A disturbing one from GameStore

[Cassandra]

I had a little boy of about 8 come in with his parents a few weeks ago to trade in some of their GameCube and Wii stuff to put towards an XBox360. I start the trade and the dad wanted to know the value of every, single, item (we're talking over 50 games). I oblige, because, well, we were dead and I was in a good mood.

As I am processing said trade, the boy was browsing the 360 games. Now, anyone who is even a part time gamer knows that this system is geared more towards the 20-30 something men and not children. There are a lot of mature rated games with blood, gore, violence, and sex. The kid picks up GTA San Andreas, oh yeah, I get to ruin this kids night! Mom hands me the box after I finalize the trade and tell them the total store credit. I read off the back of the box for the rating and explain the whole prostitute and cop killing aspect. Mom says a firm no and puts box back. Ok this is going well so far.

Kid picks up Left 4 Dead. I tell mom its a shooter with zombies, language, and lots of blood. Mom says no. Kid is now getting upset. He grabs Call of Duty World at War. Oh, yeah this is getting better. /sarcasm

I inform mom that the first scene involves throats being slit. Now mom is arguing with this 8 year old about what games he can actually get. This boy stands in the middle of the store and screams at the top of his lungs "I am 8 and I love to kill people! I love to shoot people in the heads! I want a game I can kill people in!"

So the three other people in the store look at this child with horror on their faces and it took all I had to not go in front of his parents. I explain to the parents that this system does not have much for his age group and that they may want to hold on their Wii and GameCube a little longer.

Dad, who was very quiet throughout the transaction asked for the total again. I give him the amount that his stuff is worth and he said, "Nevermind, I'll put it on ebay"

So this family has wasted a half hour of my life now. I was not too upset because it meant that I didn't have to sticker, gut, and put away all those games. What I was concerned with was the way that 8 year old reacted. I almost told the parents that they may want to sell all the games and systems they had to pay for the therapy this child needs.

I stood there for about two minutes after they left with my mouth hanging open and glancing from the door to my co-worker, who had the same wtf expression.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Not sure how long you've worked there, but these kinds of disputes usually come in three forms:

1) The kid will misinform the parent about the game. I once overheard a boy in my store describing GTA as "A racing game" I jumped in and explained the true nature of the game and junior got a dirty look from his mom.

2) The kid won't inform the parent of the game at all, leaving us to do what you did as described above.

And finally...what is sadly the most common occurence:

3) Parents don't really give a shit what their kids are playing. I can't tell you the number of times I have a kid of 10 or younger hand me an M rated game, I read the descriptors on the back "Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Partial Nudity" and ask the parent if they really want junior to have the game. Most of the time they just say "yeah, whatever" I get this multiple times a week.

Another variation on it that REALLY pisses me off is when I ask if the game is ok, a woman will repsond something like "well I don't like them, but his daddy lets him play them all the time."

WTF?

So instead of you know, putting your foot down, being an active parent and telling daddy that you don't want your kid(s) around that kind of stuff, you just go along with it? When did parents become so apathetic?

[reimero]

You also did the parents the service of making them aware of the sorts of games out there. There's a chance that they'll start paying much closer attention to what that little boy plays and to what he's exposed, and if that's the case, overall, it's a much greater win for you in the long run.

[mikoyan29]

You would think a title like "Grand Theft Auto" would be enough of a clue by four for a parent. I played the last one (IV?) and I loved it but I would not recommend the game for anyone under the age of 18. I started to play the Call of Duty one but couldn't really get into it (I loved Call of Duty IV though....I wouldn't recommend that one either).

Anyways, I keep hearing about the WII and am tempted to get one......

[elsporko]

Don't be too disturbed by the 8 year old's statement. I think its fairly normal. When I was that age I pretended I was either an army man or knight pretty much every single day.

[QASlave]

3) Parents don't really give a shit what their kids are playing.

As I've always said, there are too many people out there with kids, and too few parents.

[Stormraven]

Dad, who was very quiet throughout the transaction asked for the total again. I give him the amount that his stuff is worth and he said, "Nevermind, I'll put it on ebay"

I almost told the parents that they may want to sell all the games and systems they had to pay for the therapy this child needs.

Not sure about therapy, but from the bolded words of the dad, I think he is going to be selling them.

[Gruesome]

I'm in the middle of this myself right now. My son is about to turn 6 and he has pretty much mastered Portal (I friggin LOVE that game for it's non-violent apsect - I can let my kid go to town on it!) I play the less-gory shooters and RPG's like Oblivion, and it can be hard deciding what he should and should not see.

And then there is context. What 6 year old kid hasn't seen Star Wars, right? Well, take a critical look at SW and you see many deaths by gun, right from the start. Is that OK? SHOULD it be OK? Should I let my kid play some of the SW games where you get to shoot Storm Troopers? Fortunately he isn't too gung-ho into the shooters, but sometimes he watches me play and then I am able to guide him through what he sees, and make sure it doesn't get out of hand. But sometimes I wonder if I am watching it closely enough...

Kids have been play-killing since Christ was a corporal so it's not like it's a new problem. Or even a problem. Parents just need to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't turn the corner from play into something more serious. And the kid in that post needs some racing and puzzle games.

[cinema guy]

I remember 'A Tale of Two Cities' being on TV. My grandparnets were concerned that my little brother (who was about 8) should not see the guillotine. When they showed it and it was all very mild, he announced he was disappointed 'becuase they didn't show the heads being cut off'.

He turned out quite normal.

[lordlundar]

2) The kid won't inform the parent of the game at all, leaving us to do what you did as described above.

I had a variant on this. Little kid decided to grab a copy of GTA:SA and ask me what the price was. I ask him how old he is and he says 10. I tell him I won't sell him the game without his parent's permission. He says "okay, I'll go get my mom" and walks off.

Mom and kid come back, mom holding an E rated game and asked me how much it was. I check the price and tell her. She thanks me and asked her kid why she needed to be there.

Oops! I do so love squashing this moment.

I pop up and tell her that the game she brought up wasn't the one he had earlier, but it was an M-rated game and those we need parents permission. She scowls at her kis and says "O really?". She then apologized to me and went away, kid in tow.

A few minutes later I hear the kid bawling his eyes out because he wasn't allowed to buy a game. Then I hear the mom say that's what he gets for trying to trick her, and out they went kid crying the entire time.

[elsporko]

I'm in the middle of this myself right now. My son is about to turn 6 and he has pretty much mastered Portal (I friggin LOVE that game for it's non-violent apsect - I can let my kid go to town on it!) I play the less-gory shooters and RPG's like Oblivion, and it can be hard deciding what he should and should not see.

And then there is context. What 6 year old kid hasn't seen Star Wars, right? Well, take a critical look at SW and you see many deaths by gun, right from the start. Is that OK? SHOULD it be OK? Should I let my kid play some of the SW games where you get to shoot Storm Troopers? Fortunately he isn't too gung-ho into the shooters, but sometimes he watches me play and then I am able to guide him through what he sees, and make sure it doesn't get out of hand. But sometimes I wonder if I am watching it closely enough...

Kids have been play-killing since Christ was a corporal so it's not like it's a new problem. Or even a problem. Parents just need to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't turn the corner from play into something more serious. And the kid in that post needs some racing and puzzle games.

You are right on the money. There aren't any fast and ready rules for what a kid can or cannot play or watch at one age simply because differant people can handle differant things at differant ages. I remember my little brother playing Diablo when he was 6 and the Grand Theft Autos of the time and he turned out fine because he understood the violence wasn't real.

[Calvin St.Hobbes]

I guess I'm just a evil man then...I laughed out loud at the kids statment and actually give my grandkids games that some folks might consider disturbing. GTA is not off the list either...
Of course,I'd never go against the direct wishes of the parents as expressed to me. And I like to do stuff with them like watching the "Farting Preacher" series on youtube with them right before they leave for church.
Example for y'all who have not seen this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc8cQ...eature=related

Of course I give them other toys to...and this gets me in trouble along with them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex5oyws1IZ8

[Teskeria]

It really depends on the player's grasp of reality. Sadly, some under 10's have a stronger understanding of what is just a game and what is real than a lot of adults do. Which is where that extremely rare bird, bonus parentis (good parent), comes in. A bonus parentis actually knows their kid and whether their kid understands that it's okay to kill people in a game, but in real life, guns, knives, ect are NOT toys and you don't kill people IRL.

[EricKei]

It's been so long...but I recall kids bringing up games and telling their parents that M stood for "Most Audiences" or something absurd like that. Nipped that one in the bud reeeeally quick.

[tropicsgoddess]

At least the mom had sense in not letting the kid have those mature rated games. Methinks junior could use some serious sessions of therapy and the money dad gets from selling his games could help pay for it. That kid made me think of the Mike Teavee character from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. Particularly the scene where he shouts "DIE,DIE DIE!!!" while he's playing his video game during his interview.