We have had an xbox for years. Call of Duty has been a staple in our home for my teens. I don’t love it, but I also don’t forbid it. Does it make my boys violent? No. They are the opposite of violent. Piles of eye rolling sweetness who would give away their last dime to someone in need or stand up for a child that is being bullied.
We don’t forbid guns in our home either. You know, as long as they don’t shoot bullets. (Quite a quandary for the NRA aren’t we?) We have had squirt guns which turned into Nerf guns and ultimately led to the proverbial “shoot your eye out” BB gun.
I grew up with guns and I was never violent. Except that one time when I threw pepper in my brother’s eyes. When he regained his eyesight an hour later he knocked the snot out of me. To this day I can’t look at a speck of pepper without remembering my horrification as he rolled around on the floor screaming, “I’m blind, I’m blind.” I stood there feeling horrified and panicked and simultaneously doing a quick run down of all that I needed to shove in my backpack for my new life on the streets once he told my dad.
I’m not really sure what that has to do with this post, unless of course there is some study out there proving that Ms. Pacman makes you a violent pepper throwing wench, in which case it’s totally relevant and I blame HER for my brother’s lazy eye. If you are reading this Matt (Unlikely as you recently referred to my site as “that oomph thingy”, but miracles can happen), I am truly sorry. It’s Ms. Pacman’s fault. And? If you had a site I would totally read it.
When it was announced that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 by Activision was going to be released yesterday both of my teen boys insisted we prepay for the game so we could be guaranteed the green box of violence the day of it’s release. I told them I would fly if they would buy. So they gathered all of their unplayed slightly scratched up games for trade at Game Stop and put a deposit on the The Holy Grail of gaming.
I went and picked up the game yesterday while they were at school and I text them a photo of the cover. They responded immediately with excitement (which has me pondering the amount of their private school education). I allowed them to play COD last night for a few hours even though we have a strict “no video game policy” during the week, because sometime’s I’m not a bitch.
They loved it and they loved me last night. A lot. Maybe more than any other day since Modern Warfare 2 came out in 2009. They were both in sunshiny moods this morning when I woke them up. They were out the door on time without any prodding, screaming or begging. They were all smiles and pleasant in their conversations with me on the way to school. A true Cleaver morning here at the Mullens.
Oh. I am no fool. I realize this is just a master plan to get me to break our video game rules again tonight. But? I don’t give a game console’s cord, I will take it.
And? It begs the question. Do graphic war games actually make your kids better people?
My son LOVES his violent games. He loves them. When he gets to play his video games, he’s happy. it’s one of his hobbies. He also plays two different computer games that interact with other kids online, Wizard 101 and Free Realms. He asked me for a month subscription to Club Penguin the other day. He covers the spectrum and he’s not a total jerk or a psychopath in any way. he’s 10 and he has 10 year old attitude sometimes. But he still holds my hand without me asking, he loves his stuffed animals, and he’s really FUNNY.
The argument that play guns and violent games turn our kids into jerks or worse yet, violent people is total bunk. Want to know who turns kids into that? Parents.
As a kid, my dad and uncles would take me and my cousins to shoot guns in controlled ranges. We went often and it was a lot of fun. We were taught how to safely use the guns and to never point them at anyone. No one was ever hurt and none of us ever once pulled those guns out to pretend or show them off at any time. You want your kids to be aware of guns? Teach them about guns. Don’t ban them (that just makes kids more curious) and don’t pretend they don’t exist. Period.
Agreed! My "little guy" who will be 18 in a few short weeks has been playing video games (with guns)…for a long time. He is a respectful, caring and kind person. I don’t think playing this type of game changes a person’s life or demeanor…as long as values and morals are in place.
Excellent post, thank you. My son is turning 10 this week and desperate for this game. My reluctance about buying war games isn’t so much about turning him into a violent person (because you’re right, that comes from what parents teach…or don’t teach), but more about exposing him to an aspect of life that I’m not ready for him to see. That being said, in this day and age, unless you ban kids from TV, computers, and their friends, it’s getting pretty difficult to prevent them from seeing, hearing and learning about what goes on in the world.
I appreciate your insight. I’m glad to get another mom’s take on it.
This post makes me glad I have girls.
Eye opener.
I have to respectfully disagree with this article. My son just turned 12, and "all of his friends" are playing Call of Duty. We do not. I’m not worried about my son turning into a psychopath; not worried it would change him into a monster. I am, however, concerned that viewing that much violence, especially in a first-person game, creates an "ownership" over that behavior, and DOES desensitize him to violence. I don’t want him reading an article about Syrian violence for his Current Events project and dismiss the atrocities because he’s "seen worse" on his video game. My job as his parent is to make sure he grows into a responsible, respectful and aware member of society. We can do without bloody first-person shooters that take the gravity out of a real-life situation for millions of people on a daily basis.
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