Parents and Gaming

It’s important that parents be an active part of their child’s gaming experience.

For information on managing video game play in your home, along with other helpful tips for parents and family gaming, click here.

Click here for a helpful Tip Sheet for parents on video games in the home, brought to you by ESAC and the Media Awareness Network (MNet)

According to our 2009 research:

• 79% of parents are aware of the ESRB rating system for video games
• 86% of Parent Gamers think its important to check the content descriptors on video game packaging
• 95% of Adult Gamers agree that the ESRB rating system is very useful to help parents buy and rent age-appropriate video games for their children
  

Parental Controls

Next generation console manufacturers have built-in parental controls or family settings into their consoles.

These controls allow parents to:

• restrict content based on the age of the user/ESRB rating
• set time limits for game play
• set monthly spending limits for online gaming
• restrict chat functions with other users in a live setting

Please consult the following links for information regarding parental controls for each of the next generation consoles.

• Nintendo Wii
  
• Microsoft Xbox 360
• Sony PLAYSTATION 3 (click on PLAYSTATION Network parental controls in the left side menu)