Arcade games inappropriate for kids - advocacy required!

[babyher]

So true, so true. I like showing people the picture of my dad holding me in one arm with a cigarette in the other.

 

I wish I saved those HORRIBLE "click-clacks" in the 70s. A plastic stick, two pieces of string, and big marble balls attached to the string. I used to give my arm bruises to the point of swelling. The pain was excrutiating. :) Nice toy.

 

 

 

Those were pretty cool :)

 

Did anyone have a Creepy Crawler set ? It was nothing more than a hot plate *LOL* you had these little metal molds you filled with colored liquid plastic and "baked" them (This thing got HOT) and then you took the mold out of the hot plate, cooled it in water. (it actually steamed and hissed:)) and you made little toy monsters or cartoon figures.

 

It was the greatest toy I ever had.

 

Could you see the sob sisters complaining about that one today

[G'ma]

Time to move on to banning a library book or two.

 

I think you have to move to Texas for that right now......:D

[G'ma]

I haven't read ALL the replies, but I may be the only one who agrees with the OP.

 

Although the violent video games should not be banned per se, I think RCI could certainly CHOOSE to use more family friendly entertainment in the kids/teen area.

 

I would only wish that there were much less violence to be seen by our young people. It doesn't mean prohibition, just common sense. They don't ban adult comedians, but they DO warn about the content and put them on late at night.

 

Parental involvement is the only way to make sure children aren't overexposed to objectionalbe material. It's not the State or government or cruise ships duty to do that.

 

I think parents should CHOOSE the activities they want their children to participate in........

[G'ma]

I get so tired of people who decide since it's inappropriate for their children then it should be barred from all . I remember the call to action because of all the violence in cartoons like Wiley Coyote. I watched them & by golly I turned out normal. ( or semi any way.)

Find something more relative to complain to RCCL about , like no lobsters on Europe cruises.

 

Ah, Wiley...the dear old fool

 

And, Elmer Fudd blasting away at everything that moves.

 

And, Bugs up to his tricks (including smoking and gambling:eek:).

 

Then there's always the 3 stooges.....and slapstick comedy, serial westerns from the 40's and 50's.

 

Todays "cartoons" (I use the word lightly here) with their glowing-eyed monsters with long sharp teeth ripping and rending, chasing wide-eyed innocent (but brave) children.....or the bare-butt, dropped britches "humor" of South Park or the Simpsons....

 

Frankly, I don't know how those of us over 40 or 50 ever grew into decent, law abiding, responsible adults....:D:D

[RetireeWannabee]

Post Of The Week WINNER! :D

Seconded!

 

I've got your back on the space invaders but will be no help against zombies.

[RetireeWannabee]

A better alternative, maybe, would be to rearrange the arcade such that certain video games are not along the path from the entrance to the kids club. I don't know if that is possible though. :confused:

Excellent idea! I would support that.

[RetireeWannabee]

"I don't know a kid who has not played these games and none of them have become pistol waving thugs." and "Playing shooting games does not encourage violent or inappropriate behavior" - Unfortunately, that not true. Many teens who were involved with serious crimes have testified that video games they watched provided them with ideas for their crimes and actually inspired them.

 

Yes, there are documented cases. Inspiration, tho, can be found on tv - CSI plus Law and Order franchises will get you started.

 

I looked into this a few years ago and what I found is that for most of those kids, they had Problems. Family issues, drug issues, mental/emotional/social problems. There were factors contributing to their actions well beyond video games.

 

IMO, it's impossible to lay the total fault on the games. That has not been proven to me. One kid playing one violent game once in his life is completely inconsequential (so why ban the game that is available to your child only during the cruise?)

 

When parents allow their children to do nothing but play killing games all day every day, well, there's something wrong. There are true physiological changes that occur with long term uninterrupted video game usage. It's a bad thing. especially for the undeveloped brain.

 

In some of those cases, it looked to me like the kids were seeking a convenient excuse. The whole victim mentality (not my fault, the game made me do it). Any excuse to get out of responsibility/punishment.

 

I do believe that active parenting, setting boundaries ("you can play your XBox until dinner", "you've already played an hour, time to turn it off") and being involved in the gaming with them makes a huge difference.

 

I am glad you are concerned enuf about your kids to care about the video games because it is way too bad that other kids are abandoned to their own devices way too young.

 

I totally support your right to be a concerned parent. Please don't stop.

[TrentS]

Well' date=' YOUR standards are not necessarily THE standards.

 

When I was growing up, my brothers and I played "cowboys and indians" and "cops and robbers" with cap guns, holsters, cowboy hats and candy cigarettes.

 

None of us turned out to be thugs, mass murders and none of us smoke....go figure.[/quote']

 

Hear hear! This PC bull has gone way too far!!!

 

We all (brothers, cousins, & friends) did too and none of us have ever shot anyone, robbed anyone, stolen anything, etc. etc., and none of us smoke either... The games aren't the problem, THE PARENTING, or lack there of, IS!

[cruzincurt]

Well, the kiddos are just plain bored. :rolleyes: Why else would they have to watch a DVD in the backseat of the SUV during that 5 minute ride to school; or watch a DVD in the MDR, or have their music plugged in constantly?

 

Sounds like parents should be spending some quality time with the kiddos, not dumping them off at the arcade and complaining about the games available to babysit them.

[TahoeBob]

but these games have no place in family oriented cruise ship in a kid oriented location.

In your opinion they have no place, opinions vary!

[PhoenixCruiser]

 

Sounds like parents should be spending some quality time with the kiddos, not dumping them off at the arcade and complaining about the games available to babysit them.

 

Exactly!!

 

###

[chiguypaul]

 

Sounds like parents should be spending some quality time with the kiddos, not dumping them off at the arcade and complaining about the games available to babysit them.

 

Whatever you say boss. You seem to know it all. Maybe you can help pass judgement on other cruisers on these boards you don't know anything about.

[tazdeb]

Hey Chiguypaul, It's pretty obvious that the majority on this board thinks that any type of censorship is bad. But I suggest you send in your complaints anyway. The new way to get anything done in America IS to be the LOUD VOCAL MINORITY. You can change policy if you complain long enough because most in the majority will do nothing to stop you.

[G'ma]

Hear hear! This PC bull has gone way too far!!!

 

We all (brothers, cousins, & friends) did too and none of us have ever shot anyone, robbed anyone, stolen anything, etc. etc., and none of us smoke either... The games aren't the problem, THE PARENTING, or lack there of, IS!

 

I honestly believe the whole thing is out of control. Good grief... If you don't want your kids exposed to something....anything...then, keep them away... Be a parent, say "no".....enforce your familys rules whatever they are.

 

But don't expect the whole world to revolve around that.....

 

All the kids I know, including those I raised and grandchildren are happy, well-adjusted people.... They all played childrens games growing up including the cowboy and indians things (complete with cap pistols and cowboy hats), played video games, watched TV, glimpsed a bare boob once in a while, saw someones naked butt, observed adults behaving badly (usually snockered) and have had a full run of the human experience including several museums with NAKED people in the pictures and statues :eek:...and they are fine...and always have been fine.

 

If there was an acitivity I though inappropriate, my kids didn't take part... Why? Because I said "no" and meant it. There were few of them.

 

THEY chose the books from the library they wanted to read, THEY chose the magazines, newspaper, periodicals they were interested in. They chose the movies they wanted to see (with ME as monitor to say yes or no)...

 

When kids grow up, provided they haven't been totally warped by "the village", they will make good choices...for themselves. They will experience all the things that some parents try to protect them from..and many will be shocked and unable to cope. Others will recognize that the world is huge and the population diverse and not always to our liking, but they will, nonetheless, be fine because their parents have prepared them for the world at large.

[babyher]

Hey Chiguypaul, It's pretty obvious that the majority on this board thinks that any type of censorship is bad. But I suggest you send in your complaints anyway. The new way to get anything done in America IS to be the LOUD VOCAL MINORITY. You can change policy if you complain long enough because most in the majority will do nothing to stop you.

 

 

 

Just because you are LOUD doesn't mean you are RIGHT

[FireIce0010]

Can I enlist you to help me advocate for the removal of these games from the arcade by emailing royalguestrelations@rccl.com with your comments?

 

Thanks

 

 

Nope. Already enough of people telling others what is right and wrong in this world. Be a parent and watch what your kid does and all will be right with the world.;)

[BroncosFan2010]

X2

 

Video games have been violent since Pac Man ate the first ghost.

 

Corporate policy is no substitute for active and involved parenting.

 

My kids spend their time at the pool and kids club when cruising. They only walk through the arcade on the way to kids club and they know video games are not reality.

 

Amen!

[tazdeb]

Just because you are LOUD doesn't mean you are RIGHT

 

But in the last 20 years the LOUD and WRONG vocal minority HAVE changed American policy in many ways just because the majority does nothing.

[Mack2]

But in the last 20 years the LOUD and WRONG vocal minority HAVE changed American policy in many ways just because the majority does nothing.

 

They have these games at Chuck-E-Cheese's.

Maybe he should start with them, first... that is absolutely a kids place.

(only kids would eat that stuff they call pizza)

[Aquahound]

Chiguypaul, I am not a parent, so I will not go down the road of lecturing on how to raise a kid. I wanted to say that so you don't think I'm passing any judgement here.

 

My question is this; I know there are a lot of shooting games where you shoot at foreign armies, zombies, ghosts, ducks, etc, but there are very few where you kill innocent people....and the ones that do, like Grand Theft Auto, come with a parental advisory. I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any games with parental advisories in the cruise ship arcades. Do you remember what games were in the arcade that you thought were inappropriate?

[Mack2]

I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any games with parental advisories in the cruise ship arcades. Do you remember what games were in the arcade that you thought were inappropriate?

 

On my last cruise aboard the Liberty, the two games that I remember having weapons that were big were Time Crisis (shoot bad guy soldiers) and the Deer Hunter game (shoot wild game in certain spots).

 

 

Some parents don't like having the kids exposed to guns. My wife was like that. We had a philosophical disagreement about that... but with society today, you hear about it on the news, you see it in the movies (and even if you don't see it, the kids' peers gush about it)

 

This summer, we saw two huge franchises in the movie theaters that were extremely popular amongst teen and pre-teen boys.

Transformers and GI Joe.

They've also been struck by the Curse of George Lucas... since they all can name each and every character in the Star Wars movies and Clone Wars.

 

Education is better than isolation... because they're gonna see it regardless of what you do.. unless you hide yourself in a compound in Utah and print your own money...

[ejeffo]

I'm with the majority of pax and the cruise line on this one... Kids like shoot-em-up games. It has been stated here very well that it is our duty as parents to teach our kids the difference between right and wrong (which comes almost naturally in most kids.) Remember when we were kids running around with toy gus yelling BANG, BANG and falling down on the ground pretending we had been shot? These games are the same thing, just brought current with technology. My son is 9 and plays SOME games like these, and I assure you he is a great kid, gets great grades, has a ton of friends, plays sports, and does not have a mean, destructive bone in his body. I will have no problem with him playing these types of games on the ship.

 

Kids will be kids, and the cruise lines, hotels, amusement parks, etc. are catering to them the most appropriate (loosely stated) way they know how.

[My2Kitties]

My DH and I like to play shooter games...we have on gone in the Arcade to play...so I am for keeping them...but I also agree that re-arranging them to an area away from the small children is good too...

[grand isle joe]

But in the last 20 years the LOUD and WRONG vocal minority HAVE changed American policy in many ways just because the majority does nothing.

 

Bravo!!!!!!!!!!

[toxicfairy]

So wait you mean if I watch bugs Bunny Blow off Daffy's beak it won't really grow back?...LOL! Back when I was a kid we didn't play these so much simply because they weren't around. But ALL of our Sunday morning cartoons had some one getting Blown up or an anvel dropped on them! Not one of the kids in my neighborhood grew up to think they could do any of these things. My brother played Cowboys and Indians (way back when it wasn't politically incorrect) and he has never shot anyone. By the time he was a teenager he was into arcade games of which some where considered VIOLENT for those times. He is now a normal adult with a normal wife and a normal beautiful daughter. I think it is the morals you teach your kids, not the games they play and not the tv or music. What ever happened to teaching your kids right from wrong and not trying to blame society for everything?? How about we ban the people who want to ban everything? religion ...smoking...drinking....where does it stop?

So I have a better idea lets not ban anything lets bring back good old fashion parenting and (oh how I miss this one) COMMOM SENSE!