27 responses to “Quick poll” - Jump to comment form

1. NONONONONONO!

   No matter how much you want to play it, NO! They will have nightmares and they WILL crawl into your bed. We know you don’t want that.

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2. Hey no, that shit gave ME nightmares, LOL

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3. That game scares me. I wouldn’t even play that game.

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4. I voted no, but sometimes people are so into the game that they don’t even stop to think how it will affect younger minds that have a hard time telling fact from fiction.

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5. omg no! that game scares me! did you guys get to the part with the chainsaw?

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6. I said no because I remember how my boys reacted to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the video games, and they were older, 7 & 9.
   Both of them had nightmares for weeks after just watching it be played twice for about an hour each time.

   Now, they are 15 & 17, and we just bought Resident Evil 5 for them to play on their Xbox360, and they love it, and they are even laughing about how scared the game used to make them when they were really little.
   The only game they never ever want to play ever again is Silent Hill. That one scared the crap outta them for years, still does.

   But you are the parent and only you know your children best. You’re the only one who knows what scares them and how it will affect them, but I would be very cautious if you choose to do so.
   If after only a few minutes of playing, they are curled up with each other, blocking their eyes, and shaking, turn it off…LoL

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7. Do it when they’re asleep

   But ick, not myself. Boyfriend would though, he plays it in front of me even when I protest and claim I’ll wake him up in the night with nightmares lol.

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8. No way, I remember when my brother played the first Resident Evil in front of me when I was 7 and I was freaked out. I’ve played RE5 and it’s scary as hell.

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9. Not a chance.. Adults should not be gming with children around regardless of whether it is RE5 or the supposedly harmless little big planet. Those type of consoles are for adults ,not to mention the fact that you are supposed to be with the children-don’t they need attention? How are you supposed to concentrate with children present? The DH is a gamer -he only does it in the evenings ,after the children are in bed to allow to wind down. Just to point out Jenn ,that I am not addressing you personally with any of the above statements. I don’t know how many times I have come across someone blogging about not beng able to game cos the kids kept walking in front of the screen and how pissed they were because of it .. err hello?

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10. I wouldn’t play it anyway, but I certainly would not play it in front of small children.

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11. I would. Then again I see it as no different then watching scary movies around kids, which my parents did. They just made sure my brother and I understood it was “pretend”. I actually loved horror movies as much as a i do now =x. But as always, it also depends on the kids. My brother and I understood what pretend meant and my parents went to great lengths to make sure we did. Some kids may not understand it as well.

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12. I agree with Angela, it really depends on the kids. I voted yes because Cassidy has always been really good at understanding what is real and what isn’t. I read to her a LOT growing up and she’s an avid reader now because if it so she understood at a pretty early age what “fiction” was. Even now, I won’t watch scary movies because I’m a wimp but Cassidy LOVES them. She is Ben’s horror movie buddy.

    If we have another child that could be totally diffent though so, really, as a parent you just have to make the best decisions for your little ones.

    As for the people that say you shouldn’t game AT ALL, even silly games, in front of your kids… pfft. Get real.

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13. My parents never really restricted us from anything. Anything they watched as far as movies went, we watched. Unless something was really extreme which my parents usually didn’t like anyway so it didn’t matter. We would decide for ourselves what we were willing to watch. I usually left the room for horror films because I knew I would have nightmares, and my brother instantly left the room when people starting getting a little to friendly on more romantic films because it was “gross”. So I think it just depends on how you’ve dealt with such things with your children up to this point. If you’re the kind who doesn’t sensor then an explanation of what the game is and warning for the feint hearted of your little ones that it could produce nightmares should suffice as motivation enough for them to decide. But if you think your kids aren’t quite up to deciding something like that on their own yet then it might be best to just wait until they’re asleep for now.

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14. I agree with Angela and Anna – depends on the kids. I’ve played certain games around Taylor… some shooters and such (though, I haven’t played RE5 around her). I know she’s seen me play games like Mass Effect. She knows it’s not real.

    But then, I grew up in a household like Angela’s… where we watched horror movies and rated r movies pretty early on. I used to love Tales from the Crypt when I was young, and I only remember my mom making me and my sister cover our eyes one time – during a sex scene. hahaha

    So, if this is a reference to your children: I would maybe play around Alyssa, if I knew her better (is she the type to have nightmares, etc etc). But, I wouldn’t play a game like RE5 around Ryan.

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15. No, I’ve played the game and there is a reason it has the rating it has.

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16. I voted yes because I agree with Angela, Anna and Allyson.. it depends on the children. My 4 and 7 year olds understand that scary games and movies are pretend, that it’s fake, that it’s made by someone using programs on a computer. I made sure early on to teach them that because that is how I was raised.

    They have only seen a “scary” game being played a handful or two times and it has never really bothered them. They never had nightmares, they never got extremely frightened… because they understood it was fake and saw it for entertainment purposes.

    I do have my line though with certain shooters and intensely gory games (like parts of GoW/2, headshots, etc.) and I don’t think that young children should sit and watch these games being played for hours on end – there are ratings for a reason.

    As for gaming with or around children – why not? My son is turning in to quite the gamer which is fine by me. We have our priorities (school, hygiene, family, chores, outdoor sports) and in his free time I let him game – because it’s what he truly enjoys. Sometimes he sits with me while I play WoW or Fable, or I’ll sit with him and watch him play his games, and other times we break out the mini games and spend quality family time with our hands wrapped around a controller and our eyes glued to the television. That’s how we roll.

    There’s nothing wrong with it so long as it is done responsibly, like much of everything else in life.

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17. oted yes because I agree with Angela, Anna and Allyson.. it depends on the children. My 4 and 7 year olds understand that scary games and movies are pretend, that it’s fake, that it’s made by someone using programs on a computer. I made sure early on to teach them that because that is how I was raised.

    They have only seen a “scary” game being played a handful or two times and it has never really bothered them. They never had nightmares, they never got extremely frightened… because they understood it was fake and saw it for entertainment purposes.

    I do have my line though with certain shooters and intensely gory games (like parts of GoW/2, headshots, etc.) and I don’t think that young children should sit and watch these games being played for hours on end – there are ratings for a reason.

    As for gaming with or around children – why not? My son is turning in to quite the gamer which is fine by me. We have our priorities (school, hygiene, family, chores, outdoor sports) and in his free time I let him game – because it’s what he truly enjoys. Sometimes he sits with me while I play WoW or Fable, or I’ll sit with him and watch him play his games, and other times we break out the mini games and spend quality family time with our hands wrapped around a controller and our eyes glued to the television. That’s how we roll.

    There’s nothing wrong with it so long as it is done responsibly, like much of everything else in life.

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18. I voted no, because of me. I tried to take the approach of watching semi scary stuff in front of Sydney and teaching her it was all fake and entertaining and she was cool with that until she got a little older. Now she doesn’t like it. When she was younger she’d occupy herself with something else and we could watch Supernatural or whatever, now she even so much as hears that show and she doesn’t like it at all.

    Although, I think a video game might be less of a threat because she’d know it was a GAME, she’s also 6. She frequently has dreams about people dying and seeing ghosts that she talks to and I can’t help but wonder if that’s my fault since I let her watch some stuff when she was 2-4 years old. I mean she’s not having night terrors and it’s not even waking her up in a panic, but she seems miffed and kinda spooked when she gets up.

    Being that I think you’re talking about your own two kids doesn’t it change everything since Ryan has Autism? Couldn’t that be an over stimulation type of thing? Please don’t bash or scream at me for asking that people, I’m not an autism expert, Jenn and I have discussed this. I happen to have a little relative that has it and I’m very curious about her take on things, etc. I’m just asking, because it seems like it would to me?

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19. Oddly enough my future brother-in-law does around my 3-year-old nephew and for some reason my nephew gets really into it and tries to tell Ed (my BIL) what he’s supposed to do (like “run!” “shoot!” “go away!”). IT’s kind of cute.

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20. Tell him we all say NO! lol My husband would try the same crap if I let him! Put your foot down! It’s been studied and scientifically proven that violent images are damaging to children and children should not be exposed to too much violence because their minds don’t know how to process it.

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21. No, and I also wouldn’t take them to see Watchmen. Ugh

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22. I wouldn’t..its pretty gory and to violent from what I remember of RE 4. Wait till they asleep or get your hubby a game room. but you might never see him again..lol. I can’t wait to play it myself.

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23. I read your post about Twilight.. I loved the movie, and then read the books. Too bad it is not out on DVD here in NORWAY yet.. :-(

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24. Although the Resident Evil series is for TOTAL PUSSIES (*coughplaysilenthillinsteadcough*), no. I would not subject my children to content they should definitely not be seeing at that age. Absolutely not.

    I know a woman whose kid is about four years old, swears like a sailor and calls women hos… because mommy and daddy think it’s okay to play GTA: San Andreas with the kid watching.

    I think even WoW is too violent for kidlets. I’d say you should stick with stuff like Harvest Moon when kids are around. Once they hit the 9-10 year range, you can start introducing them to “bad” games, but absolutely NOT when they’re so young!

    The games are rated R for a reason. Get your kids the fuck away from the screen when shit like that is played, or you’ll regret it later.

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25. Never. Those games scare the CRAP outta me!

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26. I actually babysit a 2 year old & a 4 year old, both of which are well adjusted kids without potty mouths, regardless of the crap either parents listen to. They also very much like watching me play RE4 (I know, not 5, but still).

    Also, me and my sister were both brought up watching horror movies, since before we were old enough to even do it. Both of us watched Chucky, Freddie, It, etc etc when the movies came out & continued to watch reruns well into our teens, and even now. We both have well established jobs (I’ve run my own business for the last three years), are respectful of ourselves & others, and don’t swear up and down. (& Actually I did more damage on my sister chasing her around with roaches when i was a kid more than any of the movies ever did!)

    As long as you raise your kids to know whats right and whats wrong, whats real & whats not, it doesn’t matter what you play in front of them & what you don’t. You set the right example for them & they will learn more from you then they pick up from the games/movies/etc.

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27. What was Dan thinking?

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