A lot of people think that Gaming is Evil. Well, if you let it control you, it can be. Some even blame criminal or violent behavior on video games.

But I really think that parents should be closely monitoring what their kids play. I’m not saying that it’s the sole responsibility of parents, but they do play a huge part in child development – especially during puberty.

Here’s an interesting post by blogsip, a Parents Guide to Monitoring Video Games.

It shows how you, as a parent, can check if the games that your kids are playing are safe. Methinks that the first step is to be familiar with the ESRB rating of the game. You can check it out at the ESRB website.

Let’s check out the guide after the jump…

Check The Rating
Every video game contains a rating much like movies. There is EC(Early Child), E(Everyone), E10 (Everyone 10 and older), T(Teen), M(Mature) and AO(Adult Only). You should look at the ratings to determine if your child is ready to handle the nature of the video game. Sometimes games do not fit the ratings that are given, such as past games that are available for purchase may have a different rating than what it would be assigned if it was released presently.

Play The Game Yourself
After purchasing the game you should take the time to play it to help determine if your child is ready for it. It doesn’t take a lot of time to get the feel of the game, so you don’t have to play through the whole game.

Play The Game With Your Child
You should play the game with your child (either together or take turns), to see how your child reacts to the game.

Monitor Your Child
Even if your child reacts okay to the game, you should continue to monitor your child especially if it is a mass multiplayer online game where you can play with other people online. Keep the game playing in an area where you can easily view it.

Don’t Get Addicted
Some games can be so fun that you or your child can get addicted to it. You don’t want to lose your life, such as your job and family over it. The same goes for your child. If you feel this may happen take a break from the game or slowly limited the length of game play.

Do Not Blame The Video Game For Your Problems
There have been a lot of claims that violent video games cause children and teens to act violently. This is not true, and if you think this may be the case, you should just take responsibility as a parent and talk to your child to see what the problem is and maybe get help for the problem.