[quote=article] At the very impressionable age of four, my son loved Grand Theft Auto. More specifically, the version he played was the Hot Coffee moddable, San Andreas. Before Child Protective Services bestows upon me the prestigious honor of father of the year, allow me to explain.
Hot CoffeeGaming has been a part of my sons’ life since the moment he was born, so I was not surprised when he showed an interest in video games as early as the age of two. I started him off where I began my gaming career: the original Nintendo Entertainment System. He built up his hand-eye coordination and took the bridge out from under Bowser in no time. Then, one day, he got a glimpse of me playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and asked if he could play. What happened next was quite the eye-opener.
With a DualShock controller in hand, he started to press each button individually as he tried to figure out what their functions were. Soon he asked, “How do I get in a car?” I pointed and told him, “The one with the green triangle on it.”
I egged him on to take the car in front of him which was waiting at the red light. He quickly looked up at me with disgust and refused, stating that the car was already owned by the person driving it. His response absolutely amazed me, so I decided to sit back and observe how he chose to interact with this highly controversial game without the aid of a rotten-minded adult.
He finally entered an unoccupied car and began driving. He was very mindful of the other cars and pedestrians. He didn't know the rules of the road, so he ran red lights and turned down one-way streets in the wrong direction. However, he did stop at intersections if a group of cars gathered waiting for the light to turn green.
At one such intersection he attempted to brake, but he was traveling too fast. Instead of plowing into the rear of the car ahead of him, he swerved to the right and popped up onto to sidewalk. In doing so, he accidently ran over a woman walking towards his oncoming car. He was incredibly ashamed of himself and profusely apologized.
“It’s okay. It’s only a game. It’s not real”, I reassured him. After a few minutes of me explaining the difference between a game and real life, he felt comfortable enough to continue playing.
Only seconds later, he witnessed a policeman jump out of his patrol car to pursue a criminal of San Andreas. His eyes lit up as he asked if he could drive the police car. I reminded him that it was only a game, and it was fine to take the car. As he drove the squad car, I pressed L3 to turn on the lights and siren. He asked very excitedly if he could get the bad guys too. With a huge smile I pressed R3 to initiate the Vigilante Missions. It was as if his imagination had come to life. He was taking down delinquents left and right. As expected, the dangerous work of an officer brought an ambulance.
At this point my son was familiar with the game’s mechanics and hopped into the ambulance. As he put the crime fighting behind him, he wondered aloud if it was possible to take people to the hospital. I instruct him to press R3, and then he was off to save a few lives. He was having a blast racing from point to point, picking up people in need, and then speeding off to Las Venturas Hospital. During one of his life saving adventures, he passed a fire house with a big, red, shiny fire truck parked out front. He didn't want to let his passengers down, so he took them to the hospital and then asked if I could guide him back to the fire truck.
Getting behind the driver’s seat of the fire truck awarded him with the most fun he had while playing Grand Theft Auto. With sirens blaring, he chased down the first red dot on the map. As he approached a car engulfed in flames he began showering it with the truck’s water cannon. Fire after fire, he extinguished them all.
In all his time with Grand Theft Auto he never once encountered any of the controversy surrounding this notorious title. He didn’t beat any hookers with a baseball bat. He didn’t deal drugs. He didn’t go on a murderous rampage. He certainly never once had a cup of hot coffee. He didn't avoid these things because I told him he counldn't try them. It just never occurred to him to commit these acts.
The ESRB rating found on every game cover is a great tool for parents who are not familiar with games and their content, but I strongly disagree with using it as a tool to raise our kids. Every child is different and, as parents, it is our responsibility to cater to their individual needs. I understand not every kid is like mine, so I wouldn’t recommend that every parent allow their child to play Grand Theft Auto. But I would recommend that you listen and pay attention to your little ones to determine what they are capable of handling and what they are not ready for yet. They might even surprise you and find the light in something thought to have been so dark.[/quote]
Source: [url]http://www.bitmob.com/articles/my-four-year-old-son-plays-grand-theft-auto[/url]
This really made me think differently about youth playing video games, maybe its just the way he raised his kid. Friendlies, Friendlies everywhere.
I played the original GTA when I was that age, why is GTA 4 any worse
what a shit kid not beating hookers with bats in gta
Wrong Section.
Was cute to read though.
letting a four year old play GTA? lol
and one person does not account for the entire population. I like how the parent says, "he played GTA and never beat anyone with a bat!"
it's accepted by basically every psychologist that video games can have a psychological affect on kids
besides only idiots think games have a psychological affect on anyone
[QUOTE=Sir Tristan;22570909]besides only idiots think games have a psychological affect on anyone[/QUOTE]
uh, they can
especially a FOUR YEAR OLD
I grew up playing all sorts of violent video games and watching R rated movies. But, it was the way my parents chose to bring me up that allowed me to create a separation of fiction from reality. I suppose, that's really what it all boils down to: a separation from the video game world to the real world.
I was 10 when I played gta sa, it really isnt that violent
[QUOTE=Sir Tristan;22570909]besides only idiots think games have a psychological affect on anyone[/QUOTE]
uh, it does lol
I mean, it's not CRAZY effective like Jack Wallybingo Thompson, but fuck, it's so fucking ostentatious to say it's harmless.
Aww :3:
I think I played SA when I was around 9 or 10, first thing I remember doing was getting my friend to spawn a jet pack and then just fly around for ages.
I don't think I ever actually killed anyone until a couple of years later, it never occured to me to kill them, I only did it because I had to as part of a mission.
but a 4 year old? It's not going to crazy damage him, but it's not exactly the healthiest thing to have.
[QUOTE=JDK721v2;22570900]letting a four year old play GTA? lol
and one person does not account for the entire population. I like how the parent says, "he played GTA and never beat anyone with a bat!"
it's accepted by basically every psychologist that video games can have a psychological affect on kids[/QUOTE]
However, you neglect the fact that for it to have an impression on him, he needs to be impressed in the first place.
This means that he's not going to be influenced to beat up hookers because he never tried beating them up to begin with, wasn't told to and wasn't supposed to.
He plays by his own rules and moral codes, therefore it acts just as real life would be.
Yeah but it can turn out bad too.
Like the kindergartener that sat behind me on the bus. Every day he would turn into my seat and say, "My dad can kill you! Because he has a machine gun, RPG, Pistol, Shotgun, and rifle."
Later he said that he played GTA games. So yeah.
i played Tomb Raider at 3, this is normal. carry on.
That was cute, I did the same thing except on midtown madness.
[QUOTE=Warhol;22571012]but a 4 year old? It's not going to crazy damage him, but it's not exactly the healthiest thing to have.[/QUOTE]
It's true, I wouldn't have let my kid do that, I know some kids who basically live off video games and they aren't exactly socially (or mentally) sound.
One of the fuckers nearly stabbed me with a screwdriver, I have no idea why his dad gave him that considering he has ADD.
It's made worse by the fact I'm related to the little hyper ball of violence.
The only things that I played when I was four was Half-Life and other random FPS games, this isn't really a big deal. Though I suppose it did have an effect on me, since I was afraid to go into water for years after playing through the parts of Half-Life with the fucking ichthyosaurs. :ohdear:
I also recall my dad telling me about when he let me play quake in co-op with him, he was in the basement and I was upstairs, apparently when a monster came out I started to scream and ran to my room.
That was a nice read. Atleast not all hope in humanity is lost. :unsmith:
My little brother who is 4 plays Halo 3.
I started playing Vice city when I was 7, and I turned out fine...
Is this the same kid from Left 4 Aidan?
oh shit my automerge
Every kid is different i guess, i think it really depends on how the parents bring up the child, My dad was very violent, i played video games and turned into an asshole, obviously this childs dad was a nice guy. You see the results.
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM5TF42hNIk[/MEDIA]
[editline]12:05AM[/editline]
oh shit my automerge
That's cute.
The only game I was playing from age 4-8 was Pokemon and old PS2 games, the most violent game I played was Battlefront 2 where you shoot people (no blood) and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 or 4 in which there was blood when you fell.
[QUOTE=DesumThePanda;22571093]My little brother who is 4 plays Halo 3.[/QUOTE]
Does he scream "MAKE ME THE GREENEST COLOUR YOU CAN BE!"
How could you not lol at hitting a lady in gta4
Good read, i played gta when i was a little kid. Of course i killed people and had fun mowing through hordes of people on the side walk. But i was always intelligent enough to know that it was a fucking game.
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