According to WhatTheyPlay.com (a parent’s video game guidance blog that seems to have more “hey this is coming out” news than advice to keep your kids from the “evils” of video games…but I digress), parents (who took WhatTheyPlay’s survey) are more worried about Video Games than alcohol, violence, or pornography.
I’m serious, read it here: http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2008/08/11/parents-more-concerned-about-video-games-than-alco/
Now that I’m a parent, I’ve got to admit, I’ve worried about the games my kid will play. But I’m pretty certain that for the decade before she can drive, make money, and live on her own outside of my house, I can still tell her no when she wants Gears of War II instead of Barbie’s Horse Adventures.
Certainly some games can scare me — I’m looking at you Resident Evil 2 — and many can even get me feeling a little icky for the tasks they ask me to perform — Grand Theft Auto 4 comes to mind. I HATE playing darts! — but I strongly doubt that GTA4 is going to get my kid in a terrible car wreck (alcohol or other drugs), pregnant (alcohol/drugs, and maybe porno), or exceeding violent (from watching violence, of course). I just don’t think the corrolation can be made that a video game is going to make my kid into a bad person — especially if I’m doing the right things while parenting.
I should be less angry about this kind of “study,” since all the folks who took the poll came to WhatTheyPlay.com, which is kind like taking a survey in a bar on whether you want to drink alcohol or not. (hint: it’s going to favor alcohol consuption) But it’s sites like these, and espescially stories like this that make me want to go remind folks that there are a whole lot worse things than a television — it can be turned off, bad parenting can’t.
