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<< After all those news reports about kids growing up to be murderers when they played games like Doom, Quake, etc...I would try to stay away from those games as a father. >>
Anyone who believes this rubbish probably shouldnt have kids anyway, most of the time its the bad parents who like to point the finger of blame anywhere else but at themselves. As a primary school teacher I would recommend something like nerf arena as its not overtly violent and will help hand-eye co ordination, but I would limit the time spent to 30 minutes or so at a time. >>
I'm kind of surprised to hear comments like that coming from an educator. Here in NY State, teachers have to have a masters degree within 5 years of being hired, meaning they are well educated and have been exposed to post graduate studies and research. Anyway, calling the notion "rubbish" that constant exposure to violence and graphic images has no effect seems to be, well, a result of lack of information to put it nicely.
There is a good deal of research already available which suggests that frequent exposure to violence and graphic images has the effect of desensitizing us. It is conceivable that some individuals could be affected to the point which they might do something they wouldn't have otherwise. To think otherwise seems naive. Sure, most of us could expose ourselves to crap daily and manage to keep control of ourselves. It's the ones who are already dysfunction which may get pushed over the edge by something or another. You know the old computer saying: "garbage in- garbage out".
I come from the more conservative persuasion, and I agree that parents need to responsibly raise their kids. But the fact is a great many don't raise their kids responsibly, so WTF do we do with all the kids who raise themselves and are dysfunctional in manyways? Don't know the answer to that, but we as a society have to deal with the fallout of all those dysfunctional kids.