Is Oblivion really something a 6 year old should be playing? I'm more curious now since I never considered it a game for a young child. Are there switches that turn some of that (violence, language, gore) off? Regardless of the previous answer, how do you explain the killing, thieving, and the like?
Good Question.
My wife and I have talked about this, and we talk about it with our kids too.
She has a very strong grasp of the difference of violence against a monster, and violence against a person (when I first started playing, and she was watching me, she was shocked when she saw me go after a vampire (which looks like a regular NPC))...
Oblivion isn't what I would consider to be gory in any event.
As for the stealing, she asked me about it, which was a good time to have a discussion about the immorality of stealing. after that she ended up telling me that it wasn't nice that I took the things (in the game) if they weren't mine :D
We raise our children on a few principles:
- Don't withold information -- if they can ask the question, they deserve an answer.
- Don't shelter them from the real world. The world is there, and the faster they understand it, the faster they can deal with it.
- Let them fail... experience is the great teacher.. you only get experience when you fail.
- Constant, Constant, Constant dialog. We talk about all of these things all of the time. As long as she's not becoming obsessed with anything, and it's *clear* that she understands what she is doing, and where the line is, I'm fine with letting her explore.
- Morality and ethics are not concepts beyond them. When they learn that something is "bad" we also explain why it's bad.
This has all ended up having a very amazing effect. I have a daughter who is about to turn 6, can read several grades above her age, and has an amazing grasp of the universe around her.
She was playing with some other kids the other day, and was telling them about her own computer, and how she finds stuff on the internet. The 5 year old she was talking to replied "I have my own pillow!" ... erm. ok.
Basically, we try to talk about everything, and she pretty much picks it up. Can't be any happier than that.
Now, I am a little concered with Viva Pinata... those damn pinatas end up in pairs, and then they "romance" and have offspring ... she seems to grasp that "romancing" is the step to get pregnant, but she hasn't asked about the details yet...