Re:Wrong idea (Score 1)

I agree. Generation "Precious Snowflake" has had an impact on my life as well. The other side of that coin seems (to me at least) to be the more common one and that is Generation "I have kids?".

Video games seem to me to be split to the extreme. There just aren't very many games made these days that are "appropriate" for younger children, yet engaging enough for teenagers and adults. This is one reason I'm a fan of older games. I think they're higher quality.

I don't think that parents would need to worry so much about video game or movie content if they talked with their children. The people I've known that had intelligent, patient, -talkative- parents understood, even at a young age, what to expect from movies, video games and even the real world around them. They were better adjusted to things. To them Mortal Kombat was just another game. Something that they could look at and decide for themselves, like or dislike. To the other kids I knew, and many of the ones I know now, Mortal Kombat either frightens them or they... "get inspired", and I don't mean in a good way.

It depends, to a degree, on the child as to what appropriate is, but I believe (and it seems you do as well) the main issue is actually parenting, -not- content control. I have known very few children and teens that played video games I personally thought were appropriate for them. It didn't have much to do with their age (although I don't think that 5 year olds should be playing Grand Theft Auto), but rather what I gleamed from their personalities.

I'm sure I've just upset someone somewhere, but I stand by what I said. This is a parenting issue more than a content control issue.

A side note:
I knew a women who honestly believed that the ratings on video games were a difficulty rating, not a content rating. She admitted to me that she had -never- read the ratings closely or read the back of the games boxes or cases when she bought them. She new that M meant Mature, but she thought "Mature playing skills", and her 7 year old son took full advantage of her lack of thoroughness.