7 yr old drawing graphicly violent images !

[Rev_KW]

My 7 yr old grandson has NO behavior problems at all. He's very open, honest, loving and caring and always talks about any issues he may be having and always kind and considerate of others. If you were look up perfect in the dictionary you would find his picture... He does well in school, a little better than average and has no real behavior problems there other than occasionally talking or laughing for which he must sacrifice a "Star" for the day, which really bums him out ! I have him after school and he tells me everything thats going on and how he feels about it. Here's the problem. Last week he brought home a drawing he had made of "Slenderman vs Herobrine" ( in case you dont know, both Minecraft game characters) doing battle. It WAS a bit disturbing at first because it was quite graphic with lots of blood and knives !  He was quite proud of it, not because of the violence but because he had drawn it so well... He showed it to me and explained the entire scene and battle to me and asked, "didnt I do a good job Grampie" ? I said well, yes, you did do a very good job drawing it but it's kind of bad & bloody. He said " dont worry Grampie, it's just make believe". I said yes, it is, as long as you understand thats a bad thing to happen. He said, " I'd never do anything like that Grampie, I'd never hurt anyone". My second thought was, Jeez, I hope the teacher didnt see this, so I asked him what the teacher thought. He said, she thought I did a good job too Grampie, so obviously, she had no concerns either ! BUT,,, when he got home, his parents were mortified and immediately banned Minecraft, the computer, the ipad & ipod. Withdrew access to everything & called me to say he is no longer allowed to use the computer or play games or watch movies or TV because it was making him violent !!! So how good is this little boy ? When he came today, I told him it was OK if he played minecraft. He said he couldnt play that any more. I told him I knew that daddy said he couldnt but that I thought it would be OK to play at Grampies house. He said OK, sat at the computer, signed into his account and then stopped got up and walked away. I asked, You arent going to play are you ? He said, no Grampie, it's OK, I'll just do something else. I maintain this is a serious overreaction on their part, that his drawing is nothing more than normal behavior and their decision to "punish" him like this for the drawing could actually do more harm than good. What is your take on this matter ?

[Heartwing]

I think that it's necessary and even healthy to restrict violent games and videos from young children! Parents are SUPPOSED to monitor and control internet and tv content for their children. There is so much positive media content for children available that it's pretty inexcusable to allow violence and aggression become a part of their daily lives! Science doesn't even fully understand yet the effect violent videos and games have on young children but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's likely to be adverse. Give him a great book to read or set him up with a game that allows him to learn and be creative! You're a great grandparent for asking for feedback! Good luck!

[thekerbalwow]

he learned at school kids talking to him

[thekerbalwow]

he learned at school kids talking to him about herobrine and slender man

theres no herobrine in minecraft and slender man

[specialmom]

Call of Duty/Black ops are not allowed in our house.  They are rated M for mature.  How do I know about them, some of my kids friends have them.  

Minecraft is not a bad game in any way.  Creative mode is about building and my kids leave it in creative mode.  

I think that embracing the age in which our kids live in is important.  Computers are important to our kids.  My sons are in third and forth grade and they do much of their work on computers already.  My sons who are into minecraft  were able to do some programing and set up their own server to play.  These are the kinds of things kids are doing these days and we live in an electronic world.  Instead of saying no to it, I found ways to embrace it that would enhance my sons computer ability.

Example, there are tons of games that teach basic keyboarding skills.  These are essential because in school, it's headed to using computers for work.  By sixth grade at our school, kids take their own computers to school in our district or they rent them from the school and we've been told that this is going to now be part of the 5th grade curriculum as well.  

Another example is programming.  Scratch is a way for kids to learn basic programing of computers.  

Anyway, I guess I just have a new perspective of what today's world is like with computers, ipods and video games.  I give my kids screen time (in fact, my son had about 50 minutes of computer based home work last night---  so, whether I want to or not, they are on the computer) but I monitor it, limit it, and set boundaries.  

The Dad in this situation sounds very out of touch.  Not sure how you get that through to him.  But he is.  good luck

[SillyOlBilly]

Games like Call of Duty and other M rated games shouldn't be played by kids at all. One of the main reasons for Call of Duty games being bad for kids to play (in my opinion this makes it bad for anyone of any age to play) is that it is too competitive and some players pick on other players to make them angry on purpose.

[Rev_KW]

He isnt allowed to play on the computer at all at home yet his 2 older stepbrothers do. They have video game platforms as well and he isnt allowed to play those either because they have ONLY violent games like Call of Duty Black Ops. Dad was a HUGE video game addict when he was growing up.
Dad has never even looked at the game, minecraft, or even watched him play. He has no idea what the game is. He's basing the entire incident on the fact that the chosen characters for the drawing were Herobrine /  Slenderman ! My Gandson plays on the computer at my house only from 1 - 4 hours per week. It's not overdone, and I am constantly beside him, monitoring his activity the entire time. He NEVER plays multiplayer and he understands why because we have discussed it many times. He also plays it on the Kindle at Moms house during the weekend. Dad says "computers are evil" !

[specialmom]

Minecraft, for the record, is a building game. My kids build villages, houses, raise animals, and gardens.  Then zombies and creepers show up from time to time to steal their stuff or ruin what they've made.  They lock them out.  It's actually one of the games that I feel stimulates creativity and would compare it to a computer version of legos.  

My boys do, however, also love super heroes.  LOVE.  My son is signing his Iron Man 3 Valentines as we speak.  

My sons have good grades, participate in many activities from sports, to cub scouts to creative problem solving group to music (well rounded).  They have friends.  They are nice, gentle boys.  But they like nerf guns, swords, good guys and bad guys doing battle.  

I totally agree with rockrose.  If he is drawing someone he knows getting killed in a specific way, you let him know it is inappropriate.  If he is depicting stories he sees via super heroes, Mario, Minecraft . . .   then that is normal stuff.  

[RockRose]

I get so dismayed when I hear stories like this.  Boys are SUPPOSED to be warriors for good, protectors of the innocent and weak.  

From what I understand,  Minecraft is about brave characters fighting off monsters.  .  Superman,  Batman,  Popeye,  all are powerful protectors of others.  What would the world be like if we are successful in squelching that desire in our little boys.  Minecraft sounds the same to me,  what little I know about it.

There was this great piece that John Stossel did about the affects of Power Rangers vs. Barney on preschool children.  One group watched power rangers for an hour,  and then were given free time and a variety of toys to play with.  They banded together and pretended to fight off imaginary foes.  The group that had to endure Barney for half hour sat listlessly afterwards and whined about each other not sharing.

If he were drawing himself harming innocents,  I would be concerned.  Depicting imaginary heroes is a whole other thing,  IMHO.

[Sandman2]

      Oh, oh, could be something else going on here.  This is beginning to sound like, "the kid has been spending too much time on the computer and I need to do something about it."   Perhaps not going about it the right way, however (to put it mildly).
      Everybody may just have to back off a bit and let dad cool down.

[Sandman2]

   Thanks, I had no clue where those characters came from!

[Meowstar]

First of all, I just feel the need to say that Slenderman has nothing to do with Minecraft and Herobrine isn't real in the actual Minecraft without the Herobrine mod, just since you said "( in case you dont know, both Minecraft game characters)" and it just irritated me, so sorry.  Secondly, Minecraft is hardly anything but violent.  It's overall creativity and such, but if he's going on mature multiplayer servers, then it's his parent's fault for not keeping an eye on him.  I believe his parent's overreacted and are going too far.  Just because he drew a violent picture, doesn't mean he's actually violent.  Restricting everything from him was not something that his parent's should've done, unless they want an almost 100% chance that he'll start being rebellious and actually becoming aggressive from lack of entertainment.  The most to say, they shouldn't let him on Creepypasta, which is where they both come from.

[Rev_KW]

Minecraft is really not a violent game ! It is more a creative game ! He has been playing it for about 2 years and he has made some amazing creations ! Slenderman and Herobrine are kind of scary creatures, like the Boogyman, but not violent. His dad says " That computer and Minecraft is rotting his brain" !

[Sandman2]

   Oh, I should say that while it was a very mature action on his part to not play on the computer at your house - you probably should not have offered.  I think it would be much better to help his parents find a good game that is not as violent - and they are out there - and then tell them that you will monitor him to make sure everything is ok.

[Sandman2]

   I agree with Mark and you completely.  Unfortunately, it may be hard to convince them.  Perhaps they might talk with his teacher to see how common this is.   As an elementary school principal, I do know that boys do like drawing this kind of stuff and I have never seen a problem with them.  Now if he was going around hitting other kids, etc - yes, I would be much more worried.  
  He seems like a wonderful child.  And he will probably do exactly what his parents want - for now.  But there is also a good chance, that later on he could get a little sneaky if his parents continue to be so over reaching.  It is much better to train a child how to use a tool, then to let them learn from someone else.

[MarkLakewood3367]

I agree with you.  Any aggressive behavior could actually occur as a result of this type of overreaction.  I