There are two types of games that have the potential of being violent.

The first type involves games that kids tend to play outdoors. While there is always the normal risk that a child will get hurt when being physically active, not all "running around" play is, by any means, violent. Some can be. For example, there is a difference between playing Dodge Ball or Hide and Seek and playing something that involved pretending someone is killed. With games that involve a lot of physical action parents can use common sense in determining whether things appear to be turning too violent. A bunch of kids running around the yard and chasing one another is not violent. The bunch of kids running around and chasing others with a big stick has gotten too close to violent.

The second type of game that has the potential of being violent is the electronic game, such as games used with PlayStation. As with "real world" (as opposed to virtual) play, some of these games have adventure without violence while some are clearly pure violence.

With either type of activities that may include violence a good guideline for parents is to ask what kind of thinking is likely going on in the child's head, as s/he plays the game. If children are imagining an adventure that's "action play". If they're imagining killing or hurting someone or something that's violence. Then again, if kids are chasing one another with water balloons and thinking of nothing but hitting the other kid that's neither action nor violence. Its just water-balloon play.

There are positive activities and thoughts in which people can engage, and there are negative ones. If we watch two little boys building a fort or riding their bikes we see one thing happening with them as far as their moods and thinking goes. If we watch two little boys pretending to kill someone or something we see something completely different.

When parents offer positive activities (and that doesn't just mean "educational" or "sit-down" activities) mentally healthy children get used to having fun without imagining violence. Mentally unstable children - more than others - are most at risk with violent play. For every minute a child's mind is being spent on useless (and possibly harmful) thinking an equal amount of time has been lost when it comes to positive activities that nurture good mental and emotional growth.

As far as I'm concerned, and based on the above definition of "violence", all violent games are too violent for children. At best, violent thinking offers nothing productive to a child's development. At worst, it can seriously negatively affect mental and/or emotional development.

The world is full of violence. As adults, most of us wish there could be no violence and instead be a peaceful world. In view of most people's wish for a peaceful world, parents need to ask if violence should ever be a part of a child's play.

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