Lowton West Primary School
e-Safety – advice for parents
Children love to play games on their game consoles at home, but there are some
risks involved. The two main areas of concern are:
- Children playing online with strangers and either experiencing inappropriate
language, or being groomed.
- Children experiencing violent or sexual content beyond their age.
The PEGI ratings should help you decide what is appropriate for your child.
PEGI 18
The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage
where it becomes a depiction of gross violence and/or includes elements of
specific types of violence. Gross violence is the most difficult to define since it
can be very subjective in many cases, but in general terms it can be classed as
the depictions of violence that would make the viewer feel a sense of revulsion.
PEGI 16
This rating is applied once the depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches
a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life. More extreme bad
language, the concept of the use of tobacco and drugs and the depiction of
criminal activities can be content of games that are rated 16.
PEGI 12
Videogames that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards
fantasy character and/or non-graphic violence towards human-looking
characters or recognisable animals, as well as videogames that show nudity of a
slightly more graphic nature would fall in this age category. Any bad language in
this category must be mild and fall short of sexual expletives.
Further advice is available from www.askaboutgames.com which will also provide
advice on setting parental controls on games consoles to help ensure that play is
safe for children.
It is also important to ask your children who they are playing with. Most
parents would want to know who their children are playing with in the real world,
the same should also apply to the virtual world.
Descriptors
Age ratings are usually accompanied by one or more explanatory descriptors. These
should be interpreted in the context of the age rating – so a game rated 18 with a bad
language descriptor will contain more severe profanity than one rated 12.
Drugs – these games may depict or refer to drug use.
Fear – these games may contain material that is scary for young children.
Discrimination – these games may include content that encourages or
depicts discrimination
Bad language – these games contain swearing. It will be mild in games rated
12 and can include sexual expletives in games rated 16 and 18.
Gambling – games with this descriptor may teach or encourage gambling.
Violence – these games contain depictions of violence. The severity of the
violence will depend on the age rating.
Nudity – these games may show nudity in a sexual context.
Sex – games with this descriptor may contain sexual references or show
sexual behaviour.
Horror – these games may contain sounds or effects that could cause
shock or revulsion to a viewer.
Online – these games can be played online, either alone or with others.
Other information
It’s important to note that age ratings apply only to the appropriateness of
content and not to difficulty – so a game rated 3 won’t include any sex or
violence but might be too complex or challenging for a young child to enjoy.
The ratings are a useful guideline but every child is different. Some children
over the age of 12, for example, could still be upset or confused by some of the
content in a 12-rated game. And as with any media, age restrictions won’t
necessarily keep your children from seeing it. If your child is an avid gamer it’s
probably worth having a conversation about sex, violence and other potentially
inappropriate or upsetting content in games.
Useful links
http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/33
http://videostandards.org.uk/VSC/games_ratings.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19042908