English 215 Week 1

We all hear the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. In society today we see less and less of the village helping raise the child. One of the things that are becoming increasingly difficult to monitor with children is video games. In the article “Parents Need Help” Barbara Dafoe Whitehead discusses some of the challenges parents face when it comes to protecting their children from excessively violent or sexually explicit games. Physically and emotionally these violent games are hurting children and there should be more support from the government and the entertainment industry to help parents raise stable individuals. The argument has been ongoing since the first video game was invented: who’s responsible for what children games children play on their Playstation’s or computers? The people who make and sell the video games state that it is up to the parents to control what their children play on their game consoles and that it is not their responsibility. Some parents believe that the companies who sell the games and also the state should be responsible for controlling how available a game with violence is to minor children. Partly the government agrees with this statement and most recently Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich stated that “Parenting is hard work and the state has a compelling interest I helping parents raise their children to be upstanding men and women” (Whitehead. 2002) when he presented an argument that parenting is a shared responsibility. In another statement the Governor also mentioned “Too many of the video games marketed to our children teach them all of the wrong lessons and all of the wrong values,” Blagojevich writes in a “letter to Illinois parents” posted on the state’s informational website (www.safegamesIllinois.com) “ (Whitehead. 2002). When this particular Governor tried to start legislation to support his position, the entertainment industry immediately attacked. “Imposing a curb on the free market is not the way to

References: Hastings, E. C., Karas, T. L., Winsler, A., Way, E., Madigan, A., & Tyler, S. (2009). Young Children 's Video/Computer Game Use: Relations with School Performance and Behavior. Issues In Mental Health Nursing, 30(10), 638-649. doi:10.1080/01612840903050414 Anderson, C. A. (2011). Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence, Part II. Pediatrics For Parents, 27(3/4), 21. Lamm, Robert., Everett Justin. (2007). Dynamic Argument. Chapter 19. Popular Culture. Violent Entertainment, Body Modification and Consumerism.