When Are Kids Old Enough to Play Videogames?

[wraggster]

A piece at the MTV Multiplayer blog is exploring the issue of kids and gaming, wondering aloud how old is 'old enough'. A recent CES talk indicated that you should wait until at least seven to introduce your children to Mario, and we've talked in the past about the educational role games can have. MTV's Tracey John spoke to a pair of mothers who offered their own opinions on this topic:
"When I asked Alisa why she thought that games weren't imaginative and explained that many games have challenging, puzzle-solving elements, she conceded a little but remained skeptical. 'Honestly, I haven't really explored video games thoroughly, and I'm sure there are video games that fit more the bill of something that I'd be interested in, but I'm kind of hard-pressed to find a game that's like reading a book or something like that. I understand the kids like it, so I allow them to do it; it's monitored but it's not my favorite thing for them to be doing.'"
What's the right age for a kid to start playing games? Do you see games as more or less acceptable than traditional kid pastimes like TV or reading? Does it matter if the parents are gaming-savvy?

http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/24/1425221

[JKKDARK]

I say 5 or 6 years old

[VampDude]

I was playing games from the age of around 4, maybe a bit younger.

If it wasn't for videogames I wouldn't of been able to read, games like Faxanadu and Castlevania 2 on the NES got me reading because I had to read what the people were saying, games are educational in ways that you wouldn't believe (I was playing and learning to read).

---

But for todays standards of games I would say 6, unless they have a console made by Nintendo which has games based for a younger audience.

[Eviltaco64]

Ive been playing Mario and Sonic games as long as I can remember. But in everyone else's case I'd say once they're 4/5

[DarthPaul]

My little brother started playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on my PS2 when he was like 2 or 3 years old. Now he's 5 years old and he has his own GameCube, DS Lite, and PSP. He's a video-game addict.

[Triv1um]

4 - 6 is a good age range to start.

Like El Vampo said, the do help you to read. I think they also help you to think logicly.

5 year olds need to learn about stealing cars, killing people and using $#@!s. Its just part of growing up.

[Auriman1]

I mainly learned to read from playing RPG's and similar sources at an early age, and given I was reading books classified for 10-12th graders before middle school, it couldn't have been all that bad for me.

Also, examples through many of my friends, including myself, showed that our grades were better when we had been playing more games. In other words, focusing and learning was easier because there was an outlet present. The same principle applies to having any type of hobby you enjoy, normally.

I will say it's not all that wise to let 5 year olds play games like GTA, though. That's just common sense. Since such games are frequent and easy to come by in today's world, that just means parents need to be more responsible of what they give their kids, there's no need to filter video games out completely.

[Shadowblind]

4. Thats when I started playing Doom, and look how I turned out.

I SAID LOOK HOW I TURNED OUT!

DA**IT, PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!! I'LL F**KING KILL YOU! ****** ** ******* *** ****!!!!!!! ARGGHHHHH!


Haha, but no seriously. 4 or 5 is good.

[indstr]

little brother started playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on my PS2 when he was like 2 or 3 years old.

that makes me sick to my stomach.

i have a 3 1/2 year old son and i haven't even explained the concept of death to him. we don't let him watch TV, except for shows designed for kids.

and no, i'm not some old person out of touch with reality. i'm 26 years old and i'm an avid gamer myself. i play violent games, i frequently enjoy the newest first person shooter games when they come out. indeed, i played doom when i was 13, and that was controversial even back then.

but there is an ENORMOUS difference between playing Doom (crap graphics) when you are 13 (and have some cognitive reasoning skills), and playing a realistic simulation of murder when you are 3.

you know what, my 3 year old son copies everything that i do. every little movement, if i move in a certain way or say something that he thinks is funny, he tries to do it himself.

little children absorb everything they see, and exposing a 3 year old to something that is arguably not even fit for teenagers is just COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE

when your little brother turns into an uncontrollable maniac and ends up in juvenile hall, you have only yourself and your irresponsible parents to blame.

i don't care what articles you've read about how "violent video games don't cause kids to do real-world violent acts", for every one of those articles, there is another article arguing the exact opposite. and these studies are done on teenagers, not 3 year olds. no scientist would do something as immoral as make a 3 year old play GTA. i don't care if you "don't think" it doesn't affect a 3 year old, you can't prove that it doesn't. maybe it wouldn't affect some 3 year olds (maybe), but there are plenty that it would affect. (experiences affect every person in a different way)

i would say what you have done is every bit as corruptive to your brother as beating him or raping him. you have $#@!d his mind. you have taken away his innocent childhood. you have forced him to witness and commit murders, and deal with adult issues when he is not even cognitively capable of understanding what he is doing. you are quite possibly ruining any future capacity of his to distinguish between right and wrong

i don't believe in hell, but if i did, i would hope that you rot there.

not only do you do such a despicable act, but then you come here and brag about it. people like you are responsible for the downfall of society.

i hope you never have children of your own, you sorry excuse for a human. we don't need more people like you propagating the worthless end of the gene pool

[ExcruciationX]

I'm not sure. It depends on what game. If, like in Vampdude's example, it's an RPG, then I'd introduce it at around 4-6.