Your Guide To Gaming

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It is no question whether or not video games play a big role in society today. Many adults, children, and families spend their leisure time interacting with video games on a regular basis. Especially now during the current state of the economy many families are staying home during the weekends or free time instead of traveling. However, this information does not mean that most people should allow their youngsters to play video games all day every day, as I think most parents would agree. Playing time should be monitored and strict when it comes to video games; children do need exercise too of course…and don’t forget the chores. So, with that being said; it’s rather obvious parents need some way to monitor playing time of their children.

What many parents don’t know is that there are family settings and parental controls on most video game consoles which can be used to restrict video game use for youngsters.

The Microsoft XBOX 360 was specifically designed for family use and has several methods for monitoring playing time. The biggest method is the restricted family settings, which will keep little ones from playing mature games even if they pop the disc in the drive. This ensures they don’t see any adult content before they are old enough. There is also a family timer, which can be set via the master gaming profile (Yes, parents, one can be created even if you don’t want to play. It’s free as well), which will count time allowed on the console and give the current player warnings so she has sufficient time to save. Once the time is up the console will shut down automatically and lock itself up for the current user until the following day. Timers can be set for a total daily amount of play or weekly amount of play depending on the parent’s individual preferences.

The Nintendo Wii also has a parental controls setting in the options menu just like the XBOX, which will restrict games based on their ESRB rating. Setting these options can ensure your little munchkins can’t play Teen or Mature rated games, and they can ensure your teens can’t play Mature adult rated games unless you see fit.

The Playstation 3 is a little different, however, due to the fact that the console allows users to browse the Internet just like on a computer. The PS3 has parental controls just like mentioned above, but it also has a couple other settings which parents need to be aware of. Parental controls for the PS3 web browser have two settings only: allow or don’t allow. It is important to note there is no online filter, so if you allow your children to use the internet they will not be restricted at all on what sites they can or can not visit. So, if you are worried, then just restrict access altogether or monitor your child while playing at all times. There is also an option for parents to create a master account (age 18+) which will allow them to restrict access on certain features within the Playstation network, such as demos and videos that can be downloaded, games that can be played online and even people or friends they can play with or talk to.