In time for Christmas, I look at my son’s Christmas list and see a game entitled “Naughty Bear” on it. I chuckled, not knowing what the game was and assuming that with a name like that it couldn’t be that bad. Then, my husband walks in and starts getting upset over it. Apparently the game was far from what I thought it was, and immediately we both crossed it off his list.

In researching it, we find out it’s a video game that has a serial killing teddy bear. There’s over the top violence, which it’s a cartoon we see it in cartoons all the time. I think even cartoons have a line. That’s not what really upsets me about the game, and the main reason we disallowed it in our household. In the game, you’re supposed to torture fellow teddy bears into killing themselves. There’s not much that offends me but that definitely brings me close, especially considering the state of affairs today with teens being bullied to a point of suicide. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this sickened me a little, especially for a game that’s rated Teen. We spoke to him about it, and he nodded in understanding and went on his way like nothing happened.

This isn’t talking about how video games are too violent and shouldn’t be made. I appreciate video games as an art form, and think that they can create as they want. It’s not the video game companies’ responsibility for what they produce; it’s the parents’ responsibility to make decisions on games that are appropriate or not to play. As avid gamers ourselves, we watch what we play in his presence as well.  I don’t look at ratings when I pick games for my son, I look at content. Parents should research the games and be vigilant in what they allow them to play. Those same parents that refuse to educate themselves try to pass of blame on the companies. It’s not right. We have the same problem with television shows and movies. Parents want things censored so they can ignore their kid and let electronics babysit them, and when something goes wrong they look back and refuse to blame themselves. If you don’t want your 9-year-old to play Modern Warfare 3, don’t buy it for them. Last I checked, as parents you should have control not the kids.