Parents who don't stop children playing Call of Duty to be reported to POLICE warn schools

[Trik'Stari]

Whatever you do in this situation someone is going to be unhappy.  Parents, gamers, schools, police, or the neighbors dog--Ruffles.  The logical solution is often the simplest in cases like this, but it likely won't happen.  And as you said in the beginning; extremely true.  Parents today more so let technology baby-sit their children instead of explaining things and guiding them in certain media.  I knew a kid whose mother basically ignored him from 10 - 18, and just let games keep him busy / out of her business.  That right there is what I believe is -too- prevalent today.  So, I agree with you entirely.  Sharks are truly, indeed, hot.  Shark-morphs man.  Never see 'em coming.

Cannot agree more, although I think the parents need to participate with the child, in the enjoyment of technology. Like Luke's mom does. She seems like a real parent, someone there not just as an authority figure but a friend and a guide, which is what parents need to be more often then just the people you get in trouble with.

[alpenwasser]

Whatever you do in this situation someone is going to be unhappy.  Parents, gamers, schools, police, or the neighbors dog--Ruffles.  The logical solution is often the simplest in cases like this, but it likely won't happen.  And as you said in the beginning; extremely true.  Parents today more so let technology baby-sit their children instead of explaining things and guiding them in certain media.  I knew a kid whose mother basically ignored him from 10 - 18, and just let games keep him busy / out of her business.  That right there is what I believe is -too- prevalent today.  So, I agree with you entirely.  Sharks are truly, indeed, hot.  Shark-morphs man.  Never see 'em coming.

Alas, poor Ruffles...

Yeah, you can never please everyone, or devise a system which will make the

ideal decision for every case. Each kid is different, can handle different

kind of stuff in different amounts; some might get seriously damaged by something

which is no issue at all for others.

Aside from that, it's not like there has been anything mentioned about how

this will be handled in practice. Yeah, parents reported to authorities, but

then what? It's not like the state would have the resources to suddenly handle

thousands upon thousands of these cases. So it might end up being much less

dramatic in practice than it sounds upon first sight, with only actually severe

cases ending up in the system, who knows.

As said, I'm not a proponent of pre-emptive panic. This might end up going

horribly wrong (and in that case: my sympathies to the Brits), or it might end

up being a whole lot of noise over nothing. We shall see.

[sof006]

Good! I'm sick to death of seeing parents allowing their children to play such games.

 

Its as if they're teaching their children to swear, do drugs and much much more horrible stuff. To many of us older people games like CoD/GTA/etc is nothing major but can be a major influence on a immature mind. As I said before "it says 18 on the box for a reason."

[Prastupok]

Good! I'm sick to death of seeing parents allowing their children to play such games.

 

Its as if they're teaching their children to swear, do drugs and much much more horrible stuff. To many of us older people games like CoD/GTA/etc is nothing major but can be a major influence on a immature mind. As I said before "it says 18 on the box for a reason."

 

Because gaming is the same as mass murder? This comparison doesn't make much sense. People who are going to be bad are going to be bad, regardless of what they play.

 

And swearing vs doing drugs? Come on.

[Misanthrope]

Right maybe the police can recruit particularly talented kids earlier.

[SurvivorNVL]

Alas, poor Ruffles...

Yeah, you can never please everyone, or devise a system which will make the

ideal decision for every case. Each kid is different, can handle different

kind of stuff in different amounts; some might get seriously damaged by something

which is no issue at all for others.

Aside from that, it's not like there has been anything mentioned about how

this will be handled in practice. Yeah, parents reported to authorities, but

then what? It's not like the state would have the resources to suddenly handle

thousands upon thousands of these cases. So it might end up being much less

dramatic in practice than it sounds upon first sight, with only actually severe

cases ending up in the system, who knows.

As said, I'm not a proponent of pre-emptive panic. This might end up going

horribly wrong (and in that case: my sympathies to the Brits), or it might end

up being a whole lot of noise over nothing. We shall see.

I think the solution is simple.  It took me time to think on it.  We need Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and all the particularly Nordic countries to invade the entire world, and give us all smart laws.  Bam.  Problems solved.  

[sof006]

Because gaming is the same as mass murder? This comparison doesn't make much sense. People who are going to be bad are going to be bad, regardless of what they play.

 

And swearing vs doing drugs? Come on.

Children exposed to violence and other vulgar things are more likely to be violent and vulgar in real life. At a young age children are easily manipulated and games like that shouldn't be exposed to them. I am glad my parents didn't allow me to play any game like that when I was younger. Again, it says 18 on the box for a reason. Especially most games like that these days have online access and children can pick up foul language over voice chat said by older people. I was disgusted the other day when I heard a child come into my store and use the C word right in front of me, parents told him off and of course I have no idea where he picked that kind of language up but it could easily have been from playing a game such as CoD or GTA.

 

Children will often repeat whatever it is they've heard, like the phrase "Monkey see, monkey do"

 

 

Most of the games in the UK will have picture of these on the back for what kind of content the game includes.

[alpenwasser]

I think the solution is simple.  It took me time to think on it.  We need Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and all the particularly Nordic countries to invade the entire world, and give us all smart laws.  Bam.  Problems solved.

I should warn you though: We have our fair share of ridiculous laws as well (I think

every country proably has those). Just this week I received news of an incident which

is hugely .

Although that may be more of a problem of people being really pedantic about applying

our laws than about the actual laws themselves, so it could mostly be a cultural issues.

However, our consumer protection laws and our privacy laws are generally pretty

decent (just speaking for Switzerland here as I can't claim to be a legal expert

on the others you mention), so there's that.

Anyway, I think I shall stop here before I write out a 10,000 word essay on my stance

towards my country.

EDIT:

- snip -

Hm, serious question: What actual damage does foul language do though? I mean, yes,

it offends some people, and if you value not offending people then you should refrain

from using it, but aside from that, how does it do actual harm? I have three younger

brothers and we rather freely used (and use) profanity, and as best as I can tell

we're not anti-social monsters (obviously we don't just go up to people we don't

know and throw profanity in their faces, its deployment depends a lot on context,

naturally).

Again, honest question here, not trying to troll you.

EDIT 2:

Obviously, if foul language is just a symptom of an underlying issue that's a different

story, I'm merely talking about "normal" kids using it, if that makes sense, not about

a disturbed individual who can only express themselves via profanity due to other issues.

[WereCat]

What...really? Lol.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

As I said before "it says 18 on the box for a reason."

It says 18 on the box because a committee of 60+ year old farts - in no sense hindered by any grasp of reality - thinks that the standards of the 1920s still apply in a society that's changed completely since they themselves were kids.

 

Back then children had the time to be a child and play.  Nowadays not so much.  Children see the news before they turn 18 too, and that also is full of death, drugs, war and destruction. 

You can't let them play outside anymore without having to warn them about strangers, can't even let them go to school anymore without "the talk" and making them promise that they tell you if the teacher touches them inappropriately.  Seriously, that has much more effect on a child than a violent video game has. 

[hmminteresting]

I think thats an amazing idea I have a younger brother and sister. Since my parents don't care for games at all I'm the one who decides which games they're allowed to buy. I usually uphold the whole age rating thing but I've let him play some battlefield games and such because I know they're fine and that my siblings are mature enough to play them. However families aren't always lucky enough to have an adult child who knows about tech and gaming etc. so it makes sense that they would need some help in managing this particular aspect. I mean if a parent doesn't know the childs bought the game, fair enough they're told about it by the school and they can deal with it. However if the parent knowingly buys the game for the child then a little warning or something from police might stop them from doing it again. 

[hmminteresting]

It says 18 on the box because a committee of 60+ year old farts - in no sense hindered by any grasp of reality - thinks that the standards of the 1920s still apply in a society that's changed completely since they themselves were kids.

 

Back then children had the time to be a child and play.  Nowadays not so much.  Children see the news before they turn 18 too, and that also is full of death, drugs, war and destruction. 

You can't let them play outside anymore without having to warn them about strangers, can't even let them go to school anymore without "the talk" and making them promise that they tell you if the teacher touches them inappropriately.  Seriously, that has much more effect on a child than a violent video game has. 

I'm sorry but COD or GTA are not suitable games for anyone under the age of 12-15 and this is coming from someone who couldn't care less about age ratings when I was growing up 

[sof006]

I should warn you though: We have our fair share of ridiculous laws as well (I think

every country proably has those). Just this week I received news of an incident which

is hugely .

Although that may be more of a problem of people being really pedantic about applying

our laws than about the actual laws themselves, so it could mostly be a cultural issues.

However, our consumer protection laws and our privacy laws are generally pretty

decent (just speaking for Switzerland here as I can't claim to be a legal expert

on the others you mention), so there's that.

Anyway, I think I shall stop here before I write out a 10,000 word essay on my stance

towards my country.

EDIT:

Hm, serious question: What actual damage does foul language do though? I mean, yes,

it offends some people, and if you value not offending people then you should refrain

from using it, but aside from that, how does it do actual harm? I have three younger

brothers and we rather freely used (and use) profanity, and as best as I can tell

we're not anti-social monsters.

Again, honest question here, not trying to troll you.

EDIT 2:

Obviously, if foul language is just a symptom of an underlying issue that's a different

story, I'm merely talking about "normal" kids using it, if that makes sense, not about

a disturbed individual who can only express themselves via profanity due to other issues.

Well for a start its a child, he/she shouldn't be using it and if teachers are to hear it then its likely to get the child expelled and the parents into trouble. If I had a son/daughter id be so ashamed if he/she was to use foul language. Children need to learn how to act at a young age so that when they grow up they know how to act like a respectable adult. Children who are exposed to foul language are more likely to use it often when they are older, ive heard plenty "adults" who can't string a sentence together without including at least one swear word and I can only suggest and/or point this at the fact that as a child they were exposed to consistent foul language.

 

And yes as an adult I do swear but I know when its not appropriate to use that kind of language, if children are playing games that fling that sort of language around like its normal then they will more than likely assume its normal to use it in day to day life. 

[Prastupok]

Well for a start its a child, he/she shouldn't be using it and if teachers are to hear it then its likely to get the child expelled and the parents into trouble. If I had a son/daughter id be so ashamed if he/she was to use foul language. Children need to learn how to act at a young age so that when they grow up they know how to act like a respectable adult. Children who are exposed to foul language are more likely to use it often when they are older, ive heard plenty "adults" who can't string a sentence together without including at least one swear word and I can only suggest and/or point this at the fact that as a child they were exposed to consistent foul language.

 

And yes as an adult I do swear but I know when its not appropriate to use that kind of language, if children are playing games that fling that sort of language around like its normal then they will more than likely assume its normal to use it in day to day life. 

 

" he/she shouldn't be using it" That depends on the age, and the parents allowance.

 

"If I had a son/daughter id be so ashamed if he/she was to use foul language": Good thing you don't... because they hear stuff at school more than home, and say it. You can't beat them for it.

 

"And yes as an adult I do swear but I know when its not appropriate to use that kind of language," Based on what you said, your parents didn't teach you right? They didn't teach you not to swear? Most of us heard these words from kids we grew up with. They heard said words from others, and it goes on and on.

[sgloux3470]

im gonna guess that most of the people bitching are kids them selves.....its rated 18 for a reason, kids copy what they see and this is aimed a primary schools so kids from 4-11 personally i agree.

Or maybe some of us remember our childhoods and realize that we played a lot of similarly violent games and it didn't hurt us at all.  

 

When I was ~8 years old I was playing Syphon Filter, Extermination (Okay well this one actually gave me nightmares...), Resident Evil 2, Jet Force Gemini, Goldeneye, Quake, Unreal Tournament, GTA III etc etc

 

 

People grossly underestimate 5-11 year olds. They're quite able to separate fiction from reality.  Call of Duty is a pretty tame game for them to play.  The multiplayer (most of what they play) is just shooting dudes, it's not even that explicit.

[sof006]

" he/she shouldn't be using it" That depends on the age, and the parents allowance.

 

"If I had a son/daughter id be so ashamed if he/she was to use foul language": Good thing you don't... because they hear stuff at school more than home, and say it. You can't beat them for it.

 

"And yes as an adult I do swear but I know when its not appropriate to use that kind of language," Based on what you said, your parents didn't teach you right? They didn't teach you not to swear? Most of us heard these words from kids we grew up with. They heard said words from others, and it goes on and on.

I know what a swear word is, and guaranteed we will hear the word at least once in our lives. My parents did teach my right, they taught me to not say them and if I was to ever say them id be punished for it. What I am getting at is, if parents allow their child to play games with foul language in I see it as their parents not caring and is another way of saying "I don't care if my child swears".

 

My parents said "Never swear" as a child, and I never swore as a child. As I grew older I do swear yes, but only when around other people my age and when its not a formal discussion.

 

A video game doesn't teach a child that swear is bad, in the video game if bad language is used its used without discretion. Nowhere in CoD does it say "If you're under-age, do not say these bad words"  because it's developers aren't targeting a younger audience. Thus these games should not be played by the younger audience.

[sof006]

It says 18 on the box because a committee of 60+ year old farts - in no sense hindered by any grasp of reality - thinks that the standards of the 1920s still apply in a society that's changed completely since they themselves were kids.

 

Back then children had the time to be a child and play.  Nowadays not so much.  Children see the news before they turn 18 too, and that also is full of death, drugs, war and destruction. 

You can't let them play outside anymore without having to warn them about strangers, can't even let them go to school anymore without "the talk" and making them promise that they tell you if the teacher touches them inappropriately.  Seriously, that has much more effect on a child than a violent video game has. 

As a child I didn't watch the news. I didn't watch the news until I turned 13 years old, a child would have little to no interest in the news and would most likely not pay attention to it. I never did at a young age. I still never really look at the news unless I see it plastered all over Facebook.

[Prastupok]

My parents said "Never swear" as a child, and I never swore as a child. 

 

I'd put money on the fact that you're in the minority.

[Trik'Stari]

It says 18 on the box because a committee of 60+ year old farts - in no sense hindered by any grasp of reality - thinks that the standards of the 1920s still apply in a society that's changed completely since they themselves were kids.

 

Back then children had the time to be a child and play.  Nowadays not so much.  Children see the news before they turn 18 too, and that also is full of death, drugs, war and destruction. 

You can't let them play outside anymore without having to warn them about strangers, can't even let them go to school anymore without "the talk" and making them promise that they tell you if the teacher touches them inappropriately.  Seriously, that has much more effect on a child than a violent video game has. 

Absolutely this^

 

I learned about sex from watching Bond movies, more than from playing video games. Although the Internet helped.

[Victorious Secret]

I made a sarcastic remark before but I felt like I should weigh in properly. 

 

I understand where the schools thought process comes from. They have to educate children for the future. They have to give the proper message and guidance, so they need to set the rules that society has and encourage kids to learn them. 

 

HOWEVER

 

Parents run their own homes. As long as a parent is not causing mental or physical harm to the kids OR causing harm to the society at large through their parenting, who gives a shit what parents allow their kids to do? 

Just like watching porn doesn't make you a sex addict, playing violent video games does not make you violent. Where is the proof? There is none. Every study done before has slammed that train of thought right down to the cesspool of ignorance it sprang out from. It is absurd to think that violent games or movies encourage violence. In young, impressionable children (we're talking kids under 10 years old), you can show them a action and have them follow it out, that can become a behaviour if it isn't monitored.

 

But Jimmy playing COD after school? Really? Hah. Thats amusing. 

 

To these schools I say: bring it on. Go ahead, report me to the police. I will file a lawsuit so fast I'd make even ambulance chasers look slow to the draw. I would BURY you in court for the next few years, just out of spite. Screw you for thinking you can control what my kids do for entertainment. 

The police will laugh at you. The parents will laugh at you. Everyone except you and your asshood of a teachers union will laugh at you. Teachers get a little too high on their own power. Which leads to nonsense like this. 

Thanks, but your 4 years of university education doesn't make you the last word in raising kids. Technically, developmental psychologists have more authority in telling parents whats good and bad, seeing as how they spent more than 4 years actually learning what happens to kids mentally throughout their developmental years. 

 

But you know, just knee jerk crap like this. 

[jaggysnake57]

Or maybe some of us remember our childhoods and realize that we played a lot of similarly violent games and it didn't hurt us at all.  

 

When I was ~8 years old I was playing Syphon Filter, Extermination (Okay well this one actually gave me nightmares...), Resident Evil 2, Jet Force Gemini, Goldeneye, Quake, Unreal Tournament, GTA III etc etc

 

 

People grossly underestimate 5-11 year olds. They're quite able to separate fiction from reality.  Call of Duty is a pretty tame game for them to play.  The multiplayer (most of what they play) is just shooting dudes, it's not even that explicit.

 

hahahahahaha this made me laugh...spoken like a person who has no kids.....5-11 year olds, especially at the lower end can not spererate fact from fiction.  these are kids that still believe in santa how in the hell are they gonna separate what they see on tv from there play.....stand on a playground for half an hour and see just how bad they can be...

 

alot has changed since the days of gta3 games are much more realistic and much more graphic especially the gta series

[SteveGrabowski]

It's rated 18... but that's just the age you have to be to buy it. It's parent's discretion.

 

The article was even better though: "The schools said the games could increase "early sexualised behaviours" and could even leave children open to sexual exploitation. " ...Call of Duty?

You don't teabag your kills?

[Zeruel]

OHHH GAWD SHOOTING THIS M18-47 SUPER AKIMBO ASSAULT RIFLE I UNLOCKED IN CALL OF DOOTY 101 MAXIMUM WARFARE 7  GETS ME SO HARD AND HORNYYYYY I WANNA HAVE SEX OH BABY!!!!!!

[Prastupok]

hahahahahaha this made me laugh...spoken like a person who has no kids.....5-11 year olds, especially at the lower end can not spererate fact from fiction.  these are kids that still believe in santa how in the hell are they gonna separate what they see on tv from there play.....stand on a playground for half an hour and see just how bad they can be...

 

alot has changed since the days of gta3 games are much more realistic and much more graphic especially the gta series

 

I tend to agree with the sentiment from sgloux3470... Not at the younger ages, but 8-10... they can get it.

[Master Disaster]

I know you shouldn't post any info on yourself but fookin hell, that's where I live!!!