Parents who refuse to do parenting

[BusyBee]

As a celebration of the fact that I should soon be leaving the movie rental store, I wanted to share this little story

For a couple months I worked three to five 8hour shifts a week there, because a full-timer had quit and her replacement had also quit before even finishing training. So we were missing a full-timer while head office tried to find us a new one. I generally got a couple days in a row working.

An old man (OM) came in one day with a young boy, maybe 7-10, obviously his grandson. After a while they come up to the counter and rent out a PS2 game - GTA: San Andreas. The OM was obviously getting it for the kid so I said, "This game is MA15+ (restricted to persons over 15yrs), are you sure you want it?" OM says yes.

The next day he comes in, absolutely livid, complaining about the horrible content of the game - shock horror, something called Grand Theft Auto has car stealing, guns, drugs, etc in it. That wasn't his main complaint though, oh, no. He was furious that (supposedly) we rented it to his grandkid. With no adult present or knowing about it, no permission to rent on his account, all that bs.
My boss was the other person on at the time, and he was the first to deal with him. After a minute, he called me over and asked if I knew anything about this.
I recognised the OM, and after hearing his complaint I just said, "I remember hiring this out to you yesterday. You came in with your grandson and you rented it out for him, on your account. When I pointed out the ESRB rating on it you said you still wanted it."
Apparently he didn't think I'd be on two days in a row - he returned the game and left.

I just can't stand it when parents knowingly get out mature stuff for their little kids... And then this guy tries to blame his deliberate disregard for the rating on me. So glad I got to see the look on his face when I called him on it

[Kara]

I had this all the time at Circuit City. Little Johnny would hand his mother Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and could he please oh please have it? Mommy would ask what it was about and he'd say "It's fun. Timmy has it!" or "It's a game." And that's really all mommy would need to know in order to introduce Little Johnny to the wonderful world of drug running, cop killing, and ho slapping. Nothing I could say would sway them.

One time, this lady handed me Turok: Evolution for PS2 and asked what it was about, saying her 9 year old loved dinosaurs. I informed her that the game did, indeed, feature dinosaurs, but that your role involved killing them with heavy firepower and if you were not successful, they would eat you to death. I explained this is why the game carried an "M" rating, citing the "blood, violence, and gore" right there on the box. Her response?

"Oh... Sigh, well, I'll go ahead and get it. He loves dinosaurs after all."

Here it comes.



That's what always makes me furious when people blame their kids' violent behavior on those evil games and/or sue the companies for marketing such "filth" to children. Uh, hello? Everything you needed to know about the game's content is on the box, thanks to the ESRB. Not to mention it would take 5 seconds to Google the title and find out more in-depth reviews and advisories through the endless wellspring of knowledge known as the internet. But, like everything else, you ignored the information you needed to make an informed decision and acted on blind impulse. Even if the game did drive your child to a life of crime, you, oh parent of the year, put it in their hands. It's not 1987 anymore. Games aren't strictly for kids. Those of us who were initiated to gaming back then have grown up, and gaming matured with us. There are still kid games, but just check the damn label.

[BusyBee]

I wholeheartedly ditto your rant Kara. Well written, no way could I have kept it that short and polite

And also - in my experience - why is it that, if it's an MA15+ or higher movie the response is "You cannot see this Timmy, you're not old enough yet!"... but if it's a video game the response is "Aw but he wants it!"

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Kara, are you actually suggesting parents to READ and MAKE AN EFFORT?

Wow! You're blowing my mind with your innovative concepts of parenting!

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Love the fact that you were able to be there to blow his ranting out of the water. That must have been cathartic.

M

[Skandranon]

I was in a game store browsing when a parent came in complaining that GTA was awful. "It encourages criminal activity!" The sedate employee just blinked. "It has 'theft' in the title, lady, of course it encourages criminal activity. Why'd you buy it? Sheesh."

I just had to get a few games after that. Think I bought Shadow Hearts 2 and Disgaea.

[Buzzy]

I think the GTA games are friggin' stupid. With all the crime and violence like that in real life, the games really aren't helping to stop it/keep in under control. And why would a kid under 10 want to play a game like that anyways? What the hell do they know about drug dealing and whores? Heh... Nothing, until they play the games. Then they'll want to try that in real life, cause it's fun in the game! (AND, there's no real-life consequences in a game, but in real life... good luck with that)

Poo. When I'm a mom someday, I will NOT allow them to play any video games like that. At least, not until they're old enough to know better.

[draggar]

A lot of parents today refuse to take responsibility for their own kids' actions, they blame it wherever they can other than where it belongs.

I love to look at my wife's family with this. Heavily Latin-American influenced. When they're off one bottle, they're on another. At 12, their father GAVE them a gun (usualy a rifle) as their birthday present, BUT, they were not allowed to use it until they learned about it, how to take it apart, how to clean it, proper usage etc, then he would take them to the gun range and teach them how to shoot it. He'd even take my brother in law hunting, once he had a 'perfect shot' at a deer, but he didn't feel it was right, so he didn't pull the trigger. He thought he would be picked on back at the lodge, but they all applauded him.

Now, do you think this family would be a breeding ground for a shooting, misfits, or whatnote? Nope. From day one they were taught responsibility. They were NOT allowed to play "guns" (even with your thumb up and your index finger out). They were taught responsibility and their parents were always open an honest to them.

Nowadays, a lot of parents use the TV or the Nintendo as a babysitter and they sure as hell don't use educational games, or games that teach morals (how fun are those?). They load them up with the GTA etc..

Hell, I was called a Satanist because I played Dungeons and Dragons, but I can't find another game out there that's more educational. It teaches you diplomacy, problem solving, math, history, tact, etc..

[Miss Maple Leaf]

If only you could get these customers to sign a rental form stating that they understand the game(s) in question is/are violent, and that they won't hold your store responsible once they get home and realize that the games aren't all about bunnies farting rainbows in a sunny, flower-filled meadow.

Of course, they'll probably still come back and complain anyway. *sigh*

I'm glad my mother was never like that when I was younger. Sure, she bought my brother and I an M-rated game for our Super Nintendo (Mortal Kombat 3), but she knew what it was about beforehand, and knew we were mature enough to play it without becoming influenced by it.
And even if she hadn't, she wouldn't have held it against the store she bought the game from. She would have realized it was her own fault for not paying attention to what she was buying, and nobody else's.

[Tria]

I just had to get a few games after that. Think I bought Shadow Hearts 2 and Disgaea.

The Shadow Heart games ROCK! *Pets my Shadow Hearts from the New World*

[Bloodsoul]

When I was 11 years old or so I picked up a SEGA 32X for $30 bucks with a free copy of DOOM; prior to that, I also played various Mortal Kombats, Killer Instincts, and other such wholesome games at the arcade.

Now at 23, I have Hello Kitty Cutie World on my desktop. ^_^

[Andara Bledin]

As a gamer, a few words:

First, nothing in the media makes a person snap. The most it can do is give someone who has already gone over the bend some new ideas.

Second, if you know that an adult is renting/purchasing a Mature-rated game for a minor, you might consider just refusing the transaction. I know that here in the US, idiots like Jack Thompson (may he be infested with the fleas of a thousand camels) are trying to make stores liable for the idiocy of parents and their kids, so it would be in everybody's best interest for clerks to err on the side of caution in this particular situation.

Actually, the easiest way to get parents to not buy GTA games is to take them aside and ask them if they know that the characters in the game can pay hookers to get involved with them, then beat them to death with a baseball bat to get the money back. That usually gets mom/granddad to give junior a good talking-to about the game he's asking after.

^-.-^

[Shironu-Akaineko]

First, nothing in the media makes a person snap. The most it can do is give someone who has already gone over the bend some new ideas.

HELTER SKELTER!

First thing that came to mind when I read that sentence!

[kibbles]

I don't think there is anything wrong with a parent buying such a game for their child if they knows what the game is about and know that their child can handle playing that sort of game.

It's the ones who tries to blame the store for selling it when they themselves picked it out.

But parents who buy games like this for their children (and know their children can handle it), I don't think there is anything wrong with it IMO.

[BusyBee]

Love the fact that you were able to be there to blow his ranting out of the water. That must have been cathartic.

It was quite satisfying cutting him short by simply stating what actually happened, yes It's a rare enough occurence, that's for sure lol

Second, if you know that an adult is renting/purchasing a Mature-rated game for a minor, you might consider just refusing the transaction.

As far as I know, I'm not allowed to do this. If a kid wants to rent a movie/game that's rated too high for them, I can say no; if they then get their parents, all I can do is point out what the rating is and try to warn the parent. Sometimes they see the movie/game the kid wants and immediately say no, sometimes they just cave.


As for me, my Mum did a damn good job raising me and my brother. And we've been playing video games since... well, for me probably since about age 10 or 11. We've played all the GTAs, games like Raiden, FPSs, RTS, Lemmings, Need for Speed... We like video games I know my brother has never raised a hand against anyone, and the one time I have it was self defense. We got raised right, and THEN we were allowed to play video games.