I grew up playin games like that i think it depends on the individual kid. Some psycho can be playing GTA4 for the 1st time at 26 years old and get some inspiration for chaos while a 5 year old wont even trip... Im not opposed to kids playing games like this as long as they're mentally and emotionally ok

I would never let a 9 year old play these games. There are some mature rated titles that I feel are ok for somebody under the age of 17, but I think that needs to be decided by people on a game by game basis. My biggest sticking point is young kids on xbox live. When I have children they will not be allowed to play online until their voice has changed and they know that screaming, singing, and other general shenanigans are not acceptable.

I don't even like those games. They're not really games to me. I grew up playing games like Centipede, Pac-Man, Pokemon, Pinball (love those games), and stuff like that. That being said, I don't think I would want a little kid playing that. 14 or 15 is ok, but not a 7 year old. There's better games and yeah, why show a kid that crap. It probably won't turn him into a brat (I watched South Park when I was young but I promised my Mom that I wouldn't swear, I held up for over a year). Just talk with the kids, make a deal with them or explain stuff for them. To each his own (and I hate saying that).

RavagedWing : Ive seen millions of kids play it....
parents dont care anymore,as long as parnets are
left alone,they dont care anymore.

As a parent myself, I believe that the important thing is talking about things with my kid. We have gaming in the evening (after dinner), or we'll watch things on TV that might be a little 'grown up'. My husband even takes her out when he does live-action combat games. I use these as an opportunity to teach the right things to do - like seeing clips from World's Dumbest and explaining why the little one should avoid getting drunk, or driving too fast, or taking Daddy's activities and giving her the rules of that game so it can be played safely.

I think it depends on the individual kid because I was playing games like these since I was real young and people say I'm one of the nicest guys they know. Personally I wouldn't let my kids(when I have them) play these games until their teens but all in all in I think that it's fine with a little parental control.

kids are way to prone to this now they get violent and its a bad deal the games say mature not kid friendly look for the E rating people

What it comes down to is American culture. We've all but made it illegal to punish kids for misbehaving. It seems that the line for abuse keeps getting pushed further and further away from actual abuse. I mean, parents are afraid to tell their kids "No." Any kid is capable of playing a video game and getting that it's not an appropriate substitute for reality if their parents explain to them what right and wrong are, what fantasy and reality are, and why its bad to act like characters you see in a violent game.

Also, does anyone besides me consider SSBB a violent video game? Okay it's not graphically violent but conceptually. Imagine getting blasted by a giant kamehameha of fire. Or getting picked up and thrown by a giant fire turtle. To be fair, blood isn't the only proof of violence. Perhaps games like this one are more encouraging than GTA. Imagine a bunch of kids who play every day, beating the hell out of eachother on this video game. They never see blood or pain or fatigue or any of the other things that happen in reality. Maybe Mario is the source of all violence!!! O.O But not too likely

I think it depends on the kid.
I had started watching South Park since it first aired and I was only 7 years old at the time. And I never swore at any of my teachers or anything like that. And I would also play Carmegeddon but I never had the thought that its okay to run over people in real life for extra points.

Unless the kid is being annoying about being allowed to play the games, I don't care. Not my kid.

I think it really depends on the kid. Not ALL kids are influenced by games like that.

To me, a game is a game, and that's all it ever will be. However, I've always been able to separate fact and fiction. So I don't apply to the majority here. I think.

My kid is gonna have to prove their maturity before I let him TOUCH a rated M game. If they can separate fact and fiction then by all means I'll allow them to play it

I let my 4 year old nephew watch me play Silent Hill 2. Doubt he was mentally hurt in any way. He just thought it was cool. I let him listen to my death metal, and he probably listens to some nasty stuff when my sister(his mother) has her music on. He's had a messed up life as it is, and really, he was having fun watching. I know it's wrong what I did, but I was just playing around. He knew it was fake, as he wasn't scared in the slightest.

I am a big influence on him, but I know that little for fun frights thing was harmless. I don't even know what his uncle lets him see.

I read a book filled with F bombs and every swear word imaginable when I was in 6th grade. This was a complete accident, as I was writing a paper about concentration camps, and this book just happened to be chosen for my reading. It got annoying, though.

I can see what is wrong with showing a child an M rated game. It does depend on the kid, though. I was allowed to play T rated games when I was six. I can't speak for everyone, but the T rated Gex games did nothing to me except expand my mind. Playing Call of Duty when I was in 7th grade did nothing to me. I now enjoy blood and guts media.

Am I sick in the head? I've got plenty of mental disorders, but those aren't the fault of my media choices. My media choices soothe me. I was raised to know right from wrong, and to know fiction is fiction. I want to instill that knowledge into the children who look up to me so they can grow up knowing if they read something like say Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it isn't real.

Also, we allow our children to read the Bible uncensored. Hopefully... Isn't the Bible one of the most graphic books that can be widely sold? I'm pretty sure it is. I'm not justifying games like Manhut, even if I know I'd love that game, but rather making note of how violent and graphic the Bible is. No matter if you're religious or not, just read the freaking Old Testament. There's incest mentioned, prostitutes are in there and throughout the Bible, drunken man gets sex without knowing, gay love is mentioned, and tons of things we would never let children know of otherwise are in there.

Say what you want about how the Bible is a holy book. It's graphic. Holy doesn't justify the content unless you're religious. It may instill good morals in people, but how many M rated games have good morals? Actually, a good bit do. Those M rated games are simply not as popular. Why? We want controversy. It's what we like.

I really don't think that kids should be playing games like that. My little bro likes to watch shows with action or violence a lot and often acts like he is a part of those shows and ends up hurting other people. He's only 5, and even though what he watches may actually have a good effect on more mature people, it negatively affects him. What he's watching is actually very tame compared to GTA games, etc. He pretty much just watches the cartoons that look cool to him.

supernerd117 : If you're part of his family, why aren't you maybe helping him learn the difference between fact and fiction? It's not like parents are the only ones allowed to do that. Maybe help the kid learn about context, and when not to do actions that could hurt someone? Not judging or commanding, just saying siblings can help teach the less mature one this stuff.

it really does depend on the kid, i played violent games like grand theft auto (vice city) when i was little, some kids however are too impressionable and therefore are incapable of even controlling themselves at the title of some games, but most often nothing bad will come about of playing games like that.

RavagedWing : Yes actually I have met a few kids that play violent video games..my little boy cousin included. I don't see a problem with it as long as they know its only a video game and it's not ok to go out and do or say what they have seen or played in the video game. Thankfully my little cousin doesn't talk like the game grand theft auto or has any desire to steal cars. So i'm quite happy for that...

Well, it really depends on the kid. Also, it depends on how long the kids are playing it and when they're playing it.

For example, a violent game can get somebody all riled up, and that's not good for a young kid right before school.

I always hear kids talk about those games. At first i was surprised but then i got used to it. Even still if i were a kid and my parents found out I'd be grounded till i got to college.

I don't know the child or the family so I can't comment on their personal circumstances, and my mind is not made up totally on the extent these games have on childrens lives. All I can say for definate is that many years ago after playing Street Fighter with my cousin he would then go on a mental fighting spree and bash anything within sight including me. I never thought before then that games could have such a violent impact on anyone, perhaps some people are more susceptable than others.

All I can say for sure is that the over exposure of violence in todays media does in some way desensitize people to the true horrors of the world. Why is so much rap filled with violence, why is Jungle DnB full of gunshots and grimey all about drugs and gangs. Granted they only reflect the society in which the music is produced, but when giant multinational media and music companies start selling this stuff all corporately packaged, violence becomes legitimised and profits set the ethical barriers.

As for this kid, perhaps he is just one more victim of the medias quest to exploit anyone at all costs, with the emphasis on COST!