Grand Theft Auto Helping Six Year Olds Drive To School

[wraggster]

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2009/01/thumb160x_gta_6yo.jpg

Why doesn't the mainstream media ever focus on the positive aspects of Grand Theft Auto's influence on our six year olds? Stealing the family sedan is petty in the name of perfect attendance.

Take the six year old offspring of Jacqulyn Deana Waltman and David Eugene Dodson from Wicomico Church, Virginia who swiped his parents' Ford Taurus after missing the school bus. The unnamed boy told police he learned how to drive a decade early thanks to his experience with Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam.

Unfortunately, he crashed said Taurus after a six mile drive. Sounds about right. Don't think I've ever had a car survive much longer than five miles in any GTA game.

"He was very intent on getting to school," said Sheriff Chuck Wilkins. And good for him! Well, except for the fact that his parents have been charged with child endangerment and that he and his brother have been take into protective custody.

http://kotaku.com/5124816/grand-theft-auto-helping-six-year-olds-drive-to-school

[AdamRav]

"He was very intent on getting to school," said Sheriff Chuck Wilkins. And good for him! Well, except for the fact that his parents have been charged with child endangerment and that he and his brother have been take into protective custody.

lol, thats harsh still

[goshogun1]

LOL maybe he picked it up from..you know...watching his parents drive?!

Another kid does something wrong so we blame GTA. Stupid crap is getting old.

[Sterist]

LOL maybe he picked it up from..you know...watching his parents drive?!

Another kid does something wrong so we blame GTA. Stupid crap is getting old.

WRONG

more bad parents parents buy their kid who only falls under the lowest ESRB rating* a game rated for someone twice the kid´s age. if it wasn´t bought for the kid, then the parents have otherwise most likely either seen and/or heard em playing the game and/or A. allowed him to continue playing, B. did not allow him to continue playing but did not do much to prevent it from happening again.

*which used to be C for Children 6+ before it and KO for Kids Only 12+ was combined and renamed to E for Everyone

mistakes like the quoted above are what screws over the industry via the media. send a ESRB rep an email and find out.

Edit

[goshogun1]

Yeah, but I doubt the kid would have learned the ACTUAL driving mechanics from GTA.

Still, the little punk shouldn't have been able to play the game anyway.

[wolfpack]

But, its not illegal for a minor to PLAY an M rated game. So taking the parents into child endangerment is a bit much. Its not like the parents said "Here you go son, heres my keys, go drive my car!" Now if they did say that, i would agree with the punishment for the parents, but for something like this? And I dont want to hear about its the parents fault because I played the first GTA when I was 7 or 8, the first year it came out. I just think its just a dumb situation, games got blamed, and also he said he was playing MONSTER JAM! .... Seriously, its not just GTA. Whats next, gonna put the parents to jail because the kid learned how to drive from playing MICRO MACHINES?

I loved that last game actually, haha.

Like one of the commenters said, its a bit harsh for that kind of punishment, unless if the parents gave the kid the keys in the first place, otherwise the kid took the keys on his own free will and drove off with the car. And i know quite a few parents have left their keys on the table in hind sight after someone has been playing some kind of driving game.

Nutty world I say

[Hypershell]

God willing most of the people who respond to this are not yet potential parents, because the point has flown over a lot of heads. Even if no 6-year-old should be playing GTA, it doesn't matter.

Leaving a young child (there is often no set age, but under 12 is generally a bad sign) unattended can in and of itself be considered child endangerment due to negligence. THAT is what they did wrong above all else, and that is why the kids were taken into protective custody.

Harsh as it may seem, it was easily warranted in this case. Wherever the kid thought he learned to drive is irrelevant; a 6-year-old should not be left unattended to the point of nobody noticing that they missed their school bus. While maybe some nightmare bad-day scenario might allow it to happen, the fact that it has happened is not something that any authority can overlook. Child services wouldn't be doing their jobs otherwise.