This is how it works over here too. I'm not going to lambast the guy for the alcohol comment as i was pretty vague with the 'advlt' part and just assumed people would know i was talking about the parents rather than some random advlt.

Like you said, it's about common sense. The parents would have to be total knob jockeys to allow their kids to sit and drink a bottle of spirits or some other ridiculous amount of alcohol, but allowing a 14 year old or so a small glass of wine with a meal, say at Christmas time, isn't going to land people in court, nor should it. It's like games and movies, it should be up to the parents to decide, not some jumped up politician. After all, no one knows their kids better than their parents.

My daughter is 4, so I'm not in a position to say if i would or wouldn't allow a 10 year old to play a game like Skyrim, but if i was pushed, i'd probably say no. not because i think she'd go outside on a killing spree, but because her time would be better spent doing other stuff.

I certainly agree with this. I'm too lazy to look if I said that already once this topic in the first page or two or three, but for me the prominent issue with games all around, not just these type, should be making sure the child is keeping up on their priorities like homework, housework, and actively socializing. I've run into quite a number of children who gave their parents utter fits when told to get off the game -- this is not something I tolerate. For a parent who pays attention it's pretty easy to gauge if the child can handle it, if they can differentiate fantasy from reality (which should be attained within a few years old, cartoons are usually seen by then, if anything, well before coordinated-based games enter the fray), and if they are responsibly using their fun time and not ignoring priorities that take precedence over video games.

It's disappointing to me when I read that when a child has interest in Skyrim or these types of games that they're outright banned by parents merely because of their age. This really teaches a child they can't confront their parent(s) with issues honestly, when they want to do something they believe their parents might not approve of, they won't communicate, only hide it, and parent loses (possibly child as well), having no chance to educate child to better handle the situation, and increasing the likelihood of something going awry due to other influences that may not care as much about the child's health or livelihood as much as parent. To me the implications are rather large.

Well.... I hadn't brought that up myself, but since you did - yes, I hunt as does husband. We kill, butcher, freeze and enjoy meat from deer, elk, rabbit, and numerous game birds. I have eaten most every sort of game over the years - including bear, goat, mountain sheep, and large cat (bear and cat are not really what I call edible, but the goat and sheep were pretty good).

And I bet your kids are FAR better adjusted than kids who have no idea where meat actually comes from - unlike those who think it's all plastic wrapped in the market....

It seems like some people are saying a kid shouldn't play simply because there is killing.
Should they not be allowed to play Mario? When he's not go-karting with Bowser, Mario kills a lot of turtle looking enemies.
Perhaps The Legend of Zelda is too much for them?
And Lord forbid they see Star Wars...

My dad always told me "As long as your life is on the line, there is no such thing as a fair fight.". I have a feeling that's pretty sound advice.

Honestly I think Skyrim is pretty appropriate for all ages. I don't ever recall there being anything terribly horrible. Not even the Dark Brotherhood was that bad, really. Sure it's about murdering people and stuff like that for money, but I think even a 10 year old should be able to understand that this is a game. Obviously, the idea of killing for money isn't really morally acceptable in most cases, but that's pretty much what Skyrim is. For example, you let her do the Companion's questline. To me that was the most gruesome one. First of all, you've got these forts you're often going through on quest missions, with the corpses of tortured werewolves EVERYWHERE. Not to mention the dozens of decapitated wolf heads mounted on pikes you see ALL THE TIME, at one point you have to slaughter a bunch of 'women' and retrieve their heads which will haunt her inventory forever unless she only kills one.
And really? You seem hesitant at the Thieve's Guild it seems.. I can't even understand how that could be unsuitable for a 10 year old at all. There is practically no killing whatsoever during that. You can't really let someone play a game like Skyrim and try to block out all of the 'advlt content' because unless you're going to cook and make armour all day you can't keep away from the 'advlt content'. Skyrim is an M rated game, there's killing, stealing, drinking (especially in Skyrim) and all kinds of other 'inappropriate' things you'll definitely encounter whether you want to or not. In my opinion, it's either let her play the whole game or don't let her play at all. Skyrim is going to deliver a lot of bad morals, because it's a game where you can take those risks and do those 'evil' things without real life consequence. But if a 10 year old can't differentiate real life morals and Skyrim's morals they honestly shouldn't be playing games at all.
I don't mean to flame or put you down or anything, I just can't imagine playing only a fraction of such a huge game where, I know I can do anything I want but I'm not allowed because it's 'evil'. But then again this is coming from a guy who's literally been playing games since I was 3 and I even remember playing Onimusha when I was 5 or 6. It all really depends on the person and how mature they are. If your daughter is able to distinguish right and wrong, and real and fantasy then I'd say let her play Skyrim as it was meant to be played.

I'm a 13 year old skyrim player and honestly it doesn't bother me at all. I just know that it's all fake and nothing is real. Then again, it might be different for different people.

Everything comes down to how mature you think your child is. Some children can handle things others can't. On another note have a talk with your child about what is and isn't safe talk in an mmo. Most of the time its the parents insecuritys and worrys that hold a child back from trying something.

I do not have any kids myself yet, but I can tell you from my own experience as a 25-year-old woman who started playing role playing games when she was about ten and eleven that it has not had any adverse effects on me. I grew up on PC games because my dad is a PC gamer and he also played the original D&D dice game. Role playing games for me were actually a way of connecting with my dad because it was something he enjoyed as well. I played both Baulder's Gate and Diablo II growing up, and I was never limited on the quests. My dad encouraged me to pursue quests I wanted.

The key was communication. My dad always plays virtuous characters, though they've becoming increasingly more "good" overtime as he became more and more religious. I remember that always being his forte, and the idea was always playing to triumph over evil. I had that context growing up and playing those games, even though I went on to play more chaotic neutral characters as I grew older. And now I am attempting my first Rogue/Assasin character in Skyrim and playing a more "evil" character, which I thought would bother me, but I have actually been okay with it because I feel detached from the character and understand that Skyrim is not reality. So I think that's really my point. Video games are not real. As long as you are able to convey that to your kids, they will be fine.

On a final note, my dad has been playing TES games since the beginning and I actually bought him Skyrim for his birthday.

WOW. Just... wow... on so many levels.

This is a tough issue and there is no completely 'right' answer- the families themselves will figure it out.

I wouldn't let my 10 year old play the DB or the Daedric quests in Skyrim. I am letting a 12 year old. I have reservations about all of it. The idea the hero is killing anyway so the DB is just peachy and they will thank me for it later is not reasonable.

There are advlts I wouldn't like to see playing some of these games- but in a free world, we take chances.

I wonder how many of the reccomendations to play Daedric and DB come from parents?

In the end, we all take care of our own families.

I'd have to say about this(and sorry if this has already been said. Didn't have time to browse the whole forum. ) that you should let her play whichever questline she would like to. If you get past the violence and the vile acts that one might have to commit during the quests, you'll see that there's actually a lot of intermediate level problem solving just from simple puzzles, but more-so in the way one can achieve their objective. Watching a young person play the game can give you a good insight into their mindset and how they actively take on problem solving.

I admit, there's a lot of violence and there is always the taboo of "doing evil", but as long as you explain that this is a game and will never(and should never) be real life and you reinforce that fact, then it shouldn't be a big problem. I let my 11 year old sister play, but I'm there to supervise. She asks me for help and I usually tell her just take a step back and look at more than what's just in front of you(she has a big problem about trying to get to everything in a straight line rather than looking around and taking in her surroundings. Walking to places in Skyrim is quite difficult for her it seems.)

Just my single penny for a thought today.

And in those situations when they tell you someone's been rude on the internet you should just tell them that if they want to keep using the internet, they better get used to it and ignore it... It's the truth, and if you don't prepare them, who knows how they'll react?

I just read this entire thread, and it seems the people against your daughter playing this game have no solid basis for thier decisions.

Ok short answear kids these days grow faster and you can't really stop it right?

So let them play Skyrim it got killing and fev advlt quests but it's preaty harmless in my opinion if you compare them to other things at them market.

Preaty sure kid will pick up worse things from their friends or other sources and you can't keep eye on them for 24/7...

And i was playing Fallout 1&2 when i was 11 and it diden't make me into bad person but made me love rpgs

Edit: I just forgot to say something: Your the parent so decide what's best for your kid on your own and don't ask Skyrim junkies

In retrospect, it's his kid and he has to raise her as well as he is capable. People should ask their family or spouses for advise on how to do a good job not strangers. Every person is different and on the internet we have different cultures and ideas of what is appropriate and what not. It is pointless to discuss this issue outside your own personal space.

WoW Solution - Put her settings so she can only talk to people on her friends list.
Old Republic - I personally play it, and most of the people on it are pretty mature about most things, I've yet to see anybody being creeped on.

I've played GTA since I was 10. But I'm also ADD, and smoke .. a lot of illegal substances. Not the best role model.