Child drawing disturbing pictures

[Buggirl66502]

My seven year old stepson has been drawing very violent, bloody pictures since playing a video game called HALO with his 13-year-old brother at his mother's home.  He told us they were playing the game while his mother was asleep.  This game is rated M for mature, to be played by people ages 17 and up, and it contains extreme violence, gore, and foul language.  My stepson lives with his father and me and has regular visitations with his mother.  We have no control over what his mother allows him to do when he is visiting her.  My stepson told me that the most recent drawing was "Daddy getting his head blown off".  We have approached his mother and she denies that he even plays the game.  My stepson has indicated that he has been reguarly playing these violent video games at his mother's residence.

Is there anything we can do aside from telling him that it is wrong to play these games?  Should we enter him in counseling?

[Dee330]

Keep him drawing, from my experience they draw their feelings. Then talk to him about the drawings and ask if there is any reason for him being upset. If he is at an age where he starts drawing monsters and things of that nature try to steer him away by getting him involved in other kinds of games about cars, sports, etc.. Explain that Halo is just a video game and that they are fighting fictional aliens, also these games have settings for disabling blood and gore> I own two of the three parts of this game and have not seen anything out of the ordinary, lazer guns and aliens. As for the foul language there was one word used in the beginning of it during the storyline description. Have your husband sit down and play the game with the kids and slowly get him interested in another game. Don't make him stop that will only make you the bad guys, focus on getting his attention on something else, monitor his behavior and his playtime, involve the thirteen year old to help move his focus to other games, the little ones always want to do what the older one does

[Dee330]

Keep him drawing, from my experience they draw their feelings. Then talk to him about the drawings and ask if there is any reason for him being upset. If he is at an age where he starts drawing monsters and things of that nature try to steer him away by getting him involved in other kinds of games about cars, sports, etc.. Explain that Halo is just a video game and that they are fighting fictional aliens, also these games have settings for disabling blood and gore> I own two of the three parts of this game and have not seen anything out of the ordinary, lazer guns and aliens. As for the foul language there was one word used in the beginning of it during the storyline description. Have your husband sit down and play the game with the kids and slowly get him interested in another game. Don't make him stop that will only make you the bad guys, focus on getting his attention on something else, monitor his behavior and his playtime, involve the thirteen year old to help move his focus to other games, the little ones always want to do what the older one does

[CRAZYKID1112]

Hey i have to say halo is not much of a violent game as the others cause on xboxlive halo is populated by 7 year olds and frankly it`s annoying. Just don`t let him play things like Gears of War, Left 4 dead, Dead Space, Alien vs Predator especially not Alien vs Predator and Gears of War because the "trophy kills" are extremely violent such as ripping off a marines head "with spine attached" as it breaths its last breath and rolls its eyes back and the predator proceeds to clean the bloody spine and tucks it on its belt as a trophy. Gears of war you cut stuff in half and someone kills his wife nuff said. So halo is a child`s game but please don`t let him play it because he should play mario kart or hulk or umm go outside...

[CRAZYKID1112]

Hey i have to say halo is not much of a violent game as the others cause on xboxlive halo is populated by 7 year olds and frankly it`s annoying. Just don`t let him play things like Gears of War, Left 4 dead, Dead Space, Alien vs Predator especially not Alien vs Predator and Gears of War because the "trophy kills" are extremely violent such as ripping off a marines head "with spine attached" as it breaths its last breath and rolls its eyes back and the predator proceeds to clean the bloody spine and tucks it on its belt as a trophy. Gears of war you cut stuff in half and someone kills his wife nuff said. So halo is a child`s game but please don`t let him play it because he should play mario kart or hulk or umm go outside...

[zenz]

When I was much younger and at near enough the same age I drew the same images your step-son has. I drew guts, people in pieces and all sorts of "disturbing" material to the point the school actually banned me from using any pencil coloured red, called in my parents and tried to take me off for phycological analasys I was 8 at the time. I played violent video games (eg Streets of Rage, Splatterhouse) which were believe it or not alot more violent that Halo (I feel your description of the game is abit on the excessive side) and now Im what you could call a healthy male with a loving family and no mental issues which cause me to climb tall buildings and shoot people, well perhaps on sundays. My daughters starting to go through the drawing stage, she also has a tendancy to sneak down in the twilight hours to play a Zombie game called "Left4dead" Which obviously is too "Adult" for her so she gets told off and made to play Splatterhouse instead.

My point is, im trying to let you know from the actual perspective of the actual child. I did not have fantacies about cutting my dad into tiny pieces despite my drawings, I didn't wish to dance to drums whilst in a pool of blood nor run through fountains of gushing coagulation whilst tripping on dismembered corpses.

He just expressing him imagination id rather have my child draw pictures of teletubbies being burn't at the steak than have her creative streak surpressed and obsessed and worried over. as mentioned above its the importance of knowing whats fictional and the consequences of said actions.

Dont go mental over it and don't worry all kids at some point like drawings ghouls and ghosts even into their adult years.

Its when you find strangulated cats in a box under you porch I feel you need to worry.

[zenz]

When I was much younger and at near enough the same age I drew the same images your step-son has. I drew guts, people in pieces and all sorts of "disturbing" material to the point the school actually banned me from using any pencil coloured red, called in my parents and tried to take me off for phycological analasys I was 8 at the time. I played violent video games (eg Streets of Rage, Splatterhouse) which were believe it or not alot more violent that Halo (I feel your description of the game is abit on the excessive side) and now Im what you could call a healthy male with a loving family and no mental issues which cause me to climb tall buildings and shoot people, well perhaps on sundays. My daughters starting to go through the drawing stage, she also has a tendancy to sneak down in the twilight hours to play a Zombie game called "Left4dead" Which obviously is too "Adult" for her so she gets told off and made to play Splatterhouse instead.

My point is, im trying to let you know from the actual perspective of the actual child. I did not have fantacies about cutting my dad into tiny pieces despite my drawings, I didn't wish to dance to drums whilst in a pool of blood nor run through fountains of gushing coagulation whilst tripping on dismembered corpses.

He just expressing him imagination id rather have my child draw pictures of teletubbies being burn't at the steak than have her creative streak surpressed and obsessed and worried over. as mentioned above its the importance of knowing whats fictional and the consequences of said actions.

Dont go mental over it and don't worry all kids at some point like drawings ghouls and ghosts even into their adult years.

Its when you find strangulated cats in a box under you porch I feel you need to worry.