Am I raising a genius or Serial Killer?
OK, I know I may draw some fire on this one. But fuck it.
My 4yr old son just finished "True Crimes streets of LA" for Playstation. Took him two weeks.
Now I know what you are thinking, and no he doesn't sit in front of video games all day long! Just a few hours a week. I'm not using the Playstation to babysit my kids...
And I know it's rated for violent content, and there's shooting people and that sort of stuff, but I only allowed him to play it under the strict guideline that he follow the rules of probable cause and only shoot at an armed criminal posing a deadly threat while a) he has no ability to flee without the assailant endangering the public, and b) engaging in gun battle will not endanger bystanders not posing deadly threat.
He finished the game with a perfect positive "good cop" rating. Although he did get killed in the ending scene...but hey, he's four right?
Am I desensitizing him to violence, or teaching him the valuable skill of being able to make a life or death decision in a split second while developing higher intelligence neuron pathways and decision making skills in this very critical time in his development?
Let's remember that he is four, but I believe he fully understands the rules of engagement. I know he doesn't understand what death really is, but he is around guns a lot, he sees mine and can hold them anytime he wants (provided they are properly cleared and he is supervised) and he does respect the danger they pose, and knows about safe handling, checking for cleared chambering and the old "one in the chamber" mistake most people make when unloading. Both him and my eight year old daughter are drilled on safety rules everytime they ask to see them (which is not that often since they are not a novelty around the household).
Valuable life lessons, or too much reality for a four year old?
Thoughts?
My 4yr old son just finished "True Crimes streets of LA" for Playstation. Took him two weeks.
Now I know what you are thinking, and no he doesn't sit in front of video games all day long! Just a few hours a week. I'm not using the Playstation to babysit my kids...
And I know it's rated for violent content, and there's shooting people and that sort of stuff, but I only allowed him to play it under the strict guideline that he follow the rules of probable cause and only shoot at an armed criminal posing a deadly threat while a) he has no ability to flee without the assailant endangering the public, and b) engaging in gun battle will not endanger bystanders not posing deadly threat.
He finished the game with a perfect positive "good cop" rating. Although he did get killed in the ending scene...but hey, he's four right?
Am I desensitizing him to violence, or teaching him the valuable skill of being able to make a life or death decision in a split second while developing higher intelligence neuron pathways and decision making skills in this very critical time in his development?
Let's remember that he is four, but I believe he fully understands the rules of engagement. I know he doesn't understand what death really is, but he is around guns a lot, he sees mine and can hold them anytime he wants (provided they are properly cleared and he is supervised) and he does respect the danger they pose, and knows about safe handling, checking for cleared chambering and the old "one in the chamber" mistake most people make when unloading. Both him and my eight year old daughter are drilled on safety rules everytime they ask to see them (which is not that often since they are not a novelty around the household).
Valuable life lessons, or too much reality for a four year old?
Thoughts?
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