Merry Xmas

In less than 24 hours children and adults alike will be unwrapping their Christmas gifts. Many will receive socks and strange knick-knacks. Some however will receive computer games and gaming consoles.

A couple of things have been revealed to us lately that will be relevant to parents whose children will be receiving gifts of the gaming variety.

1. A recent study commissioned by the iGEA revealed that many parents are unaware that the current generation of consoles has parental controls.

We recommend parents take the time to explore this function when helping set up their child’s new Xbox, PS3 or Wii. Parental Controls include the ability to limit the amount of time that can be spent playing and the ability to lock out games rated above a certain classification.

2. The lack of an R18+ rating in Australian means that a number of games have been shoehorned in to our highest available rating for computer games. The MA15+ rating.

Grow up Australia has created a table displaying all the games rated MA15+ this year with their PEGI (Europe) and ESRB (USA) classifications. You may find the ratings supplied by these organisations helpful in guiding you when making decisions on what your child should be allowed to play. The Australian Classification Board, PEGI and the ESRB all provide search facilities  on their websites that allow you to find a specific games rating. The ESRB also has an App for your iPhone that serves the same purpose.

Thank you to all the Facebook Group members, Steam Community Group members, Twitter followers and all the other people who have helped make us a success and helped spread the word about Australia’s lack of an R18+ rating for video games. All of us here at Grow up Australia wish you a safe and happy holiday season.