Question about a 7 year old?

[sun]

Yesterday I watched a 7 year old get off on a game...It was a fighting game, and I don't know what it was..I just watched him for an hour or so..
...His eyes light up, and he seemed to be getting high on kicking and hurting, and getting rid of the "bad guys" He seemed to be hypnotized by it...


Do you, who know these things, is this dangerous behavior?.Is it something I should worry about..He is the son of a friend...He can play for hours at a time. or stop after a a while...But when he is on..HE IS ON!!!! thank you for any responces...Stuart

[Harlan_Phoenix]

Let's see....

He's seven? I doubt it's anything really, average behavior I think. I doubt it means he's becoming more violent...if that's what you're thinking.

Although he did seem rather exciteable...describe his "getting on" in more detail...just curious.

[The Falcon]

sometimes people who play video games just get into the spirit of it too much. i wouldn't be worried by it. the kid's just having a good time playing games

[Noukon]

Contrary to popular belief, video games don't illicit violent behavior, they just provide an outlet for it. If you have a concern about the child's aggressiveness, getting a therapist or counselor involved is a good idea.

[TrogdorNyimbhat]

Contrary to popular belief, video games don't illicit violent behavior, they just provide an outlet for it. If you have a concern about the child's aggressiveness, getting a therapist or counselor involved is a good idea. It's not his kid. I wouldn't want 7 year olds to play fighting videogames, I would worry as well. Oldtoonguy should talk to the child's parents about his opinion that violent videogames are bad influence for a child his age.

[K-dog]

you should see my little 5 year old cousin play Halo. its so funny.


"Die Funker"

"you dead now you stupid"


its so cute:sweat: < did i say cute?


yeah, people get into the groove when playing. anybody does it. sometimes i cant hear my mom calling me when shes behind me. i remember i was playing a game and my cousin shot me six times with a BB rifle gun when i was playing. i stopped playing and he shot me once more and it hurt.

[James]

I don't think there is anything wrong in 7 year olds playing violent video games as long as it's not excessive. The excessive issue isn't because I think it will "warrrp their miind" or the like, simply I think it's good to interact with your kids, take them out, socialise. I feel everything has to have a balance and if as a parent you plonk your kid infront of an interactive TV you are responsible for his social inadequecies later on. Not because he's been changed by the games, but simply he hasn't had much social contact.

That is where I feel video games CAN be dangerous; when they are used - as TV is too - to keep the kid occupied artificially for an easy life.

Kids need stimuli and that's why they respond to games because they offer direct stimuli. These can bring out signs of aggression when they play - kids aren't great at masking emotion, in fact to some degrees they aren't able to yet. That aggressive competative edge will be visible. You'll also get to see it when the kid is in the playground fighting, or playing sports or doing bad things to dead animals in fields..

It's nothing new, and it's nothing scary. Adults see what kids don't and interpret their reaction and motivations on the basis of an adults eyes and not a childs.

As long as the parent is their to watch over and make sure the kid is being brought up with not just social ettiquette, but a plethora of different experience, video games are fine. Just don't let the games do the parenting. Won't do anything bad to the child, but it may simply make the child a little more reluctant to go and try more difficult avenues of life including social stimulation.

"Spend more time parenting the kid, and less pointing the finger" is my motto to the mothers and dads out there. If parents spent more time owning up to their responsibility rather than ignorantly misplacing it, then I think our kids would grow up a damn sight better.

[Master Moron]

you should see my little 5 year old cousin play Halo. its so funny.


"Die Funker"

"you dead now you stupid"


its so cute:sweat: < did i say cute?


yeah, people get into the groove when playing. anybody does it. sometimes i cant hear my mom calling me when shes behind me. i remember i was playing a game and my cousin shot me six times with a BB rifle gun when i was playing. i stopped playing and he shot me once more and it hurt.

Those things are still legal? You can kill someone if you shoot them the right way. If someone actually shot me with a bb gun I would beat the crap out of them and break it. You're not supposed to shoot people with those things.

[K-dog]

Those things are still legal? You can kill someone if you shoot them the right way. If someone actually shot me with a bb gun I would beat the crap out of them and break it. You're not supposed to shoot people with those things.
suprisingly they are. now i know i have a power. imortallaty while playing video games.

lmao, a couple weeks later after that incedent i shot him with a airsoft gun at his lower lip. from four feet away.

Edit by Bird Boy: Watch the language.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Yesterday I watched a 7 year old get off on a game...It was a fighting game, and I don't know what it was..I just watched him for an hour or so..
...His eyes light up, and he seemed to be getting high on kicking and hurting, and getting rid of the "bad guys" He seemed to be hypnotized by it...


Do you, who know these things, is this dangerous behavior?.Is it something I should worry about..He is the son of a friend...He can play for hours at a time. or stop after a a while...But when he is on..HE IS ON!!!! thank you for any responces...Stuart
This is a pretty eternal question, but to be perfectly honest, this has more to do with the child's personality than the game. I started playing Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat when I was aged 13-14, and it was my obsession for several years. However, in regards to social issues, I was and still am a proponent of non-violent solutions to any problem (especially in regards to crime and international politics), so I was able to separate the video game world and real world fairly well.

Why did I enjoy these games? Tough to say, I do believe there is a cathartic experience to them, even though I wouldn't recommend them in real life.

Ultimately, it's up to the kid and his ability to separate the two worlds. I think, there are some people who have an innately more aggressive personality than others, so some are more willing to act out their fantasy worlds than more passive people. In short, I guess I'm saying that whether it's video games or TV, an aggressive personality will eventually manifest itself regardless of what type of violent media they are exposed to. The key is to try to curtail these personalities early on and help them learn to control themselves at an earlier age. But I believe the media only plays a very small part in bringing out these traits.

[Artimus Gigan]

Nah he's fine, I did the same thing when i was 3 or 4...

By the time I was 7 I did not need verbal or facial expressions to express my awsome skills of buttkickery...I do everything stone faced now...


also I havn't commited any crimes, In elementry school my grades were A's and B's, I made honor roll from 6th to the end of 12th grade every single marking period, I got into a respected University after I graduated Highschool, and I made the Dean's List after attempting 35 credits during my first year of collage, I think my GPA is around a 3.4 or a 3.5...

so yeah, nothing out of the norm

[M.A.S.]

Yesterday I watched a 7 year old get off on a game...It was a fighting game, and I don't know what it was..I just watched him for an hour or so..
...His eyes light up, and he seemed to be getting high on kicking and hurting, and getting rid of the "bad guys" He seemed to be hypnotized by it...


Do you, who know these things, is this dangerous behavior?.Is it something I should worry about..He is the son of a friend...He can play for hours at a time. or stop after a a while...But when he is on..HE IS ON!!!! thank you for any responces...Stuart
You´re talking about smash bros right?:confused:

[sun]

Let's see....

He's seven? I doubt it's anything really, average behavior I think. I doubt it means he's becoming more violent...if that's what you're thinking.

Although he did seem rather exciteable...describe his "getting on" in more detail...just curious. Thank you for asking Gerbil, it is a good question.
His eyes light up, he starts to get into the game, the joy of seeing his player get huge mucscles,he presses some buttons and becomes huge, and powerful, he joins hands with some outside person and they become "supercharched as one" or something like that... (I don't know this system at all) There us joy in his eyes of defeting the huge opponent. The is power and joy as his muscles get "supercharged"

Also the repetitive sentence, "Let's kick some butt here," He seems to feel so good when he "kicks but".. His behavior while the fight is on, worries me.

My own involvement in games, was somewhat different, yes I played them...But they were more like puzzels, how do I get to the next level, or around an opponent. Once in the eightys, I wrote to the company, asking how many levels..It was like a challange to go on ==Frogger..I posted on this before..I saw that I was spending too much time, and in 85 threw the system out.

In 93, I got Nintendo 64, and played "Star Wars" and Super Mario ...again it seemed to be a puzzel, as to what the trick was, to get to the next level..But there was only a great relief when I accomplished a goal, and, the question as to what was next? and I went on. ( at that time I was in my 40s)

Now this kid is 7, and loves to "kick butt" and see the power come into his player, so he can get huge muscles, and kill the opponent...I dont' remember ever feeling like that....
...Once maybe after beating the last opponent in Super Mario,(some dragon swinging back and forth in a huge bowl shappped thing dropping bombs at me) and saving the princes did I feel great accomplishment and a great sence of victory..(Also, after l5 levels of Star Wars, and blowing up the death star..it actually took months, yes I felt great)

You are right, I am scared the kid really gets into these fantasy violent encounters..(Outside the game room,...he is not like that, at 7 , he is:quiet, a mothers boy, not that aggressive yet.(Yes his mother gives him almost everything he wants)
..And , he gets all the games he wants,( he has a huge collection,) two systems, and a hand held thing that he will play a lot..last time we were in a group, he played this thing while the rest of us eating dinner and he was seated at the dinner table playing this game) and only lately has he been limited--as to how much time he stays on the games...

I spent huge amount of time on the games, in the mid 90s because I was recovering from serious medical problems..before returning to my job..

I do not know much more. I have only observed him playing twice..He was behind in school, but now after some toutoring, (he had some medical problems too) he is reading at or above grade level...I think I have told too mcuh..but I don't want him to get addicted to that kind of violent behavior later,(I think he is already addicted to the games now) because I believe in real life, it is dangerous...(You work out, and can get huge muscles.., he is preety much unathletic now) He is somewhat bossy...
..Thank you for asking, I hope I have given more info, so you can see the pciture clearer..Oh he has few friends his own age, seems to be a loner, but that should improve as school begins..I really don't know.what his social growth will be..7 is pretty young, but I know that is a very important time in a kids life....thank you for any further answers.....Stuart

[Matt-a-Tastic]

Oh My God The Game Is Warpng Hes Brain He We Be An Axe Weilding Murderer In No Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

[Artimus Gigan]

Thank you for asking Gerbil, it is a good question.
His eyes light up, he starts to get into the game, the joy of seeing his player get huge mucscles,he presses some buttons and becomes huge, and powerful, he joins hands with some outside person and they become "supercharched as one" or something like that... (I don't know this system at all) There us joy in his eyes of defeting the huge opponent. The is power and joy as his muscles get "supercharged"

Also the repetitive sentence, "Let's kick some butt here," He seems to feel so good when he "kicks but".. His behavior while the fight is on, worries me.

My own involvement in games, was somewhat different, yes I played them...But they were more like puzzels, how do I get to the next level, or around an opponent. Once in the eightys, I wrote to the company, asking how many levels..It was like a challange to go on ==Frogger..I posted on this before..I saw that I was spending too much time, and in 85 threw the system out.

In 93, I got Nintendo 64, and played "Star Wars" and Super Mario ...again it seemed to be a puzzel, as to what the trick was, to get to the next level..But there was only a great relief when I accomplished a goal, and, the question as to what was next? and I went on. ( at that time I was in my 40s)

Now this kid is 7, and loves to "kick butt" and see the power come into his player, so he can get huge muscles, and kill the opponent...I dont' remember ever feeling like that....
...Once maybe after beating the last opponent in Super Mario,(some dragon swinging back and forth in a huge bowl shappped thing dropping bombs at me) and saving the princes did I feel great accomplishment and a great sence of victory..(Also, after l5 levels of Star Wars, and blowing up the death star..it actually took months, yes I felt great)

You are right, I am scared the kid really gets into these fantasy violent encounters..(Outside the game room,...he is not like that, at 7 , he is:quiet, a mothers boy, not that aggressive yet.(Yes his mother gives him almost everything he wants)
..And , he gets all the games he wants,( he has a huge collection,) two systems, and a hand held thing that he will play a lot..last time we were in a group, he played this thing while the rest of us eating dinner and he was seated at the dinner table playing this game) and only lately has he been limited--as to how much time he stays on the games...

I spent huge amount of time on the games, in the mid 90s because I was recovering from serious medical problems..before returning to my job..

I do not know much more. I have only observed him playing twice..He was behind in school, but now after some toutoring, (he had some medical problems too) he is reading at or above grade level...I think I have told too mcuh..but I don't want him to get addicted to that kind of violent behavior later,(I think he is already addicted to the games now) because I believe in real life, it is dangerous...(You work out, and can get huge muscles.., he is preety much unathletic now) He is somewhat bossy...
..Thank you for asking, I hope I have given more info, so you can see the pciture clearer..Oh he has few friends his own age, seems to be a loner, but that should improve as school begins..I really don't know.what his social growth will be..7 is pretty young, but I know that is a very important time in a kids life....thank you for any further answers.....StuartViolent Behavour doesn't come from videogames, violent behaviour stems from watching daddy hit mommy until mommy leaks strawberry jam, and then daddy has to put mommy in the trunk of the car so he can bring mommy to her quiet place and then daddy says when he gets back we're all going to Disney World

You get the same reaction from kids when they're watching fast paced movies....either that or a premeiere of somthing Harry Potter related...it's stimulation, that's all it is...

I mean take a look at any real life sporting event, count the number of people who are near naked, painted in two colors, half drunk, and screaming at the top of their lungs...those are typicaly considered "normal" people...

If you fear he may developed a warped sense of justice, it probably won't be from the game(besides what game is it? I mean is Tekken on Tekken Force mode or somthing?). Seriously it's not like it will inspire him to cleanse the world of all it's useless or impractical parts...

[Drachentöter]

Some kids are simply more aggressive than others. They would rather wrestle than sell lemonade and they prefer action figures to say...I don't know...a microscope. Every boy goes through a phase where violence is attractive and if he starts to follow that path, the most a parent can do is guide him to channel the aggressiveness through appropriate outlets (sports, for example).

Videogames can also be one of these outlets, but there is the possibility that children will try to imitate what they've done in the virtual reality.

The key is to observe what the child does when he's NOT playing videogames. If he's obedient and plays well with other children, then I wouldn't be too worried about his "videogame high." If he hurts or attempts to hurt somebody else, that would be the time to sit the child and enquire WHY he did that. If he alludes to the videogame, then videogame play should be limited. Only in the most extreme cases should the game be outright restricted, because forbidden toys are a lot more enticing to children than toys that adults favor.

Also check if the game he's playing is age appropriate. In no case, should a seven year old be playing a game that is rated M for mature. Pass that information on the parents.

Just don't be quick to peg everything on the game. Videogames are the new Saturday morning cartoons and action shows. I remember when I was little, there was a news report about a child who killed another child because he was imitating Power Rangers. Today, people don't give television a second thought, the new scapegoat is videogames.

Kids are going to display some surprising character traits and actions. But it's not the media's fault if you're not supervising them and parenting them toward acceptable acts. (That's a general statement and not directed at anyone in particular).

[Kurtman]

sometimes people who play video games just get into the spirit of it too much. i wouldn't be worried by it. the kid's just having a good time playing games
I agree. My 7 year old sister is hooked on the Sega Genesis classic "Streets Of Rage 2". She loves beating up the bad guys as Blaze!