More than 300 children took part in study and results showed a positive effect on the body mass index of the active gamers aged between 10 and 14, compared to the control group of children who were not regularly playing the games.  Whilst the effects were small, it did show that gaming could certainly play a role in helping children stay active, and be used to develop rehab programs.  To read more, click here

Of those that responded, 98.4% voiced support for an R18+ computer game classification.

To see the official release and comments, click here

The videos, hosted by iGEA ambassador and sports presenter Stephanie Brantz and Auckland journalist Kate Palmer, both of whom have three children, provide step-by-step instructions to show parents how to activate parental control features on popular gaming consoles, including the Sony Playstation, Microsoft XBOX, Nintendo Wii and a PC.

According to Brantz, who is also a mother of three, using the parental control features gives her the confidence that her children are playing age appropriate games for a right amount of time. 

“The parental control features in these devices are a fantastic tool to help parents balance the amount of time children spend playing video games and other activities.  Parents can also use the password-protected controls to ensure their child only has access to age-appropriate games, whether it’s rated G, PG, M or MA15+,” said Brantz.

The videos are released in response to a Newspoll study* commissioned by the iGEA in December 2009 which revealed many Australian parents were unaware of the parental controls built into popular console gaming devices.

According to Ron Curry, CEO of iGEA, “Only 26 per cent of parents were aware of controls within most consoles to help manage the amount of time their children spent playing games. A further 49 per cent of parents were also not aware of classification locks.”

“As interactive games are a popular past-time for the entire family, and particularly in the lead up to Christmas, we wanted to develop a series of videos to help raise the awareness of parental control tools amongst parents to give them the confidence to manage the game play in their house,” said Curry.

The iGEA recommends five tips to help parents mange their child’s gaming habits:

• Play with your children
• Put the gaming console in a common area – like the lounge room
• Check gaming classifications
• Set a time limit
• Set up parental controls

The videos are available online from the iGEA Channel on  YouTube

-ENDS-

* Newspoll research was conducted nationally involving 535 adults with dependent children aged up to 17 in the household.  The research was conducted over the period 12 – 15 of November 2009.

About the iGEA

The Interactive Gaming & Entertainment Association proactively represents companies that publish, market and/or distribute interactive games and entertainment content.  The iGEA aims to further advance the industry and the business interests of its members through informing and fostering relationships with the public, the business community, government and other industry stakeholders.  The iGEA is administered by a Board of Directors and supported by the CEO, Ron Curry.  The iGEA was formerly known as the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA).

For more information, please visit www.igea.net.

Media Contact

Grace Gabriel
Espresso Communications
Mob: 0431 528 127
Email: grace@espressocomms.com.au

The poll covered 2,226 respondents aged 16 years and over from all Australian States and Territories.

The poll asked participants to indicate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements relevant to an R 18+ classification, then answer the question ‘Should there be an R 18+ classification category for computer games in Australia?’ These poll questions are included in the report which is available for download.

A wide range of demographics were covered, including; age, gender, capital cities (versus elsewhere), work status, marital status, household income, children under 18 years in the household and level of education (below year 12 and year 12+). Age, gender and location demographics were weighted to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.

Download the telephone poll results:

• Telephone poll results [PDF 488KB]

In one camp are those who believe computer games and television are the root of all evil, while at the other end of the spectrum are those who use and abuse the ‘technology babysitting’ services (whether it be computer, gaming consoles, televisions or DVDs) on a regular basis.

The balanced view, I believe lies somewhere between the two.

Being time poor myself, I’m well aware of how much washing, vacuuming, cleaning and bill paying you can get done while your little angels sit in front of a screen but surely this should be the exception not the rule.  My parents often trot out the old adage, “when we were young, we played outside and made our own toys.” Sound familiar?   I like that idea immensely, but the cynic in me suggests that if they’d had Wii, Playstation or XBox, there would be fewer go-karts, model aeroplanes and paper dolls in the world!

I think it’s unavoidable that the future for kids of today will involve more technology than we can fathom, and gaming is certainly going to be part of that.  In fact, the strategic thinking, dexterity and mental agility required for games of all ages can certainly improve their understanding and development in a technological sense.  It’s making sure that technology doesn’t prohibit the development of other essential life skills, and ensuring that children remain safe in cyberspace that should be our primary concerns.

Rules in every household vary – I have friends who ban electronics and television completely in their homes, other people I know, allow their children to remain glued to the screen for hours at a time.

As ever, I am perched on the median strip in the middle of the information superhighway. Our system has evolved through trial and error – both mine and theirs.

Initially, there was a complete ban on electronics of all kinds during the school week – mainly due to the fact that I spent the majority of every single day begging and pleading for all three kids to complete their homework.  Unfortunately that resulted in gaming becoming the ‘forbidden fruit’ and something that needed to be obtained at all cost.

So the first step – buying timers. I bought three digital timers and labeled one for each child. They were then allowed to have one hour of ’screen time’ each afternoon and could choose between computers (games or otherwise), other gaming consoles or television.  The theory was great -in practice. I had to be in the room to hear the timer go off, and invariably if I did hear it, the game or program would be at the best/most crucial or most exciting bit and it would be a travesty if they could not finish. If I didn’t hear it, then the aforementioned little angels, would just keep going until I realised the time and went to enquire if their timer was broken.

User error yes, and without a doubt ineffective for us.

Then, the discovery which changed our lives!  The Parental Control Setting on the console itself.  What a revelation. By using this function, it’s possible to set time limits for each day after which the console cannot be used without manually overriding it. Branching out from there I discovered that you can also limit user access to the internet, which is invaluable for families like mine where not all children are allowed to play games with ’cyber friends’.  I’ve mentioned previously that I found out the hard way that unscrupulous online gamers can turn a PG or M rated game into an MA15+ game very quickly.

We also moved the console into a common area where I could keep an eye on them while I did ‘my stuff’ which was a move which bizarrely had a fringe benefit.  I used to think that their games were ‘their thing’.  Because I was suddenly in and out of the area where they were playing I was being asked to help them ‘level’ and defeat various challenges.

Thus began a new discovery for me. I found that playing with them is so much more fun than whinging about how antisocial gaming is. What started with just helping them out became an arm wrestle to get the controller off me! We now have regular on screen battles and it’s become shared time.  I finally understand the games they are playing and can speak in their terminology – the added bonus is that I can keep an eye on the content they are exposed to.

And do you know what else I discovered? The washing, ironing, cleaning and bills were still there the next day. I suspect there is a time limit on how long the kids will want to play with Mum – enjoy it while you can!!

Gaming has come a long way since the early 80s. The technology has become exceptionally sophisticated, and now has some pretty amazing real life qualities. Whether its sports, action or kid’s games, video games today can be pretty immersive and the days of pixels bouncing across the screen like in my adolescence are well and truly gone.

It was my eldest son who introduced me to the wonders (and dangers) of the life-like atmosphere on offer for modern day gamers.

He too has come a long way. First children often develop well before you are prepared.  A decade ago, I thought he was still in the land of the Teletubbies where my greatest fear was that he would lose his command of the English language.  Not so, wacky cartoons where the enemy was regularly and brutally slain were the order of the day. At this stage he had a toddler brother and a sister on the way and I freely admit, I had become busy and taken my eye off the ball.  These days, I’ve found even more diligence is required. 

My real wake-up call was when I discovered that despite the fact that games not appropriate for their age groups were banned in my house, not all parents followed the same ethos.  The eldest (the same child that thought Dipsy and Tinky Winky were the bees knees many years ago), had a friend over, who brought the new version of a popular combat action type game with him.  They dragged the TV and console into his room and all was quiet on the home front. The problems started when I took the elder two off to sport in the afternoon and the aforementioned younger brother decided to have a go on the console while we were out.  On returning home I called out to him and on getting no response went over to take a closer look.

Not only was he playing the game his older brother had left in the console, he had the headset on and was involved in a verbal tussle with an anonymous online opponent. Hello – Where did he learn to do that?!  When I took over communications, I was treated to a verbal barrage full of expletives from a lad who sounded about twenty and was threatening to hack into the account and destroy me if I didn’t follow his instructions. Game over Sunshine!  The television was unplugged at the wall and moved back into a common area, the game confiscated (and returned) and a new set of rules drawn up.  I also decided it was time to see exactly what these games were about.

Gaming 101 took some time while I (a geriatric in their world) familiarised myself with the controls and options in their various games.  It was hugely enlightening. Only through actually playing the game could I see what was mentally required from someone involved in a first person shooting or driving game. While I marveled at the intricacies of the games themselves – and the manual dexterity of my offspring, it was quickly evident which titles were appropriate for young gamers and which were best left to individuals who were mature enough to differentiate between fantasy and real life.

A driving game I knew we owned, turned out not to be the racetrack scenario I had envisioned, but a game where you could willfully damage property, steal and even earn extra points by evading the law…excellent!  Sounds naïve I know, but even reading the back of the case didn’t show me what was involved on an intellectual level or how each child would each respond to the material they were presented with. As part of the ‘educating Mum’ initiative, I also looked up the classification guidelines at:

http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/classification.nsf/Page/ClassificationMarkings_ClassificationMarkingsonFilmandComputerGames_ClassificationMarkingsonFilmandComputerGames

Having been through it, I can honestly say, that the only way to truly understand what your kids are being exposed to and whether they can differentiate fact from fiction, is to get up close and personal with it.  Use classification as a guideline, but even when that gets a tick, see how they react according to their level of maturity and act accordingly.

You may also find that defeating Mum becomes much better sport than slaying a faceless enemy. I call it a sacrifice for the cause…. Happy Gaming!

To read the article, click here

Professor Byron has since began her progress review and on 29 March 2010 published Do we have safer children in a digital world? A review of progress since the 2008 Byron Review