. I had to give in to that because I realize that challenging games rarely went below a T rating. Luckily, our serious talk seemed to be working. They know the difference between games and real life. And even while they play, I can see that they avoid killing whenever possible — none of them ever chose to play the antagonist, even in role-playing games (RPG).  I have not been called at school for any misdemeanors.
I try to watch them play whenever possible so I can monitor how they characterize themselves while playing. Any sign of going over the dark side, would mean a serious debriefing and a warranted punishment. So far, my security measures were working. I just have to keep reminding them that it’s still best to be the nice guy.
Tags: ESRB Rating,game consoles,Ninendo Gamecube,Nintendo DS,PS3,psp,Wii,Xbox,Xbox 360
Categories: Gadgets & Games
No Comments »
Recent Comments