I have a question and need some feedback! Especially from parents!

[dsnchanted395]

Ok my daughter is about to turn 7 in May and I am considering giving her her own acct to play. Its not like we don't have enough, ya know? But my question is this with the way things are in this game... the cheating, lying, general bad behavior by people... is it a good idea to expose her to that? The language and meaness, isn't there enough in the world without something "fun" making her cry or making her sad? IF I do decide to let her play, what if any restrictions should I put on her game play? Tamer only? Crafter? Walking around in Vesper taming random llamas? What do you guys think?

*I was gonna make a yes or no, too young poll but I can't figure out how :/*

 

[Guest]

UO is rated "T" for Teen is it not? IMO 7 is too young. Even 7 going on 18 is too young. My son tried at 13 and gave it up because of factors then (8-9 years ago) and just recently got back into it.

<shakes head> I would discourage her and get her into something not quite so nasty as UO can be. And should NEVER let her be alone - due to exactly the reasons why you are raising the question ... attitudes.

 

[themaster879]

You can set up a language filter on the options menu i think :/

 

[Connor_Graham]

If (big if) you decide to do this, you should start her out on crafting. It's something she can do that has it's own rewards, and won't expose her to the rougher parts of the game. There are also some easier places in Ilsh that aren't frequented by anyone, such as the 1st level of the Wisp dungeon, that she could go to in relative safety and again, not be exposed to the rougher parts of the game, yet still have fun with it. Just make sure she's never online without you there to supervise. Kids get inquisitive, and she's bound to wander into places that you wouldn't want her to be....like Fel.

 

[Fire Kitten]

I would say a big NO for a seven year old. not just the language factor but just being exposed to people who have no idea that she is that age.. If you are going to be playing with her all the time as a chaperone thats one thing. but IMO leaving her in a game with people of all ages and cultures.. it would be like droppin her off at the mall and saying.. Have fun...

 

[Guest]

That's funny. My Brother-in-law has started letting his daughter(my niece) play UO with him, she's 8. He set up an older computer a couple feet away from his. She doesn't know the password, so she can only get on when he lets her play. Which is usually only while he's there.

She likes mining, gathering leather, taming small stuff, and light PvM. It was soo funny to me when I saw her in game and found out that she plays and likes UO.

Any how, their setup is pretty good, since she can't be on UO unless he knows or is right there. Good luck!

 

[imported_OldAsTheHills]

Keep her Offline until she has a job and can buy a computer and pay for the
connection service.
*stares*
Yahaxithonix

 

[Guest]

My personal opinion is this...
I have a 10 year old daughter, although she don't play UO I don't think I would allow it.. there are to many ugly people in this game. I would much rather her go outside and play with friends in free time. Sitting on a computer playing games is not something I want for myself let alone my daughter! They start with little time then it goes to hours and hours spending all free time on computer... IDK, I also don't think UO is rated T anymore or so I heard...
If you do decide to give it a shot I also agree a mule! Good luck on your decision either way!

 

[Guest]

I let my daughter play on a spare character on my account (closely supervised) when she was 9, she thought it was fun for a few days then gave it up because it was too hard to fight monsters and crafting was too boring for her. I would recommend you let her play on a character you don't use much for a while and see if she keeps interest in it, then get her an account of her own if she wants one and then very closely supervised, it is hard for adults to keep from getting scammed out of their goodies and would be near impossible for a young child.

 

[imported_Ozymandies]

I have 2 daughters, age 7 and 9. They like to watch dad play, so I let them drive sometimes.

In general, the game is too violent for them. The 7 year old wanted to tame kitty cats. I explained to her that the game was primarily about fighting and killing the monsters, so she didn't cry when the mongbats ripped her kitty to shreds. On the other hand, she was not that interested after that.

The 9 year old calls them moneybats, though. She likes to farm vegetables from the farmer's fields and make clothes. The wraiths in the graveyard scare her, even though she watches Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings no problem. I think its the fireballs.

She harvested some wheat one day and asked me "where's the flour mill?". I had to think about that and finally found one in Yew. She has lived on a farm and ground her own flour, so she knew what to look for. She also goes horseback riding in RL, so its not that special for her.

They are much happier playing webkinz, UO seems too violent for them. All kids are different, though.

OZ

 

[imported_lady michelle]

Best thing for you to do since she is only 7 is for you to sit there with her while she plays This way you can point out to her what is or isn't acceptable in UO. Taming she might get bored with after awhile, probley same with crafting, make her 3 characters a tamer a crafter, and a warrior. this way if she gets bored of one she can get on another one.

 

[BadManiac]

There is a minimum age on a sticker on the UO box, read what it says and follow it. Failing to do so is not only horrendously irresponsible, but depending on where you live might be illegal, as well as incriminating whichever person sells that copy of UO.

No.

 

[imported_Lord GOD(GOD)]

I would say most definitely 100% no she shouldn't play this game.

 

[Guest]

No, if she wants an online community to start with, perhaps something like Club Penguin from Disney would be a nice start. My 8 year old son has an acct and loves to "make money" playing the flash games and taking care of his pet "puffles" he has trained one to dance with him =].

Let her enjoy being a kid a while longer, they have to grow up so damn fast nowdays anyhow. I also have 16, 14, and 12 year old girls in the house and a couple are just getting into Runescape. (yes forgive me, Runescape, but UO is so bloody hostile!)


My 2 cents,
JFR of Siege

 

[imported_Coppelia]

Although Ultima Online provides ways to have fun for a young child, its community, and internet more generally is not a place for a young child. Even behind her, you can't expect to be able to handle all the situations.
There are tons of very nice offline games.

 

[Guest]

I would have to agree with the general consensus here, Ultima Online is just not the game for a 7 year old. There are too many nasty individuals (not to mention a few weirdos), and I just don't think a child of that age is ready to handle that. My sister started playing Ultima Online when she was eleven (I think), and even at that age it opened up a whole can of worms.

There are plenty of nice single-player games for her to try for the time being. In fact, the Ultima Series might be a fun roleplaying game for your child to try out. Perhaps in a few years, when she is a little older, Ultima Online would be something cool for you to be able to play with one another, but until then I would keep her clear of it.

 

[Guest]

I would hesitate for a different reason: not enough of her peers play.

I've probably encountered less bad language in UO than on tv. The violance would have been more than I could have handled at that age but it does make an interesting teaching tool for how to be careful in a stange land ... how to win and how to lose and pick yourself up afterwards.

But in the end, once they've finished with the cats and rabbits and farms ... who would a child play with? Most of the adults probably don't want to play with kids.

On the other hand, I'm a believer of the philosophy that you have to make your life a part of a child's life as much as possible. If UO is a major part of your life, then it doesn't seem right to not teach them about it.

 

[Guest]

I let my son play WoW (age 11) under direct supervision and very limited in his game time. He does not have access to the account, but must get Adonias or I to put in the account info for them so we can control it directly. I'd say 7 is too young personally, but there ARE some really great KID MMO's out there if you look around. They have a toon town one as I recall and I think that would be much more age appropriate for a child that young, but should still be supervised in their game play to help limit "unhealthy" interactions with older folks.

 

[Kaj]

<blockquote><hr>

Ok my daughter is about to turn 7 in May and I am considering giving her her own acct to play. Its not like we don't have enough, ya know? But my question is this with the way things are in this game... the cheating, lying, general bad behavior by people... is it a good idea to expose her to that? The language and meaness, isn't there enough in the world without something "fun" making her cry or making her sad? IF I do decide to let her play, what if any restrictions should I put on her game play? Tamer only? Crafter? Walking around in Vesper taming random llamas? What do you guys think?

*I was gonna make a yes or no, too young poll but I can't figure out how :/*

[/ QUOTE ]
We don't know your child. Education is 50% parent, 50% kid in my opinion.
To put this in perspective:
A good friend of mine has a highly gifted kid. The kid has finished high school at age 9 and generally enjoys adult things. From a young age on he has had a great sense of responsibility and has acted thus. He never liked typical 'kid' things, like pretending to be a Pokemon. His interest were in math, science and LotR. He would enjoy Ultima Online. But he has relatively seen 'a lot' of the world. He would not be shocked or warped by a '@#$% you, mothe&amp;%%(%^'.
Another friend of mine has a kid that is quite childish. All he does is running around pretending to be a Pokemon, constantly trying to push or bend his parent's rules. If he were to see a 'fu#^' he would start yelling it at school the day after.

Those are two extremes I guess. But I do think UO is a bit too 'boring' for most kids. It's not flashy instant actions. It's hours of training and learning, if you want to seriously play. The first kid I mentioned would enjoy that, the second would say 'fu@$ this, where are my Quake 5 graphics?'. But if you were to 'entertain' your child in the game and keep her out of trouble, she might have a good time

. 7 is still young and their attention spans are usually still quite short. But again, that depends on your child.
There is no general rule for this sorta stuff.

Oh and www.neopets.com might be a nice start if you want to get your kid into online gaming. That game has the right features for children and is completely protected. But it does have a more 'adult' touch than complete children stuff.

 

[Maddin]

<blockquote><hr>

There is a minimum age on a sticker on the UO box, read what it says and follow it. Failing to do so is not only horrendously irresponsible, but depending on where you live might be illegal, as well as incriminating whichever person sells that copy of UO.

No.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your not serious are you?

I'd say,You know your child. YOU know what he or she can deal with. As to her own account? No. Make a char on yours and let her play under supervision. It'll be a good bonding time for you to make points on all facets of life in general. I'd rather spend time preparing my kids for the world than letting them loose unprepared. This dumbass game could help you make her understand that Barney or whoever isn't gonna help her when some wierdo says he lost his puppy and asks her to get in his car to look for it.

 

[Guest]

I would say go for it. I mean he/she gonna be subjected to bad words and stupid bs sometime in their life. No sence lieing to them about how it is in the world and sugarcoat everything and be over protective they will just hate you for it and next thing ya know they are hooked on drugs or on death row for killing people that resembled you. . Best thing to do is educate them the difference between right and wrong, when and where. Basicly teaching them to be grown ups

. But either way at 7 he couldnt understand even 1/2 of what he reads and be able to put it together.

*EDIT*
BTW i have a 7yo, 4yo, 7mo all boys WooT!!! I told my oldest he can play once he understands what he reads.

 

[Rykus]

My 12 year old has played since he was 6. He never plays alone and he and I usually go out together and hunt critters. He really enjoys resource gathering with me, and most of the time he is quite content looting the hides while I mow down the monsters. We also just hunt mid level stuff, even though I know we won't get anything decent. He has a bank and several secures full of utter crap, but it's something he enjoys and I'm fine with that.

When he was younger and I was the GM of a 50+ player RP guild on Cats, he was part of the guild. Everyone knew who he was in the guild and many of the members would spend time with him, sometimes taking him out hunting in a party, which were some of the most fun he ever had in UO. It was a good experience for him watching other adults, all of whom were good people and behaved like people should around small children.

As others have said, you know your child, do what you feel is right. I would only tell you to supervise it 100% of the time, no exceptions, and make it fun for them. Tell them about the bad side of UO and explain that there are places they can't go. You can choose to show them only what you want and over time introduce them to more mature content when appropriate. I tend to believe that as much as there's potential for abuse in UO, there's also plenty of positive things that can be learned from experiences gained in Sosaria, .1 at a time.

*edit* - Just want to add one thing. My son doesn't play that often. UO is a reward not a privilege. He probably only plays a 2 to 4 hours a month, so he spends plenty of time being a boy, outside with friends, enjoying real life. Too much time spent in front of any kind of video display is a bad thing, whether it's a PS2, Gameboy, or PC.

 

[the 4th man]

7 is too young to even be introduced to the cyberworld. Let her enjoy her imagination, board games, barbies......once they find this realm, the good ol days are gone and you may alter your child's childhood.

my son was born in 83, he's now 25. He knew Nintendo, the original.
He knew the original UO's, or saw me play them. Luckily, the pc explosion came years later. I lucked out........we played GI Joes, hot wheels, went for bike hikes.......I think you get my drift, and last but not least, there's too many brats on this game too.

Using the language filters fine and dandy, but she won't be safe from names like foker, and nickin frutz,,,,,,(seen em)

take some advice from an old salt.

 

[imported_Prince Erik]

My two children are 12 and 10 and neither of them are allowed to play UO. My daughter (the 12 yr old) will watch me play now and then and would love to play a tamer but I won't allow it. There are too many people in UO who's only entertainment is to make someone elses life miserable and I won't expose her to that. She understands because she's read this board and can't understand why some people on UHall are so mean to each other. She likes the discussion boards she belongs to better (A series of books called "The Warriors") because the people there are "nicer".

Only you can decide what you feel your child is ready for, but 7 years old? Wow. I always use COPPA as a model. Those rules were made for children under 13. Next year my daughter will be 13 and I'll probably relax some of my rules of being online.

Good luck whatever you decide.

-P.E.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

My 12 year old has played since he was 6. He never plays alone and he and I usually go out together and hunt critters. He really enjoys resource gathering with me, and most of the time he is quite content looting the hides while I mow down the monsters. We also just hunt mid level stuff, even though I know we won't get anything decent. He has a bank and several secures full of utter crap, but it's something he enjoys and I'm fine with that.

When he was younger and I was the GM of a 50+ player RP guild on Cats, he was part of the guild. Everyone knew who he was in the guild and many of the members would spend time with him, sometimes taking him out hunting in a party, which were some of the most fun he ever had in UO. It was a good experience for him watching other adults, all of whom were good people and behaved like people should around small children.

As others have said, you know your child, do what you feel is right. I would only tell you to supervise it 100% of the time, no exceptions, and make it fun for them. Tell them about the bad side of UO and explain that there are places they can't go. You can choose to show them only what you want and over time introduce them to more mature content when appropriate. I tend to believe that as much as there's potential for abuse in UO, there's also plenty of positive things that can be learned from experiences gained in Sosaria, .1 at a time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I used to let my oldest boy chase people while I casted on them. He did a better job at shadowing/chasing someone then I did. He tells me that he wants to play UO just to kill other players lol. Watch out for 2nd gen PvPers I tell ya its coming they are gonna wtfpwn all of us current PvPers

I have been playin UO over 10 years, longer then my son/s. they have spent many hours on my lap while I played this game.

 

[imported_Prince Erik]

<blockquote><hr>


I used to let my oldest boy chase people while I casted on them. He did a better job at shadowing/chasing someone then I did. He tells me that he wants to play UO just to kill other players lol. Watch out for 2nd gen PvPers I tell ya its coming they are gonna wtfpwn all of us current PvPers

I have been playin UO over 10 years, longer then my son/s. they have spent many hours on my lap while I played this game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Kids sure can surprise you. I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and got Guitar Hero I, II and III. I can 5 star 2/3 of the songs in those games on expert mode but my 10 yr old son can slaughter me now. Strange feeling, too... fatherly pride at watching him kick the crap out of me coupled with the bummed out feeling of being owned by a 10 yr old!

I don't know if I feel proud of a 7 yr old PK or if I'm more horrified at the thought.. can't figure that one out yet.. lol

-P.E.

 

[imported_Spiffykeen]

Well I gotta say, this is a very interesting thread... I'm the mother of a 4yo boy, and he watches me play UO sometimes.... but mostly I play after he goes to bed, because if he's awake he's always bugging me for something I'm also a teacher at a preschool/daycare, and I like to think of more interesting ways to teach things...

First off, I would have two PCs, so you can both play at the same time. Not just sitting at the desk supervision, but on screen supervison. There are plenty ...PLENTY... of unpopulated areas in this game where you can mine, tame, fish, etc etc etc. So go do those sorts of things. She doesn't need to do peerless runs at Lady M, that can be stressful enough for the best of us. She can build skills, and gather stuff, and dress herself up. If she wants to look around somewhere different, go with her to protect her.

This can be a great tool for learning reading, spelling, typing, even math skills! It's simple stuff to us, but it would make her think.... Now... the real trick, is how long it will keep her interest? If she doesn't get into it, it's all a moot point, BUT, I think it's worth at least trying

 

[Guest]

My 12 year old daughter plays, but before I let her I sat her down and explained what she could encounter and what I expected of her. She is incredible well grounded to begin with so it's never been an issue. Plus I do feel that UO has less foul people than many other fighting games.

 

[GarthGrey]

dsn, look at the majority of responses. Your daughter, immho, is wayy too young for this games "questionable characters". The stupidest response was "go ahead, she's going to be exposed, blah blah blah". I was more surprised by Connors response, but I'll stop there before it is deemed a personal attack and gets your thread locked or my response deleted. My son will be 5 in June. I screwed up and let him play Fable on xbox (his mom is still furious at me for that one). It's not even an online game and it's had a hugely negative impact on him. Don't let your daughter play UO yet, unless you can guarantee absolute adult supervision, and I still wouldn't do it.

 

[imported_BlacK RaiN]

<blockquote><hr>

Ok my daughter is about to turn 7 in May and I am considering giving her her own acct to play. Its not like we don't have enough, ya know? But my question is this with the way things are in this game... the cheating, lying, general bad behavior by people... is it a good idea to expose her to that? The language and meaness, isn't there enough in the world without something "fun" making her cry or making her sad? IF I do decide to let her play, what if any restrictions should I put on her game play? Tamer only? Crafter? Walking around in Vesper taming random llamas? What do you guys think?

[/ QUOTE ]

Rather than teaching her that those things are wrong and to be a good person herself... just continue to shelter her from the world until the day comes when you no longer can and she turns out to be a basket case unable to do much for herself because she can't handle it.

If you see your daughter begin emulating the behavior, then step in and discipline. If you think the kids on the bus or in her classes haven't already exposed her to that kind of stuff already... then you might want to reconsider your point of view.

Either way... a parents responsibility is to teach their kids what right from wrong is... not try and hide the wrong until one day you no longer can and their own curiosity winds up biting you in the butt.

*shrugs*

My mother knew me and knew what I could handle. My cousins mother sheltered the hell out of him... in the end, he's unable to cope and makes poor decisions without her... I on the other hand, am fine.

 

[imported_BlacK RaiN]

<blockquote><hr>

As others have said, you know your child, do what you feel is right. I would only tell you to supervise it 100% of the time, no exceptions, and make it fun for them. Tell them about the bad side of UO and explain that there are places they can't go. You can choose to show them only what you want and over time introduce them to more mature content when appropriate. I tend to believe that as much as there's potential for abuse in UO, there's also plenty of positive things that can be learned from experiences gained in Sosaria, .1 at a time.

[/ QUOTE ]

It sounds like you have this parenting thing down pat.

Be proud of being the kind of dad a lot of people wish they had.

 

[Guest]

I am just going to reply to the original post before I read through the rest of the replies. Have her come play Siege!... Just kidding, folks.


I do not know your daughter. I have no clue as too where her emotional maturity is, her motor skills, (mine suck, but I am old), or her ability to realize the line between game and real life.

You asked for my opinion. Here it is. UO is too much for a seven year old. Heck, it is too much for some adults. I make this decision as a parent that has successfully helped raise three children into adulthood.

If you search, I am certain you can find appropriate games to play with your daughter. Some might even be online. There are some folk that play this game that just do not care. *nods*

Even if you were next to her every minute, there are things you can not prevent. I speak from some experience here as well. I tried to get my children to play with me. (thus the reason I have so many accounts) I just do not see it going as you hope.

I have been wrong before. *nods*

 

[Crystilastmous]

By all means let her play, she will turn out WONDERFUL!

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't allow kids access to the internet at all until after they are at least 10 years old, and then only with VERY severe restrictions, as in NO GAMES, NO CHATROOMS, NO BOARDS. School research only, and only when monitored.

 

[imported_dexdash]

make sure to get her in vent she would learn all sorts o new words and expand her vocabulary. get a jump start on high school.

 

[Repowski]

No way Jose. This game will take up waaaay to much of her young life. Let her do something more productive with her time.

Don't do it.

 

[Guest]

Hail: Be carefull what you ask for. ie, what you let her do. Give her a horse to ride around on, and as soon as she see's someone on a Unicorn........Mommy...i want one of those, go get it for me............

This will never end. Then, you are not playing UO, but are helping her, "at 7", play UO. It will be qute for a short while, then you will see it was a mistake. She is just to young to play alone, and to young to really learn much.

Just let her do some stuff with one of your charaters once in a while. have a Time Limit in place.

 

[dsnchanted395]

Wow. I am really surprised at the amount of reponses and more than that, the majority of them semed to be well thought out. My daughter is rather mature and exceedingly smart for her age. As her dad and his family run a computer reapir business she knows more about comps than I do... *sad but true in some cases* And has about 100 CD/DVD ROM games that she has mastered and teaches her older sister when she comes over. We do monitor the content of what hses exposed to, part of her birthday present is getting her her own comp, rebuilding an old dell and putting it next to mine. So I don't have to give up my comp when she wants to play Pony Luv or Brother Bear or some other game. She is still very prone to acting her age though, and today proved it. Throwing a temper tranturm in the store when I ordered her birthday cake and she found out she wasn't getting it right then. Even though her birthday is a month away. She is a lil redneck tomboy and spends plenty of time outside playing and getting dirty, doing all the things a kid should do. I am thinking though of the rainy days, and this summer the days that are just too hot to be outside. Something that challenges her... though I hadn't thought of Toon Town, I used to play that when it first came out. A definate possibility. Her time on the comp, well at least ingame would definately be a reward for good behavior. She has enough toys to start her own toy store, but gets bored when shes playing along, and apparently I don't play right... *grins* I have let her play with her dad before, on an archer I named after her. She wanted a dog so she went out and tamed a dog, still in the stables named Oliver. LOL... and there was the time she wandered out of the Luna gate and stumbled on a crystal elemental. She started screaming "DAD come kill this stupid thing so I can play!" It was rather comical considering she ended up killing it herself. So this gives me a lot to think about and I appreciate the input.

 

[Guest]

Kids should be out side playing with friends. Running around, laughing and giggeling. They shouldnt be in front of a PC, pointing and clicking. I myself, RARELY play uo when my two year old is up and about. I dont want her to see me playing it! She reads alot of books (okay picture books, she is only TWO) and sings!

I wouldnt allow my daughter to play video games at seven, let alone go online. To many freaky sexual preditors out there. Have you ever seen nightline? But thats my opinion.

 

[imported_blesh]

IMO people can be pretty harsh in this game, and even just leaving her for a moment could expose her to some random A-hole. Also i think a 7 year old would become disinterested quickly. I think if she really wanted to play you could let her mess around with crafting? but i think she would get bored with that rather quickly.

i dunno. i guess bottom line is No, i wouldnt let a 7 year old play. I'd be more apt to get them playing something like neopets. its more to thier age group.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

...and there was the time she wandered out of the Luna gate and stumbled on a crystal elemental. She started screaming "DAD come kill this stupid thing so I can play!" It was rather comical considering she ended up killing it herself.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, WONDERFUL!!!!
My 2p's-worth: to a surprisingly large extent, UO mirrors RL, I've found. There's good guys and bad guys in both. How about reminding her (I HOPE she already knows?) NOT to talk to strange men, not to take sweets from strangers etc? Safety measure for RL work just fine in UO - yes?

For the record: my boy's been playing since he was 12 (when he first hit the internet) and he's now 20. We DID play the standalone Ultima games before that, tho, and were both desperate to try the online version. Over the years, we've progressed from "1 account/1 PC/shared chars/supervised play" via "seperate accounts/2 PC's but same room" to "several accounts/2 PC's in different rooms". Oh, and he's become so fascinated with how the game works etc, that he's now reading Computer Games Design at uni

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Kids should be out side playing with friends. Running around, laughing and giggeling. They shouldnt be in front of a PC, pointing and clicking. I myself, RARELY play uo when my two year old is up and about. I dont want her to see me playing it! She reads alot of books (okay picture books, she is only TWO) and sings!

I wouldnt allow my daughter to play video games at seven, let alone go online. To many freaky sexual preditors out there. Have you ever seen nightline? But thats my opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]
Umm... I'd say 2 is a bit young, yes! But even so, I'll bet she's not running around outside with friends? Unless you mean in the garden?
Seriously, tho, she sounds delightful, long may she remain so. &lt;3
Keep her away from TV, the internet and all video games for as long as you can!

 

[Guest]

Get her a football for her birthday !

A train set ??

Personally I think 7 is too young unless you are going to be there in the room, to supervise, due to 7 female and preditors out there in the game. All they see is a pixel cartoon and set off askin her for her phone number, and wanting to try to meet up with her in real life and so on.

I would not be worried about the language nor *pks* that is just part of the game and she has heard all those cuss words by now pretty much anyhow. I would be more concerned about sickos whom utilise a game to prey upon others *beyond the game* unless ya have her pretty trained up in avoiding sickos like that I would probably say wait till she a bit older...or make sure yall in room with her whenever she is playing UO.

My own daughters tried to play at around age 16 18 ... and their brother whom got UO for me *and them* neglected to tell them about tames. They went to kill a cow to harvest the meat and......it was behind the healer hut in Delucia. My girls were GUARD WHACKED ! HAHA That so shook them two up they never played UO again saying...momma that game you and our brother play is too damn violent. WTF them guards kill us for scared the crap outta us ! HAHA They were literally shaking rl.

*comic* but they never came back to UO. My son and I laughed as I looked at him and said .......YOU were supposed to tell em not to kill *blue* tamed pet cows ...

In the end it is up to you, if she can put together a computer doubt UO bother her much anyhow...just BE there for the sickos that won't care that she is 7 or 14 or 16 underage ...they don't care in the world they don't care when they playing in a game they oft use those games to ...hunt ..so make sure she knows about them and what NOT to say or do ever in games and in real world. Nothing more frightening for a parent than to see someone try to pick up your daughter in their cars when they just first graders. We had that even happen on her way home from school, luckily her twin brother was also with her..they both screamed for the crossing guard. . which saved her life. . and she and he were informed by us, about....sickos to know TO..scream and to flea ! If you let her play..make sure she IS informed of EVERY weird thing in pixel worlds games like UO with adult players all over Britannia.

 

[Guest]

We kinda did things the other way around, our boys brought us to uo.

Since she's obviously already playing at one level, I'd say yes, if it's feasible, let her have her own account/chars, but. Don't let her have the password, keep it for rainy days when outside play isn't feasible, always accompany her on your char.

Roz's son also posted the shard board, everyone there knew how old he was, so all would look out for him if they saw him in game.

A shared hobby can bring parents and children closer together, uo is a fantastic hobby to share, within limits.

As for bad language, unless your shard is different, I rarely see any unless I venture to Felucca or WBB. Bank in one of the quieter towns, Jhelom or Cove maybe and stay in Tram and I doubt there'll be a problem.

If she's having her own account building and furnishing her house will be something she can safely occupy several hours doing with minimal supervision. If she's a relatively typical 7 year old there'll be a lot of re-building too

.

Get her Kurgan's housebuilder programme too, that way she can be involved in something uo-related but off line when you're unable to supervise her in game.

 

[Guest]

I agree with you 110 % there. My own parents used to get upset with us when sometimes we told our kids things that my parents felt were too soon or too early to tell our kids. I kept saying...'

but mom/dad our kids are not growing up when yu raised me in a somewhat kinder gentler world. They growing up in a weirder sicker society, if we do not try to inform them, as they can grasp things for their ages about.........things it would be tantamount to shoving our kids onto the freeway during rush hour with pillow cases on their heads and over their eyes ..they'd be blind and defenseless. . and stand a snowballs chance in hell to survive till their 18th birthday."

They never agreed with us, but then once things began to happen to OUR kids, that never probably would have happened to us when we/I were kids or least not as common...our parents hushed up !

My father just shook his head saying kinda sad this world nowaday that ya have to about tell a 2 yr old about kidnappings to maybe save their lives...never needed to DO that when you were 2. I said "different times dad..different times

not much we can do but protect em by informing em *per their age level and capacity to fathom things which may ..maybe help themselves to save their lives out there, cuz we can not be with em 24.7 as they walk to and from school etc. "

So 7 is mighty young, but if properly supervised while playing UO and informed for that age bracket, she'd probably do ok in UO, maybe even PK some of us ! i would probably get her a train set, a football and a lot of computer parts to whip out the BETTER VISTA when she reaches 12 be the next Becky GATES

or missy microsoft of the future and heck with UO.. HAHA

 

[Guest]

NO seven year olds, if i get pwned by a 7 year old i'm gonna quit

Then again, do you let your 7 year old watch MTV and other rediculous crap on TV? If so why would you stop at a video game.



Your kid wasn't one of the 3rd graders on the new who planned to hijack their teacher was she?

 

[Guest]

the fact of the matter is more and more kids are playing video games on a constant basis, as time passes more and more kids will start playing, especially mmorpgs like uo, wow, everquest, swg, etc... There are currently about 10 million people playing world of warcraft across the world, soon it will be seen as the norm for everyone to play computer games as opposed to going outside to play... i started playing uo when i was 13 unsupervised and all because my friends told me it was a great game, i loved the game instantly, i'll be 21 in a few weeks and have never quit playing in between, sure theres a lot of sick people out there that will try to screw you over when they can but if you decide to let your daughter play, u would have to make her aware of certain people out there

 

[imported_Yalp]

there are some good points for and against letting your 7 year old play the game. but when it gets down to it, no one really knows what kind of a parent you are or what kind of a child your daughter is.

1)When there are age appropriate warnings on things.. ie movies, tv, games... why aren't parents listening? If UO is rated "T".. then maybe thats what experts say is the most appropriate age for children.

2) Adults who play don't expect to encounter 7 year olds in the game. Just like adults who go into bars don't want to deal with some adolescent sitting on the stool next to them. Adults can exhibit bad behavior and we deal with it... but many don't want to deal with the childish behavior of a 7 year old. Like the "gimmie" attitude, or the short attention spans, or questions about EVERYTHING "how do I, how can I?" Adults may not want to babysit your child in game either.

Just a couple more points to ponder...

LORD Yalp of Zento, CTDM

 

[angelus aconitum]

I would not let her play any game with potential violence in it.
I have a 13 year old stepbrother and he played WoW and other online games since he was 10 or 11 and he did not manage to make a difference between real life and virtual life. So he was angry many many times and he got too frustrated when someone else has beaten him. He started to get irascible and hit his keyboard if he was angry. Now he has destroyed the fifth keyboard within 1.5 years.
At this age, Children are still not able to draw the line between reality and virtuality and they take many things to deep into their hearts.
I myself started with computer at the age of 16 and I exclusively played sport games (decathlon, baseball) and jump'n'run games (Lode Runner, Bubble Bobble) on my C-64

So all in all: No UO or any othewr MMORPG or any other online game. No games with too much violence (Diablo, ego-shooters, ....).
So what's left ? Sport games, Sim City, Jump'N'Run games, ....... maybe something which does not take too long, so that the child does not have to play hours and hours to get to a point. Games that can be played for 10-20 minutes, ......

Btw, a child should not start learning how to kill something at the age of 7 nor should the child be in an environment where animals and monsters get killed !

 

[Guest]

First, I'm glad I don't have kids. *whew*

I wouldn't let kids on UO since it used to be a mature rated game, and should be again. I play games to get away from stress, people's kids included.