The Ratings In the Gaming World
The truth is you can never be fully certain of what’s showing up on the television. To rephrase, you should never leave your child alone with the internet or a TV. This is the type of advice you would get from someone who distrusts the media and believes the best way to avoid unwanted content is to just strip it away completely. Although this might solve a problem or two, there are far easier ways for you to keep control over what goes into your precious children’s heads but not destroy a form of entertainment and joy they love. An example of this is a self-run body named the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) that assigns ratings for games, separate to those you might see for a film. ESRB chooses one of six different ratings for the game, giving the parents an opportunity to make informed choices on which games are appropriate and which aren’t. Plawasu encourages that parents do manage what games are best for each child as an individual but also build a healthy trust in the child’s ability to assess a game’s content and decide whether it is right for them. A helpful link for parents to check out is a search engine for all games rated by ESRB at: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp It will give you all helpful information including console platforms, rating, content descriptors & company that produced the game.
Also, here is a link to see the guidelines for the ESRB ratings and recommendations for age groups engaging with these themes: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp
We encourage every parent to keep an active role in your child’s gaming life and for you to help them get the best out of the things they love.
Happy gaming.
Adam Elmes
Also, here is a link to see the guidelines for the ESRB ratings and recommendations for age groups engaging with these themes: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp
We encourage every parent to keep an active role in your child’s gaming life and for you to help them get the best out of the things they love.
Happy gaming.
Adam Elmes