Lock up parents who provide R18 games to their kids???

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BurningBeard

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#31168 7-Mar-2009 11:38

This is an interesting ethical dilemma...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/2029668/Call-to-jail-parents-who-break-video-game-age-limits

I fail to see how locking up a parent and fining them $10,000 is going to benefit families!
It might set a good example, but the punishment could have WORSE effects on the child and the family than the supposed ill effects of a violent game.

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#199734 7-Mar-2009 11:41

Personally I think a child not having parent there to grow up with than playing a rated video game such as Grand theft auto

BurningBeard

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#199767 7-Mar-2009 15:19

I've listened to objectionable music, played violent games, and watched extremely violent movies all my life. I'm fine. Why? Because my parents did a good job of raising me and taught me reality from fantasy. I was watching R18 horrors before I was 10, and my old man had no problem with that.
Antisocial and violent kids do antisocial and violent things regardless of what they do to entertain themselves.

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#199769 7-Mar-2009 15:25

Exactly. Enough of this nanny state PC stuff.

johnr

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#199771 7-Mar-2009 16:00

Bit OTT

Adamal

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#199782 7-Mar-2009 17:22

If they don't lock up people for stealing cars, I can't see them locking up parents for buying R18 games for their kids.

I played lots of Doom as a kid, don't see me walking down the road blowing everything up with a rocket launcher.

johnr

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#199798 7-Mar-2009 19:46

Adamal: If they don't lock up people for stealing cars, I can't see them locking up parents for buying R18 games for their kids.

I played lots of Doom as a kid, don't see me walking down the road blowing everything up with a rocket launcher.

Would you if you could purchase a rocket launcher at the local gas station?

Adamal

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#199811 7-Mar-2009 21:12

I'd definatly buy one. But I'd still be a responsible rocket launcher owner. Infact, we should have an amendment here in NZ.

"Every New Zealander has the right to bare Rocket Launchers"
Then when someone invades my home, I just blow them up!
When I need to clear the gutter spouting on the roof, I just whip out the ol' launcher, because ladders are overrated. I'll just be sure to through a medkit up there first, so I can recover some health.

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NonprayingMantis

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#199893 8-Mar-2009 12:35

interesting.

i alkways thought the law in Nzw as similar to the UK, where a rating just meant you weren;t allowed to buy the game (or movie). If you bought it and gae it to kids, that was fine.

Dratsab

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#199897 8-Mar-2009 13:19

It's not like it's anything new either - it's been around for quite a while. It doesn't get acted on because it's one of those things where someone would have to dob someone else in. To a large extent I agree with adamal - it comes down to responsible parenting in the first instance. Something that is woefully lacking in this country.

Quidam

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#199972 8-Mar-2009 21:28

It's sad that some parents let their Kids play whatever they want, but laws that try to stop bad parents from being bad by treating the symptom with a sledgehammer is just bad law.

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BurningBeard

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#200093 9-Mar-2009 13:11

Quidam: It's sad that some parents let their Kids play whatever they want

Yeah when I have kids I'm going to keep a staunch eye on what they view/play, and make sure they always know the difference between real and make-believe. If needs be, I'd censor or remove stuff I find objectionable... but it's pretty hard to shock me these days!

The kids out there that go out and do really messed up stuff are going to do it regardless.

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Se7ensyns

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#200122 9-Mar-2009 14:29

I expect to be flamed here...

I have two boys age 8 and 12 and I am a parent that monitors the movies they watch the games they play and the pages they go to on the internet. Games and movies are given a rating for a reason and parents have an obligation to ensure their children are protected from unnecessary violance, langauge and sexual references (jailing them is extreme comment but is meant to remind people that it can happen). Kids theses days are no longer kids. They are brought up in an adult world where their innocence is long gone. No child should have to know what a stripper does or what it may look like when a limb flies off from a body. Nor should they think that offensive language is acceptable. Now I play violent games watch the movies etc but I have a limit. I want my kids to be kids not adults in kids bodies. The disrespect a lot of kids have is astounding and they way they treat each other is awful. I am not blaming video games but it surely is a combination of the media they are exposed to and parenting techniques used. How often do you see kids outside being kids rather than being stcuk infron of a screen of some sort. What happened to building forts catching tadpoles and do fun stuff with your mates?

I consider myself an excellent parent and have two wonderful boys and will contiue to monitor what they can and cannot do/watch in this electronic age. My eldest boy is so on to it and understands and respects the boundries, that he always asks about an M rated titled before playing/watching and has even walked out of a room when an movie is being played that he thinks may be objectionable in his parents mind.

Let the kids be kids and install some values that allow them to treat people with dignity and still be shocked at violence so they know it is not right. Its not just games it is every form of media we adults subject them to.

brentbart

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#200123 9-Mar-2009 14:43

I've a 10 year old boy who loves games.

I refuse to let him play games like GTA (which I own). I showed him the game ... minus anything bad ... and he assumes its a lot of driving around so lost interest in wanting to play it.

I don't let him play any game on Xbox or PS3 without me knowing what it is beforehand as this determines what sort of interest I will take in it.

Playing Sonic or Singstar means I can leave him to it but will watch games with war themes for instance if I haven't played them before so will not know what they are like. He bought a "Gears of War" game in CD case from a friends that lasted about 30 seconds before it turned it off and banned it. My decision determines every rating in my house and he accepts that. Its about knowing your child and the limits.

I think this was called parenting in the old days.

BurningBeard

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#200140 9-Mar-2009 15:24

brentbart:Playing Sonic or Singstar means I can leave him to it but will watch games with war themes for instance if I haven't played them before so will not know what they are like.

That reminds me, my friend lets her 4-year-old play Sonic.

Unfortunately he sometimes thinks he IS Sonic. To the point his kindy teacher took her aside and had a talk to her to make sure the boy REALLY knows the difference between real and make believe. The kid rolls around everywhere like Sonic, jumps all over the place, and nearly thumped some kid at kindy who also wanted to be Sonic.

Some kids can turn ANYTHING into something unacceptable. I remember playing cowboys and indians at an early age and some kids would take it too far. I also recall one kid stabbing another in the leg with a pitch-fork when were were playing WW2 in my back yard.

Now if we could get kids acting out The Bible! We'd really have some trouble on our hands!

However I wholeheartedly agree that the media has a certain level of responsibility. These days information is EVERYWHERE and it's got to be hard for some parents to keep up with what their children are viewing.

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Quidam

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#200152 9-Mar-2009 15:43

Some thoughtful responses here.

I just want to add that what a Child wants, and what is good for the Child are not always the same thing.

This is obvious when you look at children who are allowed to live on a diet of junk-food and lollies, and the same thing is also true of their emotional and moral development.

The thing is, what an Adult wants and what is good for an Adult are not always the same thing either. The difference is that because you are an adult, this freedom of choice is now your right and also your burden.

In the perfect world, as a recognised Adult you should now posses the maturity and experience to make the right decisions, not just for you, but for those you are responsible for or are impacted by your choices. In the real world many Adults behave like Children, including those that have them.

In the name of balance, society itself has changed, to the point where I think it is unrealistic and perhaps even harmful to overly protect or insulate your children from the information super-highway. I think it is more a matter of teaching them to respect the fact that what they are dealing with is a Shark-Tank, and that it is often not a safe or appropriate place for them to play.

I should add I don't have children, but if I ever did, the path I would pursue would be one of balance.

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