Brian Crecente over at kotaku.com.au has written a great article on how to protect, not isolate your children when they want to play games online.  There are even some pretty good instructions to ensure parental controls are set and recommendations as to how to monitor your children when they want to move into this arena.

To read the article, click here

In 2007, Professor Tanya Byron was asked by the Prime Minister of the UK to conduct an independent review looking at the risk to children from exposure to potentially harmful or in appropriate material on the internet and in video games.  The Byron Report was released in 2008.

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

Parental controls on gaming devices overlooked by parents

Despite the importance of age-appropriate material for children and ensuring the balance between playing video games and other forms of recreation, many Australian parents are unaware of the parental controls built into popular console gaming devices.

A Newspoll study of over 500 parents* revealed that just 26 per cent were aware of the controls within most  consoles to help manage the amount of time their children spent playing games, and a further 49 per cent of parents were not aware of classification locks.     

Commissioned by the industry body, the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA), the survey found that when parents were given the choice of using classification and time settings and notifications, 79 per cent would versus 21 per cent who would not use the controls.

According to Ron Curry CEO of the iGEA, the study was commissioned to better understand awareness of the tools amongst parents. 

“Interactive gaming is played by young children, teens, Mums and Dads and as a popular family past-time, we want to equip parents will the tools to ensure their children enjoy the best gaming experience.

All of the popular games platforms have built in controls to help parents ensure that the children are playing games that are suitable for their age. The majority of platforms also have specific tools to help parents manage the amount of time their children spend playing games. .”

“Up to 88 per cent of Australian homes* have at least one device for playing video and computer games and we are urging parents to be aware of the settings that can help families ensure healthy gaming habits,” said Curry.

Of the 21 percent who wouldn’t use any parental controls; 38 per cent weren’t concerned about the length of time their child played for, 34 percent weren’t concerned about the type of games played and 22 percent believed their child could override the parental lock.

Well known adolescent psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg believes young people need a moral compass and urged parents to take a greater interest in their family’s video gaming habits and to use interactive entertainment to help bring families together.

“In a few quick steps, parents can create password-protected profiles for each family member that help balance time spent on gaming and other activities and ensure their children only access age appropriate content,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

Stephanie Brantz, Channel Nine sports reporter and mother of three enthusiastic gamers, believes the best strategy is to get involved and take on the kids.

“Being a competitive person at heart, I’ve had some enthralling battles racing cars and playing tennis, especially with my eldest son who’s built up amazing dexterity from gaming.  Initially, I stood on the sidelines while they played but now it has become a popular family activity and you relate to kids on their level,” Stephanie said.

Through parental control settings on gaming devices, Stephanie sets a daily play limit of one hour per day for each child and closely monitors what games are played.

“Gaming in our house is on par with watching TV and similar to other interactive entertainment, all kids need a healthy balance between spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities and playing video games,” she said.

Confirming gaming’s status as a mainstream family activity, the Newspoll revealed 69 per cent of parents either regularly or occasionally play video and computer games with their children – Dads proving to be the biggest fans – 81 per cent participating compared to 59 per cent of Mums.

“Interactive games are played by all generations across the entire household and publishers continue to produce quality games to meet the demand.  Family games are the best selling genre and 67 per cent of all games sold last year were G or PG rated titles,” Curry said.

Other interesting statistics from the research included:

• Of the parents surveyed, males had a higher awareness of both parental control functions (66%) compared to females (40%).
• 54% of parents said the parental lock functions would mean there would be fewer arguments about video game usage in the household
• 85% of parents said the parental lock functions would provide a safeguard to prevent their child from playing games with inappropriate content
• 73% of parents said the parental lock functions would help establish a routine around playing video games

-       Ends -

*IA9 is based on a national random sample of 1,614 households in which as many adults responded to more than 75 questions providing over 300 data points in a 20-minute online survey. The survey was fielded by Nielsen Research in July 2008.

* 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.

To read Nintendo’s Corporate Social Responsibilty Report Click Here

 What:                                         

A new addition to the Xbox 360 Family Settings called the Family Timer.

 Availability:                          

The feature is available on new game discs purchased at retail stores and is available as a software download via Xbox LIVE for owners of older consoles.

 Product Overview:           

Xbox 360 added the Family Timer to its existing set of industry-leading parental control features intended to help make the Xbox 360 experience safer and more secure for the whole family.  

 The Family Timer enables parents to set the amount of time their Xbox 360 can be used by members of their household by day or by week. For example, if a parent has allowed their child to play the Xbox 360 for two hours a day, they can set the console to allow for only two hours of play a day. After those two hours expire, the child will not be able to use the console again within that 24-hour period, unless additional time is granted by the parent.

 Features:

• Easy to use: intuitive to discover, use and monitor.
• Flexible: limits can be set on a per-day or per-week basis.
• Reminders: the console will give notifications at one hour, 30 minute, 15 minute and five minute intervals before the time expires. 
• Override access: parents and caregivers can simply enter the security Pass Code to “suspend” the Family Timer functionality (pauses the Timer so they can spend time on the console without using up the Timer clock).

 Additional  Details:

 Access:

To access the Family Timer, go to the System Blade and select “Family Settings” then “Console Controls” and then “Family Timer.” This is the only access point for the initial set-up of the Family Timer. Once set, the parent/administrator can access the feature through the Personal Settings button on the Guide, which will list the Family Timer as an option. 

 Setting:

• When setting the Family Timer, a parent/administrator has three options for setting limits:  Daily, Weekly or Off. 
• The Daily option allows the parent/administrator to set limits on console use per day in 15-minute increments.
• The Weekly option allows the parent/administrator to set limits on console use per week in one-hour increments.
• During the inaugural set up of the Family Timer, the system will prompt the administrator to “Set Clock” to the current time and time zone. This will allow the timer to track time appropriately, replenishing the time at midnight if set Daily and midnight on Sunday if set Weekly. 
• The first time any of the Family Settings features are accessed, whether it is the Family Timer feature or others, the console administrator is required to set a Pass Code. This is a four-button combination. If a Pass Code has already been set, the system will ask for the Pass Code in order to edit Family Settings.
• The Timer is set per console, not per profile.

 Timer:

• While the console is in use, notifications will appear at one hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes and five minutes before the time expires.  Additionally, the Guide blade has a real-time countdown so a user can check the Timer status at any time.  These functions provide gamers sufficient notification to save their game.
• When the Timer expires, a pop-up alerts the gamer of the end of the session and offers three options:  Add More Time, Suspend Timer and Shut Down Console.  In order to select the Add More Time or Suspend Timer functions, the user is required to enter the Family Settings Pass Code. 
• The Suspend Timer function allows parents and/or other users with access to the Pass Code to spend time on the console without using up the Timer clock. 
• When the Suspend Timer function is on, the Timer is suspended for that session only.  Once the console is turned off, the Suspend Timer function will automatically turn off and the console will default back to the pre-determined Family Timer settings.

Parents now have additional management tools once computer games are brought into their homes.

Major game console developers (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) all offer parental control tools in their new gaming systems. For example, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii consoles allow parents to enter the Australian Government classification level that they believe is acceptable for their children. Once they do so, no game above that level can be played on the console. Classified games contain embedded metadata “flags,” or a string of code in the software, that allow the consoles to automatically recognise the game’s rating.

Personal computers using the new Microsoft Windows Vista operating platform have the same screening capabilities as these stand-alone gaming consoles. For example, parents can set the classification threshold on their child’s video game console or personal computer to PG for pre-teens and then no games rated M or MA15+ can be played on the console (or PC) unless the parent first enters a password.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 console and PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld gaming system work a little differently. Both Sony gaming products let parents use a 1-11 scale to determine the level of game content.

To read X360’s Fact Sheet click here

To read Nintendo’s CSR Report click here

To read Sony’s Playsafe Guidlines click here