Getting Ready for MediaWise Family Gaming Download
Parent Guide (PDF)
If you’re a parent, this year brings good
news for you. Parents have never before had so many effective tools and resources
to help make video games a healthy part of family life. From parental controls
that allow you to limit the kinds of games your kids play to a wealth of online
information explaining game content, you have the power to make healthy video
choices for your family.
But all of the parental control technology
in the world is no substitute for carefully thinking about the role of video games
in your family’s life and establishing a healthy dialogue with your kids.
Whether your child has yet to begin gaming or is already an old pro, it’s
never too late to reclaim the powerful role of parent in your child’s gaming
life.
Start by making sure all the adults in the home are on the same
page. That way, you can ensure that your children are following the same standards
no matter who is in charge at the moment. Together, ask yourself some of the bigger
questions:
- What role do we want game playing to have in our house?
- What
are some of the benefits we would like to see come out of game play?
What
are we most worried about? - Where do we want game playing to happen?
- What
sort of content are we comfortable with?
- Are we comfortable with online
play?
- How much time do we want our children to spend gaming?
With
the answers to these questions you can begin to decide the limits you make for
your kids’ game play. It’s also extremely important to discuss the limits
with your children. Make sure they know what’s allowed and what’s not.
Make sure they understand why you’re setting limits—because not all
video games and video game experiences are meant for kids. Finally, be sure they
understand the consequences they will experience if they don’t follow the
rules of the road.
As your kids grow, their relationship with video
games will too. Technology evolves, new games are released, and new options pop
up nearly every day. Stay informed. Use the ESRB tools and resources. Surf the
Web to find out what other parents are saying. Above all, talk with your kids
about the games they play and the ones they want to play. This guide provides
parents with a quick reference to the information you need to make safe choices
for your family. Following a few simple steps, you can become MediaWise and develop
healthy family togetherness. You’ll know what to do every step of the way—from
entering a retail store to purchasing the right game, bringing it home and finally
enjoying it with your family.
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