We have always approved of video games for the kids as long as they are played in moderation and are age appropriate. We have found that it promotes good reading and comprehension skills as well as focusing on the tasks at hand and carrying them out correctly. This means PAYING ATTENTION.
She brought her Xbox and a video game to play that had belonged to her older brother. The storyline of this game was great and soon I found myself immersed in the plot....as she played the game. A few times I noticed that "hell" was used....like "get the hell out of here" but I let that slide. They hear worse on regular prime time TV now. You could chose male or female as the main character and we, of course, chose female. We were really getting a kick out of the fantastic feats our heroine was able to do.
I was beginning to feel a bit sleepy last night as she continued to play. As we were in my bedroom, playing in the TV in there, I was all comfy in bed watching her. I was just beginning to nod off when she asked me a question that caused my eyes to pop open....."grandma, what's a c0nd0m?" Ahem....cough, cough....sorry, honey, what did you say? She repeated it and it was what I thought she said the first time. Oh brother!!!
Why do you ask I inquired sweetly. She said....lookit....see here....it's for sale at the store in the game...it's the only thing I have enough gold to buy......as she clicks on it and purchases it. Then she asked me again.
Now let me say right here that we have never been a family who have raised kids with fairy stories when it comes to the facts of life. None of this 'under the leaves in the cabbage patch' garbage. We figure if a kid is old enough to ASK the question, they deserve an answer.....an accurate answer. We never go further though....just answer exactly what they ask and nothing more until they ask for more....which may be years away. You never know. So I felt compelled to tell her the truth yet I really didn't want to. This was supposed to be her mother's job. RATS!!
Family tradition won out and I told her briefly what they were for. In the next frame of the video game THEY told almost word for word my own explanation. If she would have waited a few seconds, the GAME would have told her and she wouldn't have had to ask me. We are being replaced by video games!
But what I can't believe is that video game has a store in it .....era 1600 or thereabouts.....that sells c0nd0ms. Another 20 minutes or so into the game and one of the characters talks, in passing conversation, about wanting to find some c0ncubines for sale. OMG.....thankfully granddaughter was talking and missed it. This is a game that is supposedly suitable for PG13. I'm not quite sure if I should be miffed that a game has such adult tones to it or should I be thankful that the creators are promoting safe sex. Hmmmmm did they even HAVE such things in the 1600's?
Anyway we had a nice time together and grandma learned a thing or two. sigh.
2 comments:
I haven't liked any of the video games my grandson has played, except for maybe the first one, which was based on taking good care of the oceans. He was six when he enjoyed that game, but now he is ten and in another video-game world entirely.
I'm glad she got her answer from you, but what an odd thing to have in a game store. That would seem to indicate that the game is about to step up the "maturity level" of the situations it presents.
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