DoesntCompute
December 6th, 2006, 02:55 PM
Ok I am looking for advice. My 10 year old wants to get WoW. My wife and I monitor pretty closely what our kids play and watch. I have investigated the game and it doesn't seem any more graphic/inappropriate than other games we have allowed him to play. I have played several MMORGs and know what they are about. I have three main concerns:
1) I am not terribly comfortable with him entering the online chat realm at age 10. He is an incredibly responsible 10 year old but he is 10 and as our own community can attest to, there are creeps out there who can manipulate a 10 year old. I could play with him and he has agreed to only play when I do (if I agree) but this feeds into my 2nd and 3rd concerns.
2) It seems WoW is as addictive as other MMORGs. I can personally attest to the addictive nature of these games because I have experienced it myself. I quit playing EQ because it was interferring with my life. After several years, I thought I would try again and played Star Wars and Eve. I quit both as I began to recognise the signs of spending to much time with them. I don't know that I want to expose him to the addiction and I don't know if I want to risk becoming overly involved myself.
3) The cost. $40+ for the game and $15 a month for him to play. That cost would double if I play with him. He has stated that he is willing to pay his monthly bill out of his allowance ($20/month).
I would really appreciate your advice in this. He really wants this and I want to accomidate him if possible but I am not sure it is a great idea.
If you believe parents should allow their young children to do whatever they want then please don't bother to post. I am not looking to turn this into a debate on whether parents should sensor what their children see.
1) I am not terribly comfortable with him entering the online chat realm at age 10. He is an incredibly responsible 10 year old but he is 10 and as our own community can attest to, there are creeps out there who can manipulate a 10 year old. I could play with him and he has agreed to only play when I do (if I agree) but this feeds into my 2nd and 3rd concerns.
2) It seems WoW is as addictive as other MMORGs. I can personally attest to the addictive nature of these games because I have experienced it myself. I quit playing EQ because it was interferring with my life. After several years, I thought I would try again and played Star Wars and Eve. I quit both as I began to recognise the signs of spending to much time with them. I don't know that I want to expose him to the addiction and I don't know if I want to risk becoming overly involved myself.
3) The cost. $40+ for the game and $15 a month for him to play. That cost would double if I play with him. He has stated that he is willing to pay his monthly bill out of his allowance ($20/month).
I would really appreciate your advice in this. He really wants this and I want to accomidate him if possible but I am not sure it is a great idea.
If you believe parents should allow their young children to do whatever they want then please don't bother to post. I am not looking to turn this into a debate on whether parents should sensor what their children see.