Hehe, that was actually a joke. If you think about it though what does every good horror movie killer start with? An overbearing parent with some odd suppression for something. On the other note, No one smokes around anyone these days, but when I say smoke I mean in the same sense as someone who enjoys a cigar with a glass of brandy outside in the courtyard.


I don't think being around any of it would have changed you one way or another as you actually had someone around who cared. I'm just saying the kid with a learning disability may think cartoons are real or they ARE in the matrix but to think your kid will pull a Dexter after some zombie killing is a tad far-fetched. Some other kid may but not the one someone gives a damn to care about and show them right and wrong. It's up to you the parent where you want to set the bar whenever you feel it's right and your kid is able to handle it by all means pull the trigger. A family that kills zombies together stays together.

@Willtur, people do smoke in front of others and I've ahd a "friend" blow their smoke in my face already knowing I don't smoke.

Great read! I love it! Read it while listening to the Co-opticast.

Dude...your son is going to grow up to be a ninja. Sweet!

Having a wife that's a teacher though, I'm more worried about what my kids will pick up elsewhere.

friend in quotes is right, I remember when people smoke in cars,work, and their homes. Hard to believe it's still out there. I smoke outside in a huge open courtyard and don't bother anyone with it. I have a friend who smokes e-cigs which look cool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U81x8t2iMhw but I think he is trying to quit smoking. I don't smoke enough to warrant it and really have no desire to quit as much as my desire to casually enjoy a drink isn't going anywhere, everything in moderation is the motto for me but yeah your friend is a douche.

Hey Marc, great article, you really got me to think about the way I game in front of others. While I don't have a son (I'm only 15...), I do have an 8 year old sister who looks up to me, and so like you wrote, its been annoying me lately that not more games have the same sort of family friendly settings like Gears 2. I managed to find another way to get around the problem though. I managed to get my hands on some headphones with an extended cord so I can play more mature titles without having to worry about my younger sibling overhearing any undesirable language or violent noises. Why not give it a try? It works like a charm.

turtle beach makes some excellent headsets that are compatible with voice chat. of course everyone here should know that since nick did a superb review on a few of them during pax. i have a pair of X1's and love them.

the impact on siblings never occurred to me until now. had these rated M games been out when i was ~8, my brother would have been playing them in front of me. instead he was playing very simple games on our commodore 64 which my parents had no problems with. how times have changed... i don't mean to challenge your parents' parenting skills/ideals, but do they limit your choice of games while your sister is around? that would seem a bit unfair to you, i'm sure, but that sort of thing is what comes with age

I don't think that times have changed, just the medium. My brother was six years older than me, and his music, movie and reading selections greatly impacted me (both good and bad). Particularly with music and movies, I know I watched and listened to stuff with him that I wouldn't have let my kid watch/listen to at that age.

haha... you have a point there. i remember watching caddyshack, showgirls, and starship troopers when i was much too young.

Well smurphster, my parents are fairly lenient in what they allow me to play, so long as I don't play in front of my sister. I never allow her to watch my games, unless its something like the Lego series which we both enjoy, so I'm usually more worried about the gunshots etc. she can hear from outside, hence the headset. But yeah, I understand what you mean, but I'm pretty sure that if I had a younger brother who wasn't 7 years younger than I, I would be less worried. (Not that I'm sexist or anything... Just that girls and boys tend to have different interests at that age.)