The one thing that most video games have in common is violence.

It seems that the more recent and popular video games are filled with it but not all video games contain violence.

Don’t get me wrong; seeing some of the violence in the video games can be amusing, but at the same time, I don’t think that little kids should be playing them. Not because they might become more violent but simply because it’s not healthy to be exposed to this at such a young age. It doesn’t really matter if teens play these games because they know that what they are doing is just a game.

“I don’t think that if a kid plays a violent video game they will have an understanding of what’s really going on,” senior Sean Chapman said.

I baby-sit for a seven-year-old boy, and some of the games that he plays are too graphic and obscene. Games such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Unreal Tournament are too graphic for a little boy to play.

In Grand Theft Auto, there is battery, substance abuse, and guns, Doom contains shooting and killing people, and Call Of Duty is a war game. If one wants to see war then turn on the TV. Unreal Tournament is a battle game that has a lot of blood, gore, and explosions. These are not games that children should be playing.

“If a parent does decide to buy their child a violent video game then maybe they should limit the time the child plays the game,” sophomore Amie Coleman said.

There have been stories in the news about children acting out in violent ways, and the parents attribute this behavior to the programs, movies, and video games the children are subjected to.

“I don’t think that because a child is playing a violent video game that they will start running down the street with a bazooka or jumping in a car trying to run people over,” Coleman said.

Studies from Iowa State have shown that there is a significant relation between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior. The studies showed that an increase in exposure leads to an increase in aggressiveness.

“I have never seen a kid become violent after playing a video game,” Chapman said. “I have only, seen a kid become more violent after watching wrestling.”

The decision of whether or not a child under the age of ten should play a violent video game is up to the parents, not the makers of the game.

“People who make the video games can do whatever they want,” Chapman said. “It is the responsibility of the parent to make sure that the video game that they are buying for their child is appropriate.”