Runescape ok for a 10 year old?

[hentob]

My soon to be 10 year old son would like to play Runescape. I understand it is for ages 13+, but I have no problem with him watching some PG-13 movies or Teen television shows.

Many of his friends seem to be playing this game and he assures me that so-and-so said it isn't "bad". Thought I would ask the experts.

My concern would be heavy violence and sexual content. I am 100% confident he would come running and screaming at a "What is your name--Meet me at the library without your parents" situation, but is there anything I should be worried about as far as Runescape

Anyone?

 

[mackeysmom]

Hi -

I can't provide you with any details about the game itself, but I do know that my cautious sister allows my 11 year-old nephew to play Runescape.

Hope that helps a little

-- Laura

 

[Galahad]

I don't think there should be a problem with the actual game but I can tell you from watching my son a few years ago that it's very addictive. It has the danger of eating up tons of time and energy and otherwise being a distraction that gets in the way of important stuff. They tend to "think" about the game a lot, even when they aren't playing it. We used to call it (referring to other games altogether) being "Nintendo-Headed". Nothing threatening about the game itself though.

 

[Anewman]

The game it self is not BAD or inappropriate for a 10 year old, actually pretty tame in the days of HALO and GTA.

But as with any ONLINE environment you or the game developers can not entirely control what your child might be exposed to, remember that your child will be interacting with some complete strangers.

 

[DelaneyRose]

My son brought home a book from the Scholastic Book Fair about Runescape. It didn't look like something I'd want him playing b/c he does tend to get very one-track-minded about video games and this just looked like more of the same. It looked very Dungeons and Dragons-y to me. So I just told him "sorry, you're not 13 so the website won't let you register". Easy solution.... until he turns 13...(plus we're on dial-up so I can't imagine the game would run that smoothly for him anyway).

 

[NAB]

My son is 10 and he has been playing it for awhile now.

His friends are on when he is on so he talks to them. He knows enough not to give out his real name or password to anyone. If you go to the library here you will see a lot of kids play.

I haven't seen any sexual content in in the game. Actually he just bought a scholastic book sold at the school book fair about the game that gives you hints. So it can't be that bad.

If your worried watch for a little bit.

Edit-- yes it is very additive and that is all they talk about , all his baseball team talked about it then watching their team mates play.

 

[JunieJay]

My 12 year old has been playing it for a couple of years. Its pretty tame. I think your child will be fine.

ETA: I agree with the addictive component. I have to limit him to weekends only. Of course he doesn't like that, because he's not a major player since he can't devote major time to the game. But I guess he likes it better than the alternative (not being able to play at all).

 

[Magpie]

The violence isn't bad and the sexual content is pretty much non-existent. The rule with our children (who started playing it at 8 and 10) is that they must keep the chat function turned off. So they can see other players but they can't talk to them unless they are friends.

Each Runescape friend, BTW, is vetted by us and has to be someone we know in real life. So far their friend lists consist of their siblings and the other kids who live on our block.

I think it's fine, but like with anything online, you need to set rules and supervise your kids.

 

[Papa Deuce]

OK, I don't play Runescape, but I do play World of Warcraft, which is similar.

If I was single, not looking for dates, and had nobody depending on me, I could EASILY play 20 hours a week, if not more.

As others have said, the GAME may not be bad, but other PLAYERS may be bad... however, in Warcraft there are parental controls which can be set which can help a lot. I have no idea whether these exist in Runescape.

 

[KikiFan]

I will agree that its addictive, really addictive. My 12 year old has been playing it for about a year and half and she loves it.

I've never really been worried about her safety on the game they seem to have really good filters that block things out pretty well. That's not to say that there is no inappropriate language - just that they filter it pretty well. And players who break the rules get muted.

There is some violence (my daughter has been killed a few times) But the violence is primarily sword fighting and spells I think. There are also some great "real life" lessons to the game. Like don't go out to the wilderness or certain areas alone. There are also some great economic lessons like making merchandise and selling it for a profit. Experience in trades (increases levels) and means more $$$. Hard work means more $$ which means bigger houses. My 12 year old owns a Runescape mansion I'd love to live in! I noticed my daughter understood budgets economics better after playing.

She's also made some cool friends. She's got on line friends around the world - of all ages. One is a grandmother in Australia, another is a 30 something mom in England. Plus kids her own age.

My suggestion is to set time limits, Sit with him at first so you get a feel for the game and I'd probably limit the chat feature. YOu can set it so he can only chat with people on his friends list. If your son signs up let me know I'll have my daughter befriend him and teach him a few things!

 

[hentob]

Thank you everyone for your input. We have a limit of 45 minutes a day for him to play on the computer, so hopefully that will tame the "addiction" part.

When I was a teen, I was so addicted to Tetris that I would lay at night and play it in my head

I don't want that to happen to him

I will talk to DH tonight and we will decide. Your opinions are very helpful

 

[dizneenut]

My 11 yo DS has been playing for a couple years now. Its pretty tame. All 4 of my boys are addicted to the game.

The people that run the site are pretty good about keeping it safe for younger kids. Whenever my boys have had a problem with someone, they reported it right away and that person was banned.

 

[nuke]

My husband plays and my 10 year old has an account but only plays maybe once a week or so. DH on the other hand plays everyday. They do enjoy playing and it seems pretty safe.

 

[piglet too]

The one thing I really like about Runescape (both of my DSons play as well as my DH) is that it does seem to be fairly well monitered by the people running it. I hear from my guys of people being banned for breaking the rules. They even have shrot-term bans for rule breaking too. My younger DS8 knows not to share his info and only "plays" with his dad, brother and real life friends.

 

[JunieJay]

The violence isn't bad and the sexual content is pretty much non-existent. The rule with our children (who started playing it at 8 and 10) is that they must keep the chat function turned off. So they can see other players but they can't talk to them unless they are friends.

Same here. I love that feature of the game.

 

[Tosie]

We allowed my 10 year old to play last year (he's 11 now and has since lost interest). Our one rule was that he was only allowed to "talk" to his friends from school that also played - no one else. He obliged and really enjoyed it.