Games, both online and through consoles like the PS3 or Wii, have never held much interest for me. Because I never paid much attention, I don't know much more than what I see in the news about what they are capable of. When I go to conferences about online safety, there are always people talking about how to keep kids safe on the gaming systems. This summer, I have some young family members (8 and 10) coming to visit and they are bringing their Wii. I am looking forward to trying it out (I've heard that Rock Band is a lot of fun!), but I am also now faced with a reality of having to make sure that they are safe while using the gaming system while they visit. In addition to talking to their parents about the do's and don'ts, I want to know what to be aware of.
I first checked this blog. I found that Holly posted some good tips for gaming safety of the Wii. I also found some helpful things at the manufacturer's web site (in my case, Wii). I searched the web site for "parental controls" and familiarized myself with how to use them and know to ask Mom and Dad what their password is so I can use it if needed.
Since they are likely going to also want to use my computer, I am also checking my settings on my own computer and installing parental controls. Enough.org, whom I've mentioned before, has some good resources from which parents can learn for all topics technology and safety related. I am more familiar with these topics, but since I haven't had children in the house for any length of time before, I am brushing up.
A few other resources that can help:
ESRB: This is the group who rates all video games by age group and tell why the ratings were chosen (violence, language, etc.) They can tell you
Internet Safety 101 is a resource for all things internet safety related. Since most gaming systems use the internet as part of the play, I am refreshing my knowledge here as well. You can order the entire program for yourself.
Do you have any more tips for my upcoming visit with kids that I may not have thought of?
Summer Games - Turning Advice Into Practice
Add your comments
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.
