California Video Game Ban

[Quarto]

The trouble with any laws that ban the sale of mature games to children is the simple fact that in most cases, it will be the parents that buy those games for their children. I've certainly never heard of any teenager sneaking into the house with an illicitly-bought GTA under his shirt - more likely, he'll get it as a gift for his birthday, either because his parents disagree about such material being a negative influence (and certainly, that can be a reasonable point of view depending on what we're talking about), or because they don't particularly care.

I suspect, in the long run, we're going to see laws introduced that punish parents for letting their children play with such games.

Speaking of which, a question for any Swedes that might be reading this - since in Sweden it is possible for parents to lose their parental rights for spanking or even just yelling at a child... am I right in guessing that any parent who buys their kids an M-rated game would in fact already be at risk of losing his children because of this?

 

[frostytheplebe]

Speaking of which, a question for any Swedes that might be reading this - since in Sweden it is possible for parents to lose their parental rights for spanking or even just yelling at a child... am I right in guessing that any parent who buys their kids an M-rated game would in fact already be at risk of losing his children because of this?

Yikes... thats all pretty extreme! I mean gone are the days when a swat across the ass in the United States was acceptable and believe me, I see kids in stores yelling and screaming who really needed a good paddle.

Don't get me wrong, child abuse is very wrong, and people responsable for it should never see their kids again. But physical discipline in the form of a swat across the ass for acting like a spoiled brat is not abuse and to a certain extent should be acceptable. I mean now in the US if you strike your child in any way, shape or form and the kid informs a school teacher or something, BOOM you've got dss agents and the sheriff coming to your door and even if there is no evidence of abuse, you're on their list for the rest of your life.

As someone who has/does work with DSS, DYS, and Direct Care programs... I can't say we're better off at all. Juvenile court is now overrun with punks that are out of control, the Direct Care programs are filled to capacity and are being asked to take even more kids in... need I go on? Let's go back just 20 years, in our lifetimes before Government saw fit to interfere in our everyday lives and tell us how to raise our kids, this was not a problem, at least nowhere near as significant.

As a follow up to Quarto's question, any idea how bad Juvenile cases are over there?

 

[Highball]

California is pretty tolerant, as far as views and such go. It's cool if you're straight, bi, gay, illegal, whatever. They are also one of the yuppie-est states I've ever lived in. I mean, anything out there is enough to get people up in arms, whether it's "for the children," "for safety," or what the hell ever. I once had shotguns pointed at me for cracking a whip in a public park. Not at anyone or anything, not in a destructive manner, just for fun and recreation. It is also home to some of the most paranoid, yet socially devoid, xenophobic people. I am from there, and I love Cali, but I gotta call a spade a spade.

 

[Kaunisto]

I doubt if it's quite that bad in Sweden, not here at least.

Then again if you're constantly spanking child for tiniest reason or yelling in threatening way daily, that's quite good reason to lose custody.

 

[frostytheplebe]

I doubt if it's quite that bad in Sweden, not here at least.

Then again if you're constantly spanking child for tiniest reason or yelling in threatening way daily, that's quite good reason to lose custody.

No I agree there, but if a kid is all red faced because they didnt get a bar of candy and starts throwing a temper tantrum, thats when a good whap across the ass is warranted.

 

[ChrisReid]

As someone who has/does work with DSS, DYS, and Direct Care programs... I can't say we're better off at all. Juvenile court is now overrun with punks that are out of control, the Direct Care programs are filled to capacity and are being asked to take even more kids in... need I go on? Let's go back just 20 years, in our lifetimes before Government saw fit to interfere in our everyday lives and tell us how to raise our kids, this was not a problem, at least nowhere near as significant.

All of those problems have to do with a lack of parenting, not a lack of spanking. Spanking is very effectively at temporarily shutting a kid up, but it doesn't teach them how to behave. What it does teach is that when you're fed up with something, it's fine to hit someone for it.