Sunday 17 June 2012

Halo building sets for 8 years olds ... you're kidding me!

Am I the only person that thinks it is profoundly inapporpriate that Mega Bloks makes Halo building sets for children aged 8 and up?

Yes, that's right ... Halo, the violent war game that is for adults.

For 8-year-olds.

Honestly, I'm appalled.

Now computer games don't really float my boat (although I did get quite caught up in Farmville for a while) and I don't generally like violent things so I'm not Halo's target market.

But I do believe in freedom of speech and choice so if you are an adult and want to play war games on your computer, knock yourself out.

But that shouldn't apply to kids.

Commonsensemedia reviews the Halo 2 computer game thus;
"Parents need to know that this game is not for kids -- hence the PAUSE rating and recommended age of 16 years and older. It's a moderately challenging first-person shooter game with lots of blood, gore, and scariness. You will use guns, swords, grenades, and other weapons to inflict death. Some torture is shown and you can also hijack cars. Online play will likely expose players to foul language."

Oh good, I'll get my 8-year-old nephew the Halo building set then.

I know that as parents we are all our children's gatekeepers and need to set appropriate boundaries but, frankly, I am stunned that this product exists.

I know that the Mega Bloks sets are just about building the models and playing with little model people, and perhaps it isn't so different from playing with those tiny army men that boys love.

But do we really want our 8-year-olds to play with a toy that is based on such a violent game?

It's that link to the game which bothers me so much ... if they love the model tank they have built how long is it until they want to play the game, or they go to online and watch clips of the game.

It just seems like we might be opening a pretty scary gate and once opened it's pretty hard to shut it again.

What boundaries do you draw for your kids? and do you think Halo building sets for kids as young as 8 are appropriate?

2 comments:

  1. :-P
    happy to take the kids to the pub though, eh?? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true Patty : )
      Tp be honest, on a rainy day, I'd take them anywhere they could run around!!!

      Delete

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