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  3. What were your parent's rules on video games?

What were your parent's rules on video games?

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  • T [email protected]

    I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
    The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
    How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

    gerryflap@feddit.nlG This user is from outside of this forum
    gerryflap@feddit.nlG This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #51

    Only one hour a day initially. And my mom hated any games with guns, so no games with guns. Creating an absolute bloodbath in Age of Empires was completely okidoki tho. At some point I wanted to buy GTA 3. My mom obviously said no (and fairly so, I was like 12 or something). But my dad, in an absolute chad move, said "oh I know that game, it's fine". I tended to play at the houses of friends who had less strict rules. I remember playing GTA Vice City on the original Xbox some time before I was allowed to buy GTA myself.

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    • T [email protected]

      I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
      The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
      How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

      D This user is from outside of this forum
      D This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by
      #52

      No rules, except that they weren't paying for anything, so I play a bunch of free-to-play games and (maybe) learned the ways of Captain Jack Sparrow 🏴‍☠️ 😉

      I mean, my parents didn't even care if I shoplifted as long as I don't get caught. (I don't shoplift, but if I did, my parent would be more worried like "did they see you take it" more than the morality/legality implications.)

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      • E [email protected]

        My parents weren't very restrictive. But one time, to get me to stop asking for a new game, my Dad said I couldn't get any new ones until I beat the last game I got.

        I think about that a lot still. I think it would have been a good rule, outside of some edge cases like games that were endless or too easy.

        But it was off the cuff, he didn't remember saying it. By the time I finished some game and brought it up, I think he said something like "well don't you have other games you never finished?"

        other_cat@lemmy.zipO This user is from outside of this forum
        other_cat@lemmy.zipO This user is from outside of this forum
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        wrote last edited by
        #53

        I had a very similar situation with my parents but it was involving computers. I wanted a computer quite badly, and for whatever reason my parents thought it was only to play video games. So they bought me a laptop-shaped educational toy with a bunch of inane mini games and said I could beat all of them, they'd buy me a real laptop. I beat them all and they went back on their promise. Crushed. Just say no, folks, don't make your kids jump through hoops for nothing. Unless I guess you want them to get a taste of working adult life early?

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        • T [email protected]

          I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
          The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
          How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

          other_cat@lemmy.zipO This user is from outside of this forum
          other_cat@lemmy.zipO This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by
          #54

          Not exactly rules on content (though they were in charge of buying me games until I was old enough that it no longer mattered, so they stuck to family friendly games for the most part.)

          However they initially refused to buy me another console other than the NES that I was gifted when I was very little. Some years later, my older brother took pity on me and got me a Genesis (they did not appreciate it.) The only other time I was bought a console was my mom got me a Nintendo 64 as a pity gift for a lot of terrible things that happened to me that year.

          I remember them saying they didn't want to have to buy another console every year, with new games, etc. In hindsight, they were definitely predicting the future market haha.

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          • T [email protected]

            I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
            The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
            How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

            J This user is from outside of this forum
            J This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #55

            Nothing over PG (and sometimes it even that) and only allowed to play 1 hour a day at most.

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            • T [email protected]

              I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
              The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
              How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

              rebekahwsd@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
              rebekahwsd@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by
              #56

              We had no consoles, I saved all my money to buy a Gameboy color and PokĂŠmon crystal.

              Which mother then said I had to key my twin use as well

              Annoyed as fuck over that. They could have bought their own damnit

              Mother looked at the games I bought for the color but I only really played crystal, donkey kong, that sort of thing.

              The computer was edutainment games only, but me and twin liked Oregon trail 2 and Amazon trail and the like.

              Once the internet arrived they didn't realize I found a place to download like rpg maker games.

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              • T [email protected]

                I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                T This user is from outside of this forum
                T This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #57

                The only thing it could get an m rating for and still be allowed was government approved violence, like if it was a war game or sports fighting.

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                • T [email protected]

                  I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                  The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                  How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                  S This user is from outside of this forum
                  S This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #58

                  Computer games and handheld games were allowed, but no video game consoles ever until we were adults.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  1
                  • T [email protected]

                    I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                    The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                    How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                    H This user is from outside of this forum
                    H This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #59

                    My mom was really against cursing and of course anything sexual, but the rest was pretty much fair game.

                    An exception would be Manhunt, but I even got to play MGS3 as a kid (which ended up being my favorite game of all time.)

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                    1
                    • T [email protected]

                      I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                      The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                      How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                      A This user is from outside of this forum
                      A This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #60

                      I had rules until I started getting an allowance and could guy my own games. That was around the time of GameCast.

                      Rules

                      • Nothing M rated
                      • Only 1 new game per year, so choose wisely
                      • We could rent from blockbuster, but I couldn’t rent the same game more than once, so I better finish that game in 3days, 5 days if they were feeling generous that week.
                      • I was allowed to borrow games between friends, but since I had like 4 games to trade, they never wanted to let me borrow their games.
                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1
                      • T [email protected]

                        I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                        The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                        How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                        F This user is from outside of this forum
                        F This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #61

                        The rules place were a bit odd to say the least.

                        Both my parents saw video games as literally rotting my brain, and I mean any video games at all. This, coming from my parents that would sit on the couch watching TV for 5+ hours a day after work.

                        They bought games for my sibling and I when we were young and I think they regretted that we enjoyed playing them so much. I thought was a bit odd since video games are the reason I wanted to learn to read so much and are why I devoured books.

                        If they saw us having fun playing video games in any common area, we were told to shut our games off and do something else and lectured that we were rotting our brains. If they didn’t physically see us playing games, they didn’t tend to care that much if we played them or not.

                        If we ever did bad in a class, the first thing that would be blamed would be the video games and they would be taken away or hidden for awhile.

                        Playing online games with friends? “Not healthy, video games are rotting your brain.” We occasionally be told we needed to stop the game right now to do X thing that could have waited, even online games which you can’t pause. Not even for something like dinner or chores, but just cause my parents would say so.

                        Tl;dr: “Video games bad”, quit having fun, if I see you smiling playing games then there is something more productive you could be doing with your time.

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                        • T [email protected]

                          I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                          The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                          How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                          P This user is from outside of this forum
                          P This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #62

                          I was playing mortal Kombat when I was 9-10. They didn't do due diligence, and if I thought they'd have a problem with it, I would just lie about it. I'm still playing mortal Kombat but compared to everyone else in the world, I suck ass now. Same with call of duty. From 19- 28 or so, I was awesome. Quit playing when they announced advanced warfare because it was getting too corny and the maps kept getting worse and worse for making plans, and all about chaos and random encounters. Got MW2 with my PS5 for nostalgia, and I again found that I wasn't as good as I used to be. Oh and all the stupid skins like santa running around in a warzone was fucking stupid. They should've left that to fortnight. These days I mostly play racing sims (thankfully I'm still really good at GT7) and RPGs which is funny that as I got older I wound up playing more family friendly stuff.

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                          1
                          • T [email protected]

                            I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                            The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                            How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                            S This user is from outside of this forum
                            S This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #63

                            I must say, great thread for a gamer that is now a parent.

                            In my childhood I could play anything, but graphics were not good enough to leave much marks.

                            Now my 11 year old worked his way up from GTA San Andreas to playing GTA5 and RDR2. He was watching the cut scenes anyway on YouTube (crappy moderation for violence there). Trying to avoid sex as much as possible, worried about GTA6 (we'll probably play it together).
                            Anyway, the greatest shock for him was the choice in GTA4 (kill your friend or the rich guy).

                            T 1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • T [email protected]

                              I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                              The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                              How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                              agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.worksA This user is from outside of this forum
                              agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.worksA This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #64

                              I generally wasn't allowed to play video games because they were a waste of time. Eventually I was allowed to play dexterity-based games like DDR and Guitar Hero, but not often.

                              Most of the games I've played were after I moved out, and I never really got into them.

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                              1
                              • T [email protected]

                                I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                                The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                                How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                                T This user is from outside of this forum
                                T This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by [email protected]
                                #65

                                <13 it was pg 13 or less, not that I really cared about anything else tbh.

                                By about 13-15 it was anything except porn (ex. doom eternal was allowed) this is also when I was allowed unrestricted Internet, so I was being sent photos of decapitated heads on discord anyways lol

                                at 16 I got a debit card and no rules

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                                1
                                • S [email protected]

                                  I must say, great thread for a gamer that is now a parent.

                                  In my childhood I could play anything, but graphics were not good enough to leave much marks.

                                  Now my 11 year old worked his way up from GTA San Andreas to playing GTA5 and RDR2. He was watching the cut scenes anyway on YouTube (crappy moderation for violence there). Trying to avoid sex as much as possible, worried about GTA6 (we'll probably play it together).
                                  Anyway, the greatest shock for him was the choice in GTA4 (kill your friend or the rich guy).

                                  T This user is from outside of this forum
                                  T This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #66

                                  Anyway, the greatest shock for him was the choice in GTA4 (kill your friend or the rich guy).

                                  what did he choose?

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                                  0
                                  • T [email protected]

                                    I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                                    The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                                    How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                                    washedupcynic@lemmy.caW This user is from outside of this forum
                                    washedupcynic@lemmy.caW This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #67

                                    I grew up with gaming on a DOS PC, Atari, and original NES. My parents didn't regulate my use, but refused to spend money on consoles or the games themselves. I supported my gaming interests with summer jobs, skipping lunch and saving the lunch money instead. Both of my parents were also addicts, so I could usually steal 5-10$ once in a while when they were high without being noticed. Not sure when the ESRB rating system rolled out, but it's something I paid attention to when buying games for myself, and eventually my kids.

                                    When I had my own stepchildren, they were free to game as much as they wanted when chores and homework were done, and adhered to a 10 pm lights out to get 8 hrs of sleep. As my stepson grew more interested in mature titles, I often played those titles to see what the content was like before deciding if I would allow him to play it. His bio mom was clueless about games, and tended to be more restrictive than me. I played OG halo before deciding it was a game he could play as a 14 year old. I played some of the GTA games before deciding he had to be 16 before we would let him play those. (My issue was picking up a prostitute and then being able to beat her after to get the $ back.) I started playing WOW because my stepson wanted to play. After some exploring I thought it was a safe title for him. Gaming was something that brought us closer together, and I spent so much time gaming with him. If I had the chance to give birth to my own kids, I would wish for a biological son like my stepson.

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                                    1
                                    • T [email protected]

                                      I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                                      The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                                      How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                                      redeyeflightcontrol@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                      redeyeflightcontrol@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #68

                                      As kids we had a dos 286 pc with some basic vga games. Nearly all of them were educational so my parents let us play those whenever. We got a used SNES for xmas the year the n64 came out, and we played that as much as we could. My parents didn't know then and still struggle now with computers, so they let me do as I pleased with the PC, within reason.

                                      As a teen I bought my own computer and my own PC games. My parents probably would not have approved of me playing half life, doom, quake, UT, and other graphic games, but I played the hell out of those. I also had stuff like myst that were pretty low key but fun. My PC was my own personal machine, so I did with it what I wanted, when I wanted.

                                      The usual concern with most older gen gamers was having parents telling us video games would rot our brains. As they stared at the TV for hours most nights... Video games sharpen your motor skills, reflex times, logic and reasoning skills, among other things. I find quite the opposite to be true and would advocate that video games are actually very, very good for you in many ways, unlike most television shows. I highly encourage gaming over watching. Our family game night is usually played on a console rather than a table.

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                                      • D [email protected]

                                        Hip Hip! Zoombinis!

                                        tlaloc_temporal@lemmy.caT This user is from outside of this forum
                                        tlaloc_temporal@lemmy.caT This user is from outside of this forum
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                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #69

                                        Well there you go, you got it.

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                                        • T [email protected]

                                          I was talking with a coworker about what games my parents allow me to play, and what they let their kids play. My parents were fine with most things bloody things, like Resident Evil 4, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, mostly because you were fighting like aliens or zombies. They were fine with military shooters too, and got really interested in the Modern Warfare storylines.
                                          The game that they really had a problem with was GTA, of course, but later, when my little sister started playing it, they got invested in GTA 5's story, so eventually we could just play whatever we really wanted.
                                          How bout you all? Did your parents have any weird or strict rules in games or movies?

                                          appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                                          appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #70

                                          1H a day. After homework

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