Y'know, I often like to sit with my son and watch hockey. He doesn't really understand the game of course, but he knows that daddy likes it and he loves to spend time with his daddy. So, he's usually excited to watch a game with me.
Inevitably a fight will break out during the game we are watching. As a hockey fan, I loves me a good hockey scrap :) As a father to a very young son watching said fight, I'm always a little uneasy about what he is watching :( My son knows that hitting other people is bad, but how do I explain to him that fighting=wrong but hockey+fighting=okay?
I personally don't see anything wrong with the violence in hockey, but I'm old enough to know that it is consentual and well-regulated. It's a million miles away from hauling off and kicking the crap out of some guy walking down the street. My son is not nearly old enough to make that assessment for himself. I do the best I can to explain to him that the men fighting during hockey are doing a bad thing, but I always feel like a liar because I personally feel that there is nothing inherently bad about a hockey fight.
I'm not going to censor hockey for my son. Hell, this is Canada and we don't do this. I was playing hockey on a team when I was 4 years old. For now, until he gets older, I'll continue to tell him that fighting is bad. When he gets old enough, I can begin to explain to him that the fighting he sees in hockey is not the same as fighting in real life.
I guess what I'm saying is that this issue is not limited to video games. I have no answers.
edit: for reference, my son is two and a half years old
Inevitably a fight will break out during the game we are watching. As a hockey fan, I loves me a good hockey scrap :) As a father to a very young son watching said fight, I'm always a little uneasy about what he is watching :( My son knows that hitting other people is bad, but how do I explain to him that fighting=wrong but hockey+fighting=okay?
I personally don't see anything wrong with the violence in hockey, but I'm old enough to know that it is consentual and well-regulated. It's a million miles away from hauling off and kicking the crap out of some guy walking down the street. My son is not nearly old enough to make that assessment for himself. I do the best I can to explain to him that the men fighting during hockey are doing a bad thing, but I always feel like a liar because I personally feel that there is nothing inherently bad about a hockey fight.
I'm not going to censor hockey for my son. Hell, this is Canada and we don't do this. I was playing hockey on a team when I was 4 years old. For now, until he gets older, I'll continue to tell him that fighting is bad. When he gets old enough, I can begin to explain to him that the fighting he sees in hockey is not the same as fighting in real life.
I guess what I'm saying is that this issue is not limited to video games. I have no answers.
edit: for reference, my son is two and a half years old