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Hedra42 on 31 March 2015
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Leadified said:
Hedra42 said:
Leadified said:


You don't raise awareness to a potential issue by threatening people. Especially since the parents are not breaking the law and their justification is unsourced statistic.

15 of the 16 schools who's parents have been contacted are primary schools, where the age goes up to 11. So, excluding one school, the headteachers are warning that if they are made aware of a child aged 11 or under playing a game like GTA, it can be construed as neglect on the part of the parents, and neglect is a good enough reason to contact the police and social services. The letter was sent to parents after it had already been discovered that some of these children were playing 18+ rated games, so it's not a potential issue for them - it's real.

The potential issue I meant was not that kids are playing games that are rated 18+ but the described effects that these games this school board claims these games have on children. As far as I understand, it is not illegal for a minor, even a young child to play a game that is rated 18+. The school can report parents, sure, but I doubt that video games alone will prove a child is being neglected.

@ bolded; True, but it can still be a sign of irresponsible parenting generally - see my response to DakonBlackblade, 3 posts up.

It's not illegal for a child to play a game that is rated above their chronological age . But it is illegal for PEGI 12, 15 and 18 games to be sold to kids under those respective ages. The PEGI system is there for parents to make an informed decision when buying games for their kids.

@ the underlined; There is enough evidence both for and against the claims that 18+ games (and violent films, for that matter) have a direct impact on the actions or behaviour of kids too young or immature to be playing or watching them. There has obviously been enough concern regarding the  individuals in those schools who have been playing these games for those head teachers to decide to send out that letter.