Youngest Player

Hey,

I've been keeping an eye on my son, who plays. He's a level 8 warrior/ranger and he is 6 years 10 months. Does alright really.

Anyone else have children on the game?
RDC

Not that I know of. I hope you ensured your child's version of the game has the filter on max.

This afterall is a teen rated game and I seen and heared a lot of things in this game which I personally think is unsuitable for a child of about 6.

IMO

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Indeed, there are some fools who are annoying and can easily hurt a 6 years old guy, but I wish the best luck for him ^^

Tsk tsk, getting the young ones addicted at such a tender young age...I wish I had been your son :P

I would say, don't let him into the competition arena waiting area, and generally stick to the international districts unless you think he's ready for some real exposure to adult content =\

People that know that other people use filters, so that have to b y p a s s the filter to get their point across.
People that cyber out in the open.
People that spew out racial slurs constantly.

However, I suppose that's not too different from the real world, when it's all boiled down.

Guess I was just lucky to be so sheltered that I wasn't even familiar with drugs or curse words until middle school, heh. (Not that I use either, or was 100% ignorant about them. Didn't know most of them though.)

And 6 year belated happy fatherhood.

Don't know about Guild Wars specifically, but my neighbour's children were playing another MMORPG, and the youngest was 9. However, with 4 children and only 1 computer that can actually play without being prohibitively laggy, the 2 eldest dominated, and the younger ones lost interest. (Ok, maybe 20 and 14 aren't really children =p)

My buddy has a 7 year old girl that plays. He actually quit GW, but she still plays. She does pretty good for herself in PvE. Of course, typing and playing can be hard for her. There is alot of crap in games, I would say alot more in GW than others really. But, its not much worse then on TV, thing is, when they are playing they really arent reading much. So its not too bad, I think. Kids that young dont hang out in town, they ask you to buy/sell for them, and then they want to play the game, kill the baddies.

Well,
seriously, i sit and watch a lot of the time he is playing and most of the time he likes to go on quests...doesn't do many arena things and also has done some missions with many good groups.

I mostly watch when he's in town. Thanks for the concern, but I wouldn't let him play if I thought he was going to be exposed to the rough rubbish.

I know that much

RDC

6 years old, dang! I was playing mario when I was 6....

I have a couple of Guild Mates with children. A bit older than yours perhaps, but we try to keep an eye out and help them when we can. I suggest trying to find a guild that will accept younger members. It makes an "extended family" to help.

As a parent and a teacher, I don't really think this is the game for any child under 12. If they want to mindlessly slay monsters, why not let them play the original Diablo (loads of fun, really!) as a SINGLE player or via a LAN connection with a relative/friend? I would still not let anyone under 10 do it but that's just me. Something like Mario is much more appropriate.

My thoughts on "gee it's just like real life and no worse than TV" is that, yes, you're right. Why expose them to MORE trash and profanity and racial crap? Let children BE children, for Pete's sake. They already grow up too fast.

Hey man, my opinion is that if u think hes mature enuff and understands that videogames are just a pile of polygons, let him play on. Videogames r an OK source of fun, i admit taht myself ^^ but keep an eye out for him, Guild Wars is full of all kinds of crap out there. Its also a problem if u child knows how to read... I think u can imagine this by urself. This is just my opinion, u know how to raise ur own child best!

You can't protect and shelter your child from the world and expect them to be healthy...you expose them to it and teach them right from wrong...you teach them that just because someone else is doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do...Give them the option to make the right choice and direct them when they don't.

I have a 4 year old daughter that plays with me sometimes....she's definately not ready for her own character but she can take out ice elements and bandits in pre-sear =D

gonna have her farming char in no time

You had mario? I was playing pong and duck hunt when I was young =/.

On the box is says children under 13 not perrmited to play :P

Not trying to shelter my child from everything. The world has enough nastiness in it already. There's plenty of opportunity to find the teachable moments as it is. I don't have to give it to her YET in her entertainment.

Played Duck Hunt as well! I didn't own it, rather I got to play each time I went to the dentist!

And you shouldn't if you aren't comfortable with it....parents should parent the way they feel most comfortable...nobody can tell someone else how to be a parent. It's the most rewarding thing anyone can do But unfortunately nobody else can make the choices for you. Responsibility is a bitch

Actually, I wasn't telling anyone how to raise their child. As a teacher, you don't think I know that? LOL! I was simply stating my opinion and offering some advice on my years (20) of teaching. MOST parents don't monitor their children's computer usage and it can be very damaging to them. That's all.

Dude,
I'm a parent and a teacher too, so we are basically on the same page except one thing. I know my son i guess. I understand if you didnt know him you wouldnt think it was right. but thing is, he's just finished being obsessed with Rome Total War (he could kick my ass too) which made him research Roman History. This has got him into Knights castles and the middle ages, and that too is good. He spends his time out in quests, so he doesn't see any crap.....and he is a rather gifted boy with his heart in exactly the right place. Wouldnt take notice of crap or idiots anyhow. He was playing Runescape (sorta like this for kids) and that is worse by far than this game. Most of the players here are a bit more mature, with intelligent thoughtful discussions, ie this thread now.

if you think he's capable of playing the game without it 'corrupting his youthful mind'...then let him play. I'm a strong advocate of video games as teaching tools. My daughter has gained better control of her motor skills, quicker hand/eye coordination, her reaction times have drastically increased, and she's interested in learning about things she shouldn't possibly be interested in at 4 years old. She's starting to read words on screen and has nothing but benefitted from video games. Challening children to do things they shouldn't be able to do is a great way to set them up for failure...but the accomplishment is that much greater when they succeed...teach them that we fall down only so that we can learn to pick ourselves back up. Failure is a part of life and children should learn this at an early age. I agree with your decision to allow your son to play GW...it will greatly improve his logic and reasoning skills.