During a recent episode of At Home With The Robertsons, Willie and Korie discussed the effects violent video games can have on children.
The couple interviewed former wrestler Thea Trinidad who now works as a professional gamer to see if she thinks gaming is changing how our children think and behave.
“I’ve never really been a big fan of video games,” Korie explained. “The other thing I struggle with is the violence in video games. I just feel like you’re literally training to kill somebody.”
Willie added taht the games their kids were allowed to play were also age-appropriate.
“They were playing something that was rated higher than their age, like Grand Theft Auto…that was a ban,” he said.
Korie pointed out that over the years, she noticed that the violence in games was escalating.
“As our kids were growing up, my main concern was the violence in video games because I saw it progressively get worse and worse and more realistic,” Korie said. “I just don’t know how that’s going to affect our young people.”
“We definitely moderated our kid’s playtime. All the gaming had to take place in a common area,” she added. “I think it’s important as parents that we pay attention to what our kids are watching and playing.”
But Trinidad pointed out that if parents monitor the violence their children see in video games, then it should include everything their kids view.
“You’ve got to question movies too and then you’re going to question really anything,” she noted. “I think everything in moderation. It’s important that kids know this is the video game world and this is what you can do here and this is what’s different from reality.”
She stressed that some of the latest video games are gruesome and disturbing.
“The newest Mortal Kombat, the fatalities…I think that’s the first time I’ve seen brains,” Trindad said.
Willie and Korie discussed the realization of video games and how some players could relate the game to real life.
“In a video game, you’re actually doing it…your fingers are pulling the trigger and literally gonna blow someone’s brains out,” Willie said.
Korie noted that the ratings on video games are an element that parents shouldn’t overlook.
“I think that we all need boundaries in life, particularly as we’re younger and we have less self-control,” Korie explained. “I think ratings are an important tool for parents and their kids.”
Trinidad disagreed with banning any one specific video game but recognized the valuable need for ratings on games.
Overall, everyone agreed that it’s vital for parents to talk to their children about the games they’re allowed to play and for them to monitor the time they spend playing.
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