US: Parents & video games

Just days after the BBC reported on discussions in the UK about kids and game ratings (post just below), the New York Times came out with "Game Ratings: U is for Unheeded," an in-depth look at the subject. Writer Katie Hafner leads with an anecdote about a woman buying Grand Theft Auto (rated M) for a 10-year-old who very much covets it. "While many parents would not think of taking a 10-year-old child to see a film rated for mature audiences, young children routinely wander into the domain of mature games," Katie writes. One of her sources suggests that parents act on film ratings more than gaming ratings, for some reason (do you?). Also, "to some extent, the problem lies with the fact that few parents sit and play video games with their children." [Meanwhile, the governor of Illinois wants his state to make it illegal to sell games rated M to minors, the Washington Post reported today.] I would love to get fellow parents' thoughts on this issue - how you view game ratings. Do they help with purchasing decisions (have you seen them on game packaging)? Do they influence you less than movie ratings? Email me anytime via anne@netfamilynews.org, or post here by clicking on "comments" just below. Thanks!