Depends what age, and for how long If they just lock themselves up in their room age 9 swearing down the microphone then I wouldn't say that's too healthy. But don't make your child resent you by disallowing them to partake in activities that are common of their/our generation. Sure, I don't like Call of Duty, but it's a very popular and widely played game for a reason, and no, before you wonder, violent video games don't then make children think" you know what, I'm going to join the army now!" or " I shall steal this car". That is absurd. Of course, all things in moderation, but if advice is what you're looking for, don't restrict your child too much!

As a parent and a gamer, I have the following recommendations to make about kids and gaming.

First and foremost, play the game yourself first. Reviews cannot always be trusted to give an accurate reflection of the games content; on several occasions, games have been recalled, re-rated, and content patched after the fact due to something getting past all of the reviews and ending up in the final game. The Grand Theft Auto series comes to mind here, but there are others as well.

Playing it yourself gives you firsthand exposure to the games content; if there are parental controls present, you can see what content they modify, and how easily said controls could be circumvented. This lets you make an informed decision regarding whether or not it is appropriate for your child. The best rule of thumb I can give is that a childs first exposure to any kind of questionable content (whether violent, sexual, or whatever) not occur in the form of a video game they are playing unsupervised. A child who does not understand death should not be learning about it from a CoD tutorial telling him to kill nazis or terrorists. A child who does not know what sex is should not be learning about it from one of Dragon Age or Mass Effect's sex scenes. A clever parent could actually use games, even games that nobody would call educational, to teach difficult concepts to his or her children.

And when you play the game yourself first, you not only get a more accurate picture of its content, you have a bonding opportunity with your child; you can help him or her when he or she gets stuck, or even play with them (co-op or competitive).

I don't believe that violent video games are, in and of themselves, an issue. I think the issue is children being given violent video games and playing them without parental guidance. Violent play is very common, especially amongst boys. As long as we've had weapons, boys (and some girls) have played with toy weapons- from toy swords to toy guns to toy tanks. Exposure to violence is going to happen eventually, and I'm of the mind that with the right approach, video games can be an excellent medium through which to teach a child- but it requires a parent to control and spin the message.

As long as you are reasonably certain the child is capable of discerning fiction from reality and is not prone to violent outbursts or has certain kinds of mental health disorders it should be all good.

And really, it is arguably pointless to try and stop them from doing so unless you feel like following them everywhere they go. For most kids, telling them not to do something is a way of guaranteeing that they will. At least if you allow it, you can sit down with them first and explain concerns you or other parents might have. You can also use it as a bargaining chip: "Sure, I'll get you the new Call of Duty, but only if you keep your grades up."

If you think playing video games will turn the kid into the main characters of those videos games, all I have to say is, maybe you shouldn't because if the child got his/her genes from you, he/she just may.

i think it is fair to say that children learn from mimicry for every scenario. however what is likely to affect the intake and application of this information is how much the source is judged to be worth taking from. but given no other source, a child is likely to follow that. if you grew a child up solely off video games such as gta or halo, they will certainly grow up 'immoral' from the perspective of others. people are made of what they are fed, so to speak. that does not mean that your kids should be able to play video games at all, or even at a specific age. if you have taught what sources are worth learning form and your child is capable of reflecting that judgement, then i would assume age is irrelevant (although young will likely be incapable of this). second requirement of what a child needs to play games with 'negative' themes is multiple valuable sources from people such as the mother, father or anyone close or respected. lastly you would want to check with your child as to what they are absorbing and discarding. understand the child themselves and the games they are playing and judge whether or not they are capable of playing them.

would also strongly agree with thousandin1