You might be a crappy parent if...

[cantthinkofanything]

if you're letting your 5 year old rent Arkham Asylum and Modern Warfare 3.

We've got laws in place to protect kids from porn. But what about subjecting them to violence.

I'm sure these are the same parents that are taking the same 5 year old to watch Dark Knight and The Mechanic.

[CubanSucks]

agreed. Even more so considering a 5 yr old is guaranteed to completely suck ass at any real video game like those. Get them some of those simple arcade type games

btw where the fuck is this coming from

[Kyle Orton]

Lol thinking violent vid games will cause kids to murder people and shoot up schools.

[cantthinkofanything]

agreed. Even more so considering a 5 yr old is guaranteed to completely suck ass at any real video game like those. Get them some of those simple arcade type games

btw where the fuck is this coming from

I was in line at Blockbuster yesterday and there was this young mom with a 5 year old boy and a 2 or 3 year old girl. They were messing around with the candy and the mom was admonishing them very loudly about how to act in public. She then kept giving them life lessons about how to treat each other and other shit in a loud voice that made me think she was trying to convince everyone in the store she was a good mom. She said if they didn't behave, she'd not let them get their games and movies. Then I saw that the boy was carrying Arkham and Modern Warfare.

The stuff about the movies was from experiece. There's been so many times I've seen parents bring in a little kid to see a rated R movie or some PG-13 superhero movie that they shouldn't be seeing. Allthough I didn't see the Mechanic. I couldn't remember which rated R movie I saw lately where someone brought a kid but it was some kid of action movie.

[cantthinkofanything]

Lol thinking violent vid games will cause kids to murder people and shoot up schools.

No one said that jackass.

LOL at thinking that what kids watch and see has no impact on how they act.

[Drachen]

You might be a crappy parent if you bought your five year old a playstation (or Xbox, or Wii).

[Blake]

You might be a crappy parent if you bought your five year old a playstation (or Xbox, or Wii).

why?

[Agloco]

why?

A five year old doesn't need to be planted in front of a TV, much less while playing video games. Just my opinion.

[PM5K]

BS. My son played Halo when he was five, not only that but at a lan party he kicked the asses of a handful of adults. Now he's thirteen, and a typical teenager.

[cantthinkofanything]

BS. My son played Halo when he was five, not only that but at a lan party he kicked the asses of a handful of adults. Now he's thirteen, and a typical teenager.

Thanks for your case study with a sample size of 1 and your scientific finding that he's a typical teenager.

[CubanSucks]

BS. My son played Halo when he was five, not only that but at a lan party he kicked the asses of a handful of adults. Now he's thirteen, and a typical teenager.

at 5? Bullshit. Either he's some video game prodigy or you're completely making that shit up. Being able to use 8 buttons and 2 joysticks at a VERY fast pace is damn near impossible at 5 yrs old, unless they spent their entire short existence playing it

[cantthinkofanything]

My son played Halo when he was five, not only that but at a lan party he kicked the asses of a handful of adults.


at 5? Bullshit. Either he's some video game prodigy or you're completely making that shit up. Being able to use 8 buttons and 2 joysticks at a VERY fast pace is damn near impossible at 5 yrs old, unless they spent their entire short existence playing it

LAN Party : PM5K, his 65 year old wife and their parents playing Halo with 5 year old.

[Drachen]

A five year old doesn't need to be planted in front of a TV, much less while playing video games. Just my opinion.

this.
go toss him a fuckin ball or get him some books or educational toys (capsules were my favorite)

[Kyle Orton]

Lol, kids can play ball and games equally..just cause one might be playing xbox doesn't mean he can't be swinging a bat or kicking a ball.

[Drachen]

Lol, kids can play ball and games equally..just cause one might be playing xbox doesn't mean he can't be swinging a bat or kicking a ball.

but its a a great reason not to.

[Creepn]

What about the Ipad? My 2 year old love some of the kid apps on there. Popping bubbles n shit.

[Blake]

at 5? Bullshit. Either he's some video game prodigy or you're completely making that shit up. Being able to use 8 buttons and 2 joysticks at a VERY fast pace is damn near impossible at 5 yrs old, unless they spent their entire short existence playing it

My nephews could kick the crap out of me when they were less than 5 at games like Super Mario Party.

My daughter could get 3 stars frequently when she was less than 5 on Guitar Hero 3. She could get 5 stars on Slow Ride on medium.

[Blake]

A five year old doesn't need to be planted in front of a TV, much less while playing video games. Just my opinion.

what's a good age for a kid to have a video game system that doesn't make the parent as crappy?

[PM5K]

Kicking ass and taking names. If it helps he was almost five and a half:

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4093/lanparty004.jpg

[Drachen]

What about the Ipad? My 2 year old love some of the kid apps on there. Popping bubbles n shit.

call me a curmudgeon but but my daughter doesn't touch my phone, laptop, or touchpad. She has books, and several toys which teach spelling and such as well as stuffed animals and dolls. I am about to retire a desktop though and have given thought to just letting her use it to teach computer skills (they are doing it at school and I want to compliment that.)

[cantthinkofanything]

Kicking ass and taking names. If it helps he was almost five and a half:

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4093/lanparty004.jpg

Nice LAN party!

[Blake]

Kicking ass and taking names. If it helps he was almost five and a half:

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4093/lanparty004.jpg

he should be making his bed instead of playing games.

crappy parent!

[Creepn]

call me a curmudgeon but but my daughter doesn't touch my phone, laptop, or touchpad. She has books, and several toys which teach spelling and such as well as stuffed animals and dolls. I am about to retire a desktop though and have given thought to just letting her use it to teach computer skills (they are doing it at school and I want to compliment that.)

I heard that schools were going to abandon the desktops and replace them with touchpads soon though. Don't know how much truth is in it but I think its a good idea. Will save schools tons of money.

[cantthinkofanything]

call me a curmudgeon but but my daughter doesn't touch my phone, laptop, or touchpad. She has books, and several toys which teach spelling and such as well as stuffed animals and dolls. I am about to retire a desktop though and have given thought to just letting her use it to teach computer skills (they are doing it at school and I want to compliment that.)

I don't disagree with the merits of what you're surrounding your daughter with. But video games do help development of hand eye coordination and depending on the game, problem solving skills. Not to mention the amount of educational games.

I just have a problem with 1) parents who use the video games as a babysitter for 8 hours a day and 2) letting them play games that were designed for an older age group.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Kicking ass and taking names. If it helps he was almost five and a half:

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4093/lanparty004.jpg

He looks like a fat ass.

[2Blonde]

When my daughter was 5 or 6 I wouldn't even let her watch the movie "Matilda" because I was worried that she wouldn't understand the difference between make believe & reality. I didn't want her to think the movie was real & that I would ever give her away. It blows my mind that parents let young kids actually kill w/video games at that age. They don't even really understand the fantasy/reality line until they are at least 8.

My daughter didn't have access to a video game system until she was 15 & then rarely... until she saved up and bought her own at almost 17. Now at almost 20, she kicks most peoples ass on xbox live. But I don't think young kids should be exposed to that.

[Blake]

When my daughter was 5 or 6 I wouldn't even let her watch the movie "Matilda" because I was worried that she wouldn't understand the difference between make believe & reality.

did you also drag her quickly past the mall Santa?

[PM5K]

He looks like a fat ass.

Nah, pretty average size.

[PM5K]

They don't even really understand the fantasy/reality line until they are at least 8.

I'm not sure I understand that completely. How would that relate to say a five year old playing a game in where he kills someone or something else?

[PM5K]

Nice LAN party!

Xbox LAN party. We had four setup on four sets with two people each. We also had a few extra people jumping in and out.

[2Blonde]

did you also drag her quickly past the mall Santa?
Why the hell would I do that? She'd been told Santa was real from the time she was little, so why would I screw with that. There was plenty of time to deal with that when she turned 7 or 8 & started questioning that.

[The Reckoning]

my mom took me to see jurassic park in theaters..i was 3 or 4 then.

i was playing doom with my dad back then too.

i turned out fine.

i was also the local pool rat and was outside climbing trees and whatnot 5+ hours a day.

kids get bored very easily and they have a TON of time. they do a million activities a day and their sense of time is alot slower. who says kids can only be outside throwing a ball or inside messing with gadgets. i did both.

what do you think kids are doing when theyre playing outside anyway? creating massive apocalyptic scenarios with their army men...kids imaginations are much more boundless than adults in entertainment and would much rather prefer their own. guess you cant teach your kid how to read either because that would require a bit of imagination...

[PM5K]

When I was five there wasn't much out there, I played Warlords, Galaga, etc.

I do remember thinking I was a Warlord though.

Mortal Kombat came out when I was about thirteen. I don't ever remember thinking I should or could get into fights with people, or tear their spines out.

[2Blonde]

They don't even really understand the fantasy/reality line until they are at least 8.


I'm not sure I understand that completely. How would that relate to say a five year old playing a game in where he kills someone or something else?
First of, I'm not making any judgements on what kind of parent you are. That's not my job. I'm only talking about my own personal experiences & feelings during the time I was raising my daughter.

That being said, what I meant was that if my child doesn't truly understand that killing things on a video game is not real, then she might begin to think that she could do the same thing outside the video game. I also think it was partly about preserving her innocence. She grew up way to fast for me as it was. If I could keep her thinking that everything in the world was good for a little longer until she was mature enough to understand, then to me that is a good thing.

I'm sure you love your son & doing what you feel is best for him, just like I did with my daughter.

I heard something this week that went something like this: " ...following your heart is easy, following your brain is difficult... that's why ALL parents screw up ALL children...". :toast

[LnGrrrR]

When my daughter was 5 or 6 I wouldn't even let her watch the movie "Matilda" because I was worried that she wouldn't understand the difference between make believe & reality. I didn't want her to think the movie was real & that I would ever give her away.

Really? Damn, my dad was letting us watch Nightmare on Elm Street when my brother and I were around 8 and 6... and not only that, but he got on his costume one night, then walked into our bedroom doing the "Here's Freddy!" thing.

If you're wondering whether it was traumatic, there's a reason I still remember it. :lol

[mavs>spurs]

i turned out fine.

According to who's definition? Last I checked you were in the mookie crew.

[2Blonde]

Really? Damn, my dad was letting us watch Nightmare on Elm Street when my brother and I were around 8 and 6... and not only that, but he got on his costume one night, then walked into our bedroom doing the "Here's Freddy!" thing.

If you're wondering whether it was traumatic, there's a reason I still remember it. :lol
:lol

[The Reckoning]

According to who's definition? Last I checked you were in the mookie crew.

tee-hee

[Viva Las Espuelas]

A five year old doesn't need to be planted in front of a TV, much less while playing video games. Just my opinion.


this.
go toss him a fuckin ball or get him some books or educational toys (capsules were my favorite)


Lol, kids can play ball and games equally..just cause one might be playing xbox doesn't mean he can't be swinging a bat or kicking a ball.


Nah, pretty average size.

Sorry. My blue pen ran out of ink.......

[Agloco]

BS. My son played Halo when he was five, not only that but at a lan party he kicked the asses of a handful of adults. Now he's thirteen, and a typical teenager.

I agree, your statement is probably BS.

To each his own though. If you deem your kid normal, then I'm on board with that. I engage my girls in interactive play. I try to expose them to situations and ask questions which require a little effort from the hollow cavity upstairs. When the question comes "Daddy, where's my X-Box", I'll base my answer on what behaviors I've seen out of them to that point.

lol hand-eye coordination. Gymnastics and soccer do that just fine. It's also good for them health-wise.

[Agloco]

what's a good age for a kid to have a video game system that doesn't make the parent as crappy?

Dunno. Depends on the child tbh. It's clear that most parents don't take their childs maturation level into consideration when investing in such things.

[DMC]

I never told my kid there was a Santa. I see no reason to start your relationship on a lie and break it to them later that it was for your amusement.

That might be odd to some, but why not introduce a kid to reality and teach them to understand it instead of constructing a make believe world for them to hide in? I think it screws them up down the road, at least some of them.

[diego]

i think the first thing to consider is what games/videos the children are watching. there's a lot of content produced for children too, of varying quality. there are definitely certain games and movies (and books) that are not for kids.

Now that I have kids and friends with kids, I lock down my whole PC because they constantly try to play games beyond their age range behind my back (the 8-13 boys are the worst, because they know about the games but mostly dont have access).

My kids play games (21 months and a 3 year old), like puzzles and memory cards, both on the computer and with actual puzzles and cards. But the ones on the computer dont get lost or crushed by clumsy fingers, and my son has learned most of the alphabet so he can watch thomas the train on youtube (now he puts in two passwords to boot and open windows, opens firefox, types in youtube.com and searches "trenes" in spanish, then goes to related videos to find the specific clips he likes, he just has to add thomas to the search string :lol). He spends more time next to technology than I did as a child, but it is still productive time to learn important things. It just has to be balanced with physical activity.

[I. Hustle]

Yo PM5K, you and your boy should come LARP it up with us. Dead serious.

[Leetonidas]

People need to take responsibility for their shitty parenting and stop blaming video games and movies for their stupid ass retard children

[Blake]

Dunno. Depends on the child tbh.

this

[Blake]

Why the hell would I do that? She'd been told Santa was real from the time she was little, so why would I screw with that.


I was worried that she wouldn't understand the difference between make believe & reality.

k.

[DarkReign]

My 7 year old niece can damn near diagnose any problem on a computer by herself. Windows, of course.

Different strokes, different folks. I have no idea what I am going to do with my son when he is older. I know I played video games for as long as I can remember. Wasnt some super-athlete or anything, but I played on school teams and spent more time outside than many others.

Its all about balance, IMO. I am not going to treat my son like an experiment in parenting, but I am not going to plant him in front of the TV/Xbox either.

[AmericanPsycho]

Too much TV/video games is bad for anyone.

[PuttPutt]

What goes into your head, gets into your heart, & come out in your actions.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

You might be a crappy parent if you buy a 2011 Escalade for yourself, a 2011 Tahoe for your newlywed husband, a huge flat screen for your bedroom while leaving the 13" in the living room(13" tv, that is) less than 5 months from when your previous husband died from cancer. True story

[Blake]

sounds like a crappy spouse

[DeadlyDynasty]

You might be a crappy parent if you buy a 2011 Escalade for yourself, a 2011 Tahoe for your newlywed husband, a huge flat screen for your bedroom while leaving the 13" in the living room(13" tv, that is) less than 5 months from when your previous husband died from cancer. True story

get busy livin' or get busy dyin'

[Viva Las Espuelas]

You might be a crappy parent if you buy a 2011 Escalade for yourself, a 2011 Tahoe for your newlywed husband, a huge flat screen for your bedroom while leaving the 13" in the living room(13" tv, that is) less than 5 months from when your previous husband died from cancer. True story

I left out, all paid with the life insurance policy money she got.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I left out, all paid with the life insurance policy money she got.

How much more is left?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

How much more is left?

:lol she's burned through her first $100,000 policy back in October, so who knows how much is left from her second policy. We have a pool at work that says she'll be out by the new year.

[Xevious]

People need to take responsibility for their shitty parenting and stop blaming video games and movies for their stupid ass retard children
This.

[howbouthemspurs]

I cant wait till my son is old enough to play video games with him!

[redzero]

Watching Terminator 2 and playing Doom when I was little turned me into a serial killer. Your kid is better off watching Disney Channel 24/7.

[Halberto]

My 7 year old nephew OWNS me at MW2 and gears of war. He minds his parents and does well in school. Making the claim that violent games/movies makes a kid violent is on the same level as claiming religion makes people violent.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

:lol she's burned through her first $100,000 policy back in October, so who knows how much is left from her second policy. We have a pool at work that says she'll be out by the new year.

Did she pay off the mortgage?

[Slydragon]

Someone is always going to bitch how a parent brings up a kid, as long as you're kid don't kill/bully mine I say you did a fine job.

[Agloco]

My 7 year old nephew OWNS me at MW2 and gears of war. He minds his parents and does well in school. Making the claim that violent games/movies makes a kid violent is on the same level as claiming religion makes people violent.

That's not exactly a good sample size though Hal. :lol

I definitely agree with the argument that those cases are few and far between, but it's not something you can rule out in a blanket statement.

[Blake]

you might be a crappy parent if you pepper spray others to get a video game system for your kid.

not saying it happened......just saying.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

You might be a crappy parent if you buy a 2011 Escalade for yourself, a 2011 Tahoe for your newlywed husband, a huge flat screen for your bedroom while leaving the 13" in the living room(13" tv, that is) less than 5 months from when your previous husband died from cancer. True story

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my buddy passing. He would not have been happy how the Lakers ended their season. Anyway, his widow came up to work with 2 of her kids. They said the oldest daughter has gained about 50lbs+ and the youngest one about 30lbs+ since they last came around.....for the money, that is. They said the worthless excuse for a mother/human being reeked of booze and weed. She's gone through all the money. Two $100K policies on top of the $15K the owner of the company gave to them out of his own pocket. Being that little kids have no filter on their mouths, thank Gawd, she said that her and her big sister sleep on the couch, COUCH!, in the living room. They do that because the big sister's room is too dirty and has "booboos", shit, in it. Who's asshole it came from is a mystery. Oh and she said they just see their mom in the morning. SMDH.

[thispego]

Lol video games

[RGMCSE]

When my daughter was 5 or 6 I wouldn't even let her watch the movie "Matilda" because I was worried that she wouldn't understand the difference between make believe & reality. I didn't want her to think the movie was real & that I would ever give her away. It blows my mind that parents let young kids actually kill w/video games at that age. They don't even really understand the fantasy/reality line until they are at least 8.

My daughter didn't have access to a video game system until she was 15 & then rarely... until she saved up and bought her own at almost 17. Now at almost 20, she kicks most peoples ass on xbox live. But I don't think young kids should be exposed to that.

But your teaching her how to be an internet skank though. Look at your avatar...

[baseline bum]

When I was five there wasn't much out there, I played Warlords, Galaga, etc.

I do remember thinking I was a Warlord though.

Mortal Kombat came out when I was about thirteen. I don't ever remember thinking I should or could get into fights with people, or tear their spines out.

Since I didn't have a gun back then, that fucking game taught me to throw rocks at bees and shit.

[mavs>spurs]

lol bumped from a time when cantthinkofanything actually posted like a normal human being

am i in another dimension?

[O.J. Simpson]

lol bumped from a time when cantthinkofanything actually posted like a normal human being

am i in another dimension?

:lol Before he incurred brain damage and turned into RaZon 2.0.

[redzero]

I don't know, this thread is pretty stupid.

[O.J. Simpson]

I don't know, this thread is pretty stupid.

Everything's relative.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Watching Terminator 2 and playing Doom when I was little turned me into a serial killer. Your kid is better off watching Disney Channel 24/7.
It's no different than parents who think listening to Jay-Z or Dr. Dre rap about drugs and women is horrible for their kids but Rihanna singing about how whips and chains excite her is something they don't have a problem with.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Btw, I'm saying that because of how much parents love the Disney channel and are too stupid to figure out it sells sex to their kids just as much as video games and other TV do :lol

[cantthinkofanything]

Btw, I'm saying that because of how much parents love the Disney channel and are too stupid to figure out it sells sex to their kids just as much as video games and other TV do :lol

I don't love the Disney channel by any means. My daughter watches a couple of shows on it and I don't have any problem with them. I don't think Disney Channel itself is actively marketing sex to the same degree MTV or shows geared for adults do. I don't remember hearing any sexually explicit songs on the Disney Channel or Disney Radio. There's some innuendo from time to time but I don't think they play anything overly explicit. Some of the artists they play do have songs that aren't appropriate for kids but think they avoid these. And of course there is no violence or drug references to really speak of.

My biggest objection to Disney is the continual manufacturing of stars and their eventual shitty music and acting careers.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

:lol thinking the Jonas Brothers don't promote sex in their music

No shit Disney doesn't overtly promote sex with explicit stuff. They wouldn't be able to doop Christian parents like you into thinking they don't promote sex. Instead they have the Jonas Brothers sing about the tingly feelings they get in their pants that parents think are adorable.

I'll bet you also think youtube videos of 8 year old girls singing Nicki Minaj and Rhianna songs isn't little kids being sexualized at all. I don't understand why the FCC thinks the words "weed" and "ass" need to be edited when Big Sean or Tyga is saying them but when Rhianna is talking about sex in the air nothing needs to be edited.

[cantthinkofanything]

:lol thinking the Jonas Brothers don't promote sex in their music

No shit Disney doesn't overtly promote sex with explicit stuff. They wouldn't be able to doop Christian parents like you into thinking they don't promote sex. Instead they have the Jonas Brothers sing about the tingly feelings they get in their pants that parents think are adorable.

I'll bet you also think youtube videos of 8 year old girls singing Nicki Minaj and Rhianna songs isn't little kids being sexualized at all. I don't understand why the FCC thinks the words "weed" and "ass" need to be edited when Big Sean or Tyga is saying them but when Rhianna is talking about sex in the air nothing needs to be edited.

What makes you think I'm a Christian parent??? What does that have to do with caring about what my kids are exposed to?

And I'm also not saying that everything on Disney is appropriate for every single age. It's every parents responsibility to know what their kid is watching and what is OK for their age and for them personally. There's nothing the Jonas Brothers are doing that hasn't been done by teen pop stars for the last 50 years. As far as 8 year olds bumping and grinding like a hoochie...that's on the parents, not Disney Channel. And if you think Disney Channel is showing Nicki Minaj videos or any blatantly sexually promiscuous video, you're way off base. I don't think there's any appreciable more sexual nnuendo in teen music today than at any other time.

I don't know who the fuck Big Sean or Tyga. But I don't really give a shit what they say. I know enough that it's probably not appropriate for my 12 year old.

[Blake]

:lol thinking the Jonas Brothers don't promote sex in their music

No shit Disney doesn't overtly promote sex with explicit stuff. They wouldn't be able to doop Christian parents like you into thinking they don't promote sex. Instead they have the Jonas Brothers sing about the tingly feelings they get in their pants that parents think are adorable.

I'll bet you also think youtube videos of 8 year old girls singing Nicki Minaj and Rhianna songs isn't little kids being sexualized at all. I don't understand why the FCC thinks the words "weed" and "ass" need to be edited when Big Sean or Tyga is saying them but when Rhianna is talking about sex in the air nothing needs to be edited.

hannah montana on the stripper pole during the kids choice awards (?) was outstanding, imo.

[cantthinkofanything]

hannah montana on the stripper pole during the kids choice awards (?) was outstanding, imo.

I had to look that one up...

It was the Teen Choice Awards on Fox. And she didn't pole dance.

[Blake]

I had to look that one up...

It was the Teen Choice Awards on Fox. And she didn't pole dance.

There is really no doubt she pulled a stripper move, imo.

Ggr_fl0GwNA

[cantthinkofanything]

There is really no doubt she pulled a stripper move, imo.


true...the living in a trailer is very stripper

[DMC]

It's not like half the girls in that audience aren't going to at least consider the profession of stripper at some point.