As everyone know, many forms of media, including video games, television shows, and movies, are reviewed and rated to assess their appropriateness for consumption by different age groups.
Cole and I have been talking about this quite a bit recently as he argues to play what are inarguably age-inappropriate video games (he’s particularly focused on Halo) and I’m working to convince him that he’s just not ready for these types of games. The surprising fact that several of his peers are permitted by their parents to play games like Halo – often alone in their bedrooms for hours on end – doesn’t make things any easier.
Of course, ratings are only one form of assessing the appropriateness of media for one’s own child. A more primary and important method is, of course, parental review and approval. This is the method I prefer and exercise much more vigorously.
In a sense, I treat the organizational reviews as indicators more than absolute guides. Continue reading
