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Video games are a fun and exciting way for children to pass the time. A lot of the characters in these games are wholesome, energetic or downright hilarious. Some of these games are also pretty educational. Excessive video game playing has it's downfalls for adults and children alike, but to say that children are being corrupted by video games is a stretch. While not all video games are appropriate for for children, it's pretty easy to sort out the ones that are.

The word corruption itself brings to mind crimes and violence. It's hard to see how the Lego characters and fluffy animals (that most children's video games contain) could bring a child to commit a crime or become violent. Most children are taught values that should induce them to shy away from crime. There are some rare occurrences of children committing crimes and this is obviously due to some corruption in their young lives. Could video games possibly be the source of this corruption? Perhaps if a child is spending most of the day in front of the television playing violent video games that child could perceive the violence in the game as acceptable in reality. That is not the fault of the video game it is the fault of the parent. It is a parent or guardians responsibility to monitor the content of any sort of media that their child comes in contact with.

Allowing a child to play appropriate video games in moderation is harmless. If you are concerned about the content checking the games rating is almost too easy. Simply look at the rating clearly marked on the back of the case or even take the time to play the game with your child. If people don't take these simple steps then they can hardly blame a video game for their own negligence.

Youth crimes are a horrendous aberration. We certainly can't downplay the importance of keeping our children safe physically and mentally. It would be easy to blame it all on video games and just boycott them altogether, but that wouldn't solve the problem. It may make some people feel as if their child's well being was being protected if we did away with video games, but it would be a false sense of security. Shocking crimes will always occur. If people continue to suffer from mental illness and society continues to battle with poverty, peer pressure etc.. then we can be assured that crime among our youth will continue to be a problem.

The only way to protect your child from corruption is to take a hands on approach. Get to know the television shows your child likes to watch. Play video games with your child before allowing him or her to play by themselves or with friends. Invite your child's friends over and get to know them as well. When you know what your child is exposed to then you can set boundaries accordingly.

When people open their eyes and see that our children's safety is our own responsibility we will be able to stop blaming video games and rock and roll music for our youths corruption. We will then be able to start setting a better moral standard for our budding minds.

Learn more about this author, Shelly Barclay.
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