Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do

Product Details

Wrong. In fact, many parents are worried about the wrong things!

In 2004, Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, cofounders and directors of the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media, began a $1.5 million federally funded study on the effects of video games. In contrast to previous research, their study focused on real children and families in real situations. What they found surprised, encouraged and sometimes disturbed them: their findings conform to the views of neither the alarmists nor the video game industry boosters. In Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, Kutner and Olson untangle the web of politics, marketing, advocacy and flawed or misconstrued studies that until now have shaped parents' concerns.

Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all prescription, Grand Theft Childhood gives the information you need to decide how you want to handle this sensitive issue in your own family. You'll learn when -- and what kinds of -- video games can be harmful, when they can serve as important social or learning tools and how to create and enforce game-playing rules in your household. You'll find out what's really in the games your children play and when to worry about your children playing with strangers on the Internet. You'll understand how games are rated, how to make best use of ratings and the potentially important information that ratings don't provide.

Grand Theft Childhood takes video games out of the political and media arenas, and puts parents back in control. It should be required reading for all families who use game consoles or computers.

Almost all children today play video or computer games. Half of twelve-year-olds regularly play violent, Mature-rated games. And parents are worried...

"I don't know if it's an addiction, but my son is just glued to it. It's the same with my daughter with her computer...and I can't be watching both of them all the time, to see if they're talking to strangers or if someone is getting killed in the other room on the PlayStation. It's just nerve-racking!"

"I'm concerned that this game playing is just the kid and the TV screen...how is this going to affect his social skills?"

"I'm not concerned about the violence; I'm concerned about the way they portray the violence. It's not accidental; it's intentional. They're just out to kill people in some of these games."

What should we as parents, teachers and public policy makers be concerned about? The real risks are subtle and aren't just about gore or sex. Video games don't affect all children in the same way; some children are at significantly greater risk. (You may be surprised to learn which ones!) Grand Theft Childhood gives parents practical, research-based advice on ways to limit many of those risks. It also shows how video games -- even violent games -- can benefit children and families in unexpected ways.

In this groundbreaking and timely book, Drs. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson cut through the myths and hysteria, and reveal the surprising truth about kids and violent games.

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - Very good read for dispell the myth of Violent Games
Very detailed, well formed arguments backed with facts. The authors seem to have no agenda which is rare.
If you are worrying about the effects of violent video games, this is the book you should need.

(1 stars) - KILL ALL STUPID PARENTS.
Video games arent the problem if i feel like chainsawing hookers,doing drive buys or selling drugs to small children i bloody well can you stupid christians parents go give your children what they really need a copy of GTA, some crack and a hooker with lots of STDS.

(5 stars) - the most sensible thing ever penned on the subject
I highly recommend Kutner and Olson's Grand Theft Childhood. It is must-reading for anyone who is serious about studying the debate over video games, child development, and the public policy surrounding them. They have written the most thoroughly balanced and refreshingly open-minded book about video games ever penned. They cut through the stereotypes and fear-mongering that have thus far pervaded the debate over the impact of video games, and they offer parents and policymakers common-sense advice about how to approach these issues in a more level-headed fashion.

Highly recommended. My complete review of their book can be found on the Technology Liberation Front blog.

(1 stars) - biased propaganda
there is no proof that one thing in this book is true. plain and simple

(5 stars) - Unintuitive findings from a complicated industry
I am a veteran from the VG industry having worked in it for over two decades, and having played videogames for over 35 years. I am also the father of 3 grown children now who were exposed to a lot of videogames growing up. I know a little bit about the industry; I'm not Richard Garriott, nor Shiheru Miyamoto, nor Will Wright - but I've seen some stuff. I enjoy games and game design immensely and I have often been personally offended and defensive when Senators or the Media unfairly make blatant assertions about the woes of society being placed squarely on the VG industry. It's dumb. The Romans never had videogames. So what was their problem? Probably TV.

This book does an extraordinary job disecting with a critical eye the inner-workings of children, families, and the relationship videogames have in a family dynamic. How videogames might influence social structure or the underpinnings which make our children who they are; but most importantly, and this is key, it does so objectively. (The authors talk about that many of the staff involved with performing the study went into the study with differing perspectives and points-of-view; so all sides were represented)

Sometimes the book is rather dry with lots of statistics being thrown your way, but it's an easy read and not too difficult to get the general message. I like the book very much and recommend it to all my colleagues in the industry - because I think it provides some insight into the industry that until now was really being held victim to biased politicians looking for a spotlight. Or whackjobs appearing on night talk shows doing the same. About 99% of the time most of the idiots don't even play the game they're crucifying; a great example is Lieberman attacking Digital Pictures' "Night Trap" because young women are tortured and murdered by the player. In the game, actually the young women are being rescued by the player not killed - but whatever. We believe what we want to believe; to make whatever points or score whatever minutes of fame we desire. (The ESRB was a direct result of Mortal Kombat and Night Trap; the ESRB is a good thing (perhaps not perfectly executed - but can provide a service to parents) but also the people involved with coming up with the ratings - lets just say their "practices" could benefit from some redesign.)

This book simply provides unbiased analysis - or as close as you can come. I suggest reading it and deciding for yourself. Parents should read it before they make restrictions on how their child spends their time; why? The book points out why. You'll be surprised by their findings. I'm a parent, and the findings were very interesting to me. I don't think society's woes are because of Grand Theft Auto or other games like it. Parents should be parents, children know games are games, and some content is purely not intended for young children. Simply fact. The world is full of situations that we must monitor what the kids see - games are no different. But we often don't give the kids enough credit - as the book points out. And the politicians really should spend their time on bigger problems.

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