Parents doing their job

I think everybody here will agree that parents should assume responsibility for their kids' actions, especially on the subject of video games. After all, if a kid wants to run over a hooker after paying her for oral treats, you don't want your favorite game to be censored or banned - you want the parents to admit they stopped raising their kid at some point.

Yesterday I couldn't help but feel sorry for a kid whose mother actually did step up as a parent. I stopped by Gamestop to find something to keep my mind occupied while I wait for my 360 again. A young man, probably around 14 or 15, approached the counter with a middle-aged woman next to him. He asked for a copy of Bioshock. I've never seen a store clerk actually give a shit about ratings so I assume that the girl behind the counter was the store manager. She asked the middle-aged woman, "are you his mother?" to which the woman replied "yes."

The girl behind the counter then educated the mother on the extreme violence and high levels of photo-realistic gore in Bioshock. I kind of chuckled to myself because I've played the game and while it is violent, it is nowhere near as gory as the girl made it out to be. If I hadn't played the game, her description would really have intrigued me enough to buy it. I'd be curious to hear her description of Manhunt - does she tell parents that every time you rip out somebody's entrails, the screen quickly flashes a video of two men doing the hardcore nastah?

Well, sure enough, 14 or 15 is too young to see photorealistic gore in a video game. The mother puts her wallet away, whispers something to her son, and tells the girl behind the counter, "no, I'm not going to buy it, thank you for letting me know." I continue browsing, while the duo walk out of the store quietly discussing the would-be purchase.

Fast forward 5 minutes. I don't find anything that catches my interest, so I walk out of the store. As I am putting my son's carrier into the car, I notice a silver Camry parked next to me with the same mother-son combo. And the mother is REALLY letting the kid have it. The last time I saw a mother so pissed off, I has just run over my sister in a riding mower.

Credit to the woman for actually preventing violent video games from getting in the hands of somebody who may not be mature enough to handle them. However, am I out of line for thinking that she overreacted? Like I said the kid was probably around 15 years old. He was an unassuming pudgy kid with a collared shirt and glasses - kind of reminded me of the kids I used to hang out with at that age. I admit there is no real point to this blog, I just felt bad for the kid. Any gamer parents out there feel that violent games are that destructive to your kid?