Do you test out every video game that your child plays before they play it? Do you rely on word from friends, websites or even your kids themselves to determine the appropriateness of each game? How do you keep children away from the more mature games that are already in the home played by older siblings, dad or mom? One of the ways to do this is by setting up the parental controls that are available in your video game system. Just like the famous v-chip or the parental controls that are available in some cable television systems, the parental controls in video game systems can help you stay in control of what your kids are exposed to when they play.
Different video game systems use different rating systems to determine how to set parental controls. Since this varies by system, I will be posting blogs with details about the systems as well as how to set them up and maintain them. Parental controls are easier to set up on some systems and harder on others. I’ll share some tips that will help you decide what the ratings mean.
Please be aware that you first have to determine what is appropriate for your children. Games that are rated “E for Everyone” may not always be appropriate for young gamers, despite the E rating. Likewise, some ten-year-olds may become bored with the E10 games and want to move on to teen level games. In my mind, there really isn’t a place for M-rated games, which can contain not only violence, nudity and strong language, but extremely graphic sex, humiliation to women and rewards for gory violence. But, you may feel differently. It is just important to know what the ratings really mean and how you feel about them.
Check back here in the Computing Blog and learn more.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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