I don''t envy you, and I have no idea what to do in a situation like this. I, too, would be interested to hear what the more experienced of us would do, if for no other reason than to prepare myself for the future.

Hmmmmm... well, I think this was about the time I picked up gaming. I can tell you, on a whole, what my parents policies were for gaming. In the beginning, I was big on Mario, all that stuff... longer than I can even remember really. Mom says she stopped playing after I started beating her, and I don''t even remember that *shrugs*

That said, only a little while later, I was playing Wolfenstein 3D. I mean, I was definitely limited on time and I was obviously disciplined for anything I did wrong (I think the worst thing I ever did was bite someone for making fun of me all day, sort of a vigilanty attack after the teacher''s let the kid get away with it so many times).

I think, as long as you make sure your daughter understands the whole difference versus reality and games, she''ll be ok, but definitely stick with whatever you''re comfortable with.

I have a 14 month Infant at home and basically its a no blood and guts kinda game policy. So basically Zelda would be ok but Doom wouldn''t... or Simpsons Road Rage is ok (they never get hurt when you hit them) Halo is pushing it I''d say.... But since its not humans your shooting (although the flood is close and migth be pushign it to far for me). Stuff like sports would be fine I''d say. Also games like Mario or Racing games are right up kids allies. I can say my son at about 6 months LOVED mech assault on XBOX. again no blood so its cool.

What I can''t figure out is how my wife will allow Teletubbies in the house but not Doom3 At least in Doom3 I''d be KILLING demons not letting my son watch their spawn

If I ever get kids, I''ll refuse to let them play games until they finish Lord of the Rings. It''s so they''ll develop an imagination, instead of getting it nerfed by all this pre-imagined nonsense. No, really.

¬¬

It''s my games, damn your eyes. You''ve already ruined sex, I won''t let you take this away from me too.

My 15-month-old girls like to push the pretty buttons on the Xbox controller (I give them the OC to distract them from the one I''m using (it only works for a little while)) but haven''t yet realized that they can affect things on the screen (if it was plugged in).

Anyway, my plan is to basically just follow (tempered by my own intelligence, of course) the ESRB ratings (and their movie counterparts) when it comes to matters of age-appropriateness. As such, I expect I''ll likely get the girls a Gamecube (or similar) due to the generally larger quantity of appropriate-level games once they show an interest.

As long as I''m talking about ""the plan"", I''ll also mention that I hope to be able to get them involved in PC games simply because I want them to become familiar with the equipment since it''s such an essential part of modern-day life (as opposed to consoles - which have their place as well). At least they already have their own keyboard to bang on instead of mine.

I will probably restrict my FPS gaming to after my girl goes to sleep. I already do that, actually. In fact, I don''t do any gaming while she''s up any more. I think it''d be fun to play with her one day in something, but probably not a shooter. Why? Ill-defined reasons, for certain. But I guess just because.

I have a 4 and 2 year old. I too try to stick less violent games while my children are arround and do almost all my gaming after they go to bed.

I have this vague rule that if you are fighting monsters it is ok as long as it as not over the top. So for example I did not feel bad letting my girls help me play something like AO or EQ for the most part. I would go find some ugly monster and they could help me by pressing buttons. Or even better than monsters anything bug like as they already want me to ""get the buggies"" that invade the house now and then. Doom3 on the other hand I think is just to scary for my children currently even though you fight monsters.

I also did not play things like FarCry arround them or RTS games that look to much like people killing people.

So these are my rather vague parental gaming rules that I try to follow for myself.

I picked up a joystick game that contains DigDug, PacMan, Rally X and more for like $20 that plugs right into the TV that the kids love to use. I also have a bunch of kids, games Freddy Fish being one of them, for the children also.

Best advice I have is do what feels right and you are comfortable with.

Yeah, I''m with you. My daughter is about 14 months now, walking and talking and imitating things she hears with alarming frequency...I just don''t want to expose her to the kind of violence and carnage you find in your average FPS until she is much older. Something like Halo is borderline, maybe...but Far Cry, Painkiller, Doom 3, or (God forbid) Riddick...those will wait until after she is asleep, and they will be played on the other end of the house. With headphones on. (*cough* Riddick *cough*)

I hope your BiL recognizes the huge favor you did him and how badly he blew it! Since his mom''s already mad at you, ask her if she really thinks all of the ideals of the upbringing she gave the kid and their religious mores and concepts can be overcome by CliffyB.

I recommend a Gamecube for kids. My daughters play Nintendo titles more than anything. Double Dash, Luigi''s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, and Mario Party 4 are all big hits with them. In comparison, there are a few old PS1 kids games they play on the PS2, and the only Xbox game they play is Barbie Wild Horse Rescue. My youngest (4.5 years) is a huge Spiderman fan, so she likes to watch me play Spiderman 2 on the Xbox.

I don''t play most FPS games when they are awake. My oldest (8.5 years) really liked Nerf Arena Blast and beat it on the hardest level, and we recently started playing some Timesplitters 2 in co-op mode on the GC since that''s pretty cartoony.

Here''s a question: I have a friend whose daughter will soon have her 4th birthday. Since they have no videogames in the house, I decided to bring one of the joystick videogame things as a present (specifically http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/68ef/, the ms.pacman caught my eye). Would this be a good gift for a child of her age who''s never been exposed to videogames?

Well, the dad still occasionally becomes addicted to scrolling shooters. The mom isn''t a gamer, but has potential
I''d told them about this idea of mine a while ago, and they seemed interested. I just wanted to know if Pacman will be reasonably easy for the girl to get into.