@MrSilver: I don't know about others, but my kids play video games 1-2 hrs a day after they've completed their homework and have done their Karate Lessons that they attend for 1 hour 4 times a week. I weight 102lbs, my husband 125lbs and my kids doctors say they are too skinny ... where is the fat in there and since we don't usually get home until 6pm because of all the extra circular activities we do as a family together, when are they NOT getting out? Especially being in karate (I have to show them off: http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/digitaldiva73/family/P1010696.jpg).

I think most of these parents are stating .... gaming for kids is not bad when monitored and on set schedules. And personally, I don't think I have a bad schedule at all =)

Monday/Wednesday/Thursday: School til 3pm, homework 3-4, karate 5-6, dinner at 6:30-7, playgames or watch tv (gee they can't go outside at night or I'd be a TERRIBLE parent), 8pm bedtime

Friday: School til 3pm, NO homework, 4-6 kids go outside and play with friends or watch tv blah blah blah ... 9pm bed

Saturdays: 9-10am karate, 11am - whenever: Since mommy volunteers at the military child center for playgroups we all go to the playground with other families and we spend the day out at whatever military base functions are happening (movies, festivals, etc. etc)

Sundays: Whatever the frick we wanna do, outside, inside, on the frickin roof, under the house, whatever, its OUR business.

So, I see what you are saying in some aspects, that yes they should have limits, but everyone on here has said that it is good if it is monitored as I showed above. =)

"Dad, for tonight will you read me the quest dialog of when Lady Katrana Prestor turned into Onyxia and how we pwnt her kin?"
hehe, I'll want my kids playing video games, not watching Tom and Jerry.

What percentage of children are fat?

When I was a kid, I was bummed when it was time to come inside. Most kids these days don't even want to leave their room.

Go outside and play catch with your kid... or go for a bike ride/hike.

All I can say is that a family that prays/plays together, stays together. It actually helps form a bond between parent and child.

It really is sad that someone would condemn you for your parenting skills. Being a good parent is not something that has a rule book you must follow. Every family interacts differently than the next. What really matters, is that you love your children, you keep them safe, and you raise them to be compassionate, responsible human beings.

I've said before, guess you missed it, that the only thing protecting young children is the fact they can't read what is being said..."dumbass."

I'd much rather let my daughter play an MMORPG with me while sitting on my lap than sit in front of a TV and watch 1/2 the retarded crap they play on Cartoon Network. My daughter IS allowed to play video games and IS NOT allowed to watch CN on a regular basis.

The dood who says a 5 year old shouldn't be playing warcraft probably never had a 5 year old. Even if chat is open, they don't know how to read it. dumbasss. Show me a 5 year old who can read anything more than 3 letter words, braniac.

With that, all that stuff needs to be turned off. Either way they see more harmful images and hear more harmful words on television and out in public. World of Warcraft is not going to turn young children into social deviants any more than anything else in the world will.

If you have had your say once in this thread, consider yourself done, okay, guys? This isn't going to turn into a flame war like the last thread. Say your piece, and move along.

To retiterate and perhaps clarify my stance from the last thread: An MMO is rated T for Teen, and the company (and the public) has a reasonable expectation of acting accordingly. These games are not appropriate for unsupervised children, and any content the children may see simply cannot upset the parent who put the child into the situation in the first place.

But a parent (or grandparent ) who properly supervises a child, and takes responsibility for what the child sees, is akin to a parent holding a child's hand as they walk together down the street of a city.

In other words, players are not allowed to get pissy because the child is there, and the parents are not allowed to get pissy because the child sees something that ToonTown would have filtered. Beyond that, it's a matter of choice, and collectively we need to get our britches untwisted.

Hum , first of all , a 5 years old often can't read , or at least not well enough to comprehend what's going on in chat . And WoW is nothing worst than walking in the street in terms of adult content , there's plenty of way to see inapropriate things for a 5 years just walking in the street with his parents , from random cursing to real drug use/violence .

Furthermore , no teaching and sheltering of the net (and social for that matter) etiquette lead to what we see now in WoW , teenagers who abuse anonimity and can't behave in a social context. No matter how you want porn/alcohol/MMORPG/tobacco/sex gone , they are here to stay and better prepare a kid for it as soon as he can comprehend it (of course I'm not saying showing porn to a 8 years old) than letting him wander in the wild when he reach the legal age .

This is good parenting right here digitaldiva , keep it up .

My grandson is 5 and occasionally he plays WoW with me. His interest is in making new characters not running around in the cities or chatting. I set him to DND and turn all chat channels off as well as put him out in a area I don't worry about naked people running around in. But besides the point, are they showing more than a bathing suit shows?

Does that make me a bad grandma, certainly not! I think parents who sit and monitor there children's computer play time are on the right track!! In this day and age our children are going to be exposed to unsavory characters or actions no matter how we protect them or hide them away. They will grow up, they will one day walk out that front door. Our job is to teach them well, show them the way, and be ready to catch them when they fall or they take the wrong road.

Online games aren't traditional video games. People who let 5 year old children play WoW are bad parents. You can monitor and supervise all you want but that isn't going to protect them from seeing adult things being said or done, especially in WoW where people dance almost in the nude and talk about drugs and sex, even in humor. Amethystrose is right, it's your business how poorly you choose to raise your child.

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I'm all about kids playing video games, but I'm not entirely sure I'd allow my kids (if I had any) to play traditional MMO's like WoW or DAoC. Like most things (in my opinion) a child's exposure to games needs to be restricted and monitored. I wouldn't give an 8 year old a box of video games that contained both childrens games and Doom/Resident Evil type stuff and I wouldn't turn the same kid loose in WoW. Eventually he's going to run into some inappropriate content. That's why the box says something to the effect of 'Experience may change during online play' You can't screen his tells, even if you're looking over his shoulder 100% of the time. That said, you're the parent not I and I honestly hope both you and your family have nothing but the best gaming experiences.

Digitaldiva you have my support 100% I agree as long as the situation is controlled it is no one elses buisness if parents allow the kids to play these games. My 8 year old plays DAoC with us as well as many other MMORPG's all of which my husband or myself have played/reviwed before he even get's near the game.