27% of UK Parents Would Let Their Underage Child Play Grand Theft Auto V

More than one-in-four UK parents would let their underage children play the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto V, despite warnings and certification advising against. That’s according to a new survey, in which more than five hundreds parents participated with worrying conclusions drawn.

[ape007]

hmmm i was 9-10 when i played turok, turok 2, duke nukem, doom 64 and even younger when i played Mortal kombat on snes , everything was ok and more, honestly, part of learning to be good is from seeing the bad, recognize it, understand its bad influence and avoiding it

so bad stuff have implicit benefits for us

[xHeavYx]

I remember playing Mortal Kombat trilogy with my mom, I didn't end up spearing people or removing their heads with the spine

[Anthotis]

I bought GTA 3 when i was 16. I've yet to get involved with the mafia, steal cars or kick old ladies to death.

[roadkillers]

All those game are easy to explain to people. Grand Theft Auto isn't. Killing monsters is overlooked when there are people being killed. To me people don't understand a game like GTA, it's not about killing people. It is about doing what you want to do...

Want to do some mad tricks in the streets, do it in GTA without any worries. Want to have a "Bad Boys" cop chase, do it in GTA without putting anyone at risk. GTA is rare fun that is still left in the games industry.

[ZBlacktt]

Wow, 27% is very low. Maybe those parents should look at what their kids already have. As many games long been out all have mature content in some form. So chances are they are more then aware already.

[n4rc]

I'd let my kids play it... Because I would make sure I'm not raising a moron that thinks a video game is real life..

Watch the news.. Its more disturbing that running over an animated hooker..

[slazer101]

I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with you, but well said.

[Hellsvacancy]

I let my 5 year daughter play Red Dead Redemption, she loves it, she doesn't shoot anyone, she just rides around on a horse, I've even caught her playing Mafia 2 recently, again she just drives around, she even tries really hard to avoid running people over

If I ever saw her gunning people down i'd put a stop to it, she mostly plays indie games like Journey, Fat Princess and Thomas Was Alone, my child is rather grown up for her age, and shes really excited MineCraft is coming to Playstation

[manchesterman22]

the kids in the uk arent brought up as kill happy and violent as american kids though, and we cant easily access guns

[slazer101]

Way to stereo type. I'm an American and I teach my kids the exact opposite of your stupid comment. Also American kids do not have easy access to guns.

O.T. I see nothing wrong letting kids play GTA. What it boils down to is the parents being vigilant in teaching what is right and wrong and being proactive in what there kids are doing. Teaching them that what happens in a video game is not real and that's not how you act in the real world. JMHO.

[PlayStation_4]

Only 27%? It's probably far higher than that.

[laijka]

The headline is missing some words "27% of UK Parents Would Let Their Underage Child Play Grand Theft Auto V.. and blame R* for it."

[sprinterboy]

Agree it's way higher than 27%, remember 3 mums letting me sit in there car because it was raining on gta4 release day waiting for the game store to open lol. All of them were there cause there kids were at school, kids must have demanded there mums get it day 1

[mfletch512]

AKA, 27% of UK parents aren't afraid to admit that video games do not cause murders openly. im sure that many more than that turn a blind eye to what their kids play. i have played violent games my whole life(mortal kombat, halo, COD, turok, doom, marathon, system shock, duke nukem...)

[doomtrain]

ok so , we are living in an age were it has become possible for books , movies , music and videogames to influence mentally unstable people into doing things that are wrong

young people are far more easily influenced than your average adult , and young people with mental problems are going to have a much harder time understanding these internal issues than your average adult .

i feel that as a gamer of more than 20years and also as a father of 2 kids its my responsibility to ensure my kids are not playing mature games until they themselves are mature enough to play them . this is different for every parent and every child so its kinda a hard thing to enforce on a global level .

i think personal preference is key , but at least be responsible about it .

i wonder , out of how many parents who said they would allow it , how many are gamers ???

[DARK WITNESS]

I do think there is a level of desecration involved. Kid's these days are a lot smarter then they use to be and most are smart enough to know it's a game.

At the same time a parent should know how impressionable their child is and if they expose them to adult content and the kid goes apeship, well they have to look in the mirror and hold themselves accountable.

If you know your kid can't handle it, don't let them have it.

Having said all that though, I also know that some kids no matter how hard you try and stop them, they will find a way to play/watch etc adult stuff. All you can do is try and teach them as best you can and hope they don't f-up.

I think what gets me these days is the number of parents that will defend their child and make out that they are an angle even when they have done something seriously wrong. some people seem afraid to tell their kids off or let anyone else do it for them.

I don't think my dad would have let me play GTA, but I was the type of kid that would always find a way to play it anyway, so he taught me important values about what is real and what is not. about valuing human life etc and not shooting people just because you seen it on TV or in a game

[Scatpants]

I think you mean discretion. Desecration is when you take a shit on someones grave or something.

[Scatpants]

I would let a ten year old play it.

[jjb1981]

Minecraft ps4 edition for my kids , Legos would probably be better though

[gamernova]

It builds good character :P

[310dodo]

well to be honest thats just life.
I do not think GTA is good for children.

but I have always let my little brothers play when they would sit and watch. I allow them to play all the M games I buy.
They are 15 and 13 and do well in school.

every child is different.

[Luke_fon_Fabre]

As long as the kid is fine with playing it, they should be able to.

[Red_Devilz]

Parenting FAIL. Would they also let their underage children watch p0rn?