Parents and kids argue over video games, research finds

New research, that will hardly come as a surprise to either children or their parents, finds that arguments over when and for how long kids can play video games.

I seem to remember that was an issue when I was a kid, and computer games were really in their infancy then.

Disagreements were particularly prevalent amongst the 8-12 age group.

There’s also increasing concern over how many violent games are finding their way into the hands of youngsters.

“Over the past 10 years, parents, national retailers and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) had made substantial progress in keeping violent video games out of the hands of children,” said Dr. David Walsh, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family. “But, over time, complacency seems to have set in and we became too comfortable with the status quo while the industry keeps rapidly changing. That means everyone has to be more vigilant in understanding and enforcing the ratings.”

The poll, which questioned kids, found that one in five didn’t play any of the games with them.

Nearly half of 8-12 year-olds and four in five young teens admit to playing “M” (mature) games.

Almost four out of 10 parents who have kids who play video games (38%) have repeated arguments with their children about the amount of time they spend playing video games. Arguments about when games should be played are common as well. These findings suggest that video games present families with more than the escape and entertainment they bargained for.

A few months ago, I wrote about how casual video games can help parents and kids bond, but it seems in this case the opposite may be happening.

Some underage kids are easily getting hold of adult-rated games, which is a problem with the retailers themselves.