Headteachers Threaten Parents Over 18+ Games
Headteachers in Cheshire have drafted and sent out a letter to parents over concerns of underage pupils playing games rated 18.
Reported by the BBC, the letter seems to come on the heels of Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement that adults in positions of responsibility can face prison if they fail to report neglect or abuse to children.
The letter says that parents who allow their child to play games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto are guilty of neglect, due to the levels of violence portrayed within.
Mary Hennessy Jones, the head who drafted the letter, said: "We are trying to help parents to keep their children as safe as possible in this digital era.
"It is so easy for children to end up in the wrong place and parents find it helpful to have some very clear guidelines."
This affects 16 schools which are under the Nantwich Education Partnership group.
COMMENTS
fazer - 04:14pm, 29th March 2015
How are they going to police this then, and what about over 18 films, lets's also talk about Facebook accounts we all know under 13's open.
Big can of worms, I'm sure they will make an example of a few parents, but this is going nowhere really.
Acelister - 09:21am, 30th March 2015 Author
Oh, they whine about social networks, too.
I can just imagine some single mother who is now bricking herself because her 10 year old played a 12-rated game once...
TGK - 09:14pm, 30th March 2015
The first step would surely be on the purchase level. Parents are allowed to buy games, clearly for their childeren who are present during a transaction, without any restrictions. The same can't be said for alcohol - if an adult is blaintently suspected of buying the alcohol for minor, then it's illegal to serve them.
But as you say, this is a HUGE topic that can't be covered in one swoop.
Kaostic - 12:33am, 31st March 2015
I know somebody who let their child watch Alien. Sec, lemme call the police.
david - 10:05am, 31st March 2015
This isnt about a one off film watch (alien has been on tv so it doesnt really count) or a 12 rated game, this about kids from 11-16 playing violent games that promote drinking, violence to women and show graphic sex and murder/executions etc. Its teachers in schools that see the reults of this acted out behaviour. I think one of the problems is that parents are unaware of the content of these games, thinking that if their peers are allowed to play them, then so should thier children.
Acelister - 11:02am, 31st March 2015 Author
Personally I think the problem is online gaming, not the games. Call of Duty is a franchise with annual releases that focus more on multiplayer than single player - it's also one of the biggest multi-platform sellers around Christmas.
One stereotype is of kids screaming profanity at other gamers in a Deathmatch. If you've played online, you find that it's actually a true stereotype.
The content of the games isn't an issue, as has been discovered in two studies published last year - violent videogames don't make violent kids. Spoiled, entitled kids raised by parents who take no notice of them screaming insults into a microphone makes violent kids.
I also can't think of a game that "promotes" drinking or violence to women. Drinking always leads to poor controls and shaking visuals, and if there is violence the majority of victims are almost exclusively male. And if you can tell me which game has graphic sex, I'd LOVE to know it. For science.