Video Games for Children

Visit any top video game store and you will be  overwhelmed by the hundreds of choices. Children and teenagers seem to know their way around video stores as if they were were there every day. But for the parent, video store are are a maze of games that all start to look alike. Where should you begin to make it all seem to make sense?

You'll find information available online, open your web browser and do a little research. You can do a search on the website for the game system your child plays. Refer to the below guide for help.

Wii= Wii Nintendo Console
EA Sports = Entertainment Arts System
PS3 = PlayStation 3
XBox 360 = Microsoft's Gaming Console
PC = Personal Computer
PS2 = PlayStation 2 Console
PSP = Playstation Portable System
DS = Nintendo's Hand held System

After locating the section for the appropriate games for your child's machine, be sure to check the ratings of each game. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) provides game ratings in an effort to assist parents in choosing a game that is what the parents will permit their child to play.  Here's a guide to what the ratings mean:

C = Appropriate for Early childhood
E = Appropriate for Everyone
E 10+ = Appropriate for Everyone aged 10 and older
T = Acceptable for Teens
M = Appropriate for Mature Adults

The illustrations on the both video and PC game cases do a good job of representing the game's content. If you see a picture of fighting on the cover you can assume there will be violence in the game. On the other hand if you see cartoon characters you recognize you can assume the game will be similar to what you know about those characters. 

There are alternatives to buying a game you are not quite sure of, you could always try a video game rental service and test the game prior to buying the game to make sure it is what you would want your child to play.