Last week, our family faced a dilemma over a video game that I felt was not age-appropriate for our five-year-old and almost-nine-year-old boys, something I’m sure many parents now face with the increase in technology in all our lives.
The game, Happy Wheels, has horrible graphics, and zero educational value to it. While I really don’t mind either of those things normally, it was the addition of the violent content that was bothering me.
I am not a supporter of violent entertainment simply for the sake of violence. I find it hard to concentrate on a storyline (if there is one) in movies and T.V. shows if there’s too much gore, blood, and violence. Often, my husband will let me know if he thinks I will like a show solely based on the amount of violence in it, never mind the storyline or other entertainment value there might be.
Now, I am also not the type of parent who strictly censors what my children watch. They’ve watched movies like Predator, or Tremors, and handled movies like Jurassic Park easily when they were quite young.
They often have make-believe zombie hunts, and we have a bucket filled with toy weapons, from Nerf guns to swords, and everything in between. And usually, my husband is the one hiding the toy weapons from them, not me.
Ever since a young age, they have understood that movies and games aren’t real.
So when our recent dilemma came up, my husband immediately asked our youngest son if he knew the specific game wasn’t real, which he responded to quickly with a look that clearly said “I’m not an idiot, dad.” So, yes, he knows this isn’t real, and that’s a plus.
I was going to step away from the issue a bit, but after watching the boys play the game a bit longer, I honestly felt a little nauseous, watching the stickmen get torn apart and break their legs after falling off a bike.
Nope. I couldn’t let it go. So, feeling firm in my thoughts, I posted the topic to my personal Facebook page, with my husband’s permission, to see what the outside world thought.
Responses quickly came in, with the vast majority of people siding with me in my dislike for the game. Now, I’m not going to outright say I won, because I didn’t. I know my kids will play games I don’t approve of as they get older – I grew up with three brothers and I know there is often a difference between what many boys find funny, and how many girls interpret these things.
Thankfully, my oldest son takes a bit better to parental influence, and he has already slowed down playing the game – at least while I’m around. And I know he will quickly get bored of it anyway.
Our youngest is also already growing frustrated with the game when his dad lets him play, unable to pass levels, and he too will hopefully get bored soon. With a little extra bribery and influence, I’m hoping I can make that process go even quicker – then we can all get back to playing Plants Vs Zombies before bedtime.
