Game of Thrones (advice needed)

[sns2]

I would never tell parents how to raise their kids unless asked, and indeed I have offered my advice in a pm.

However, to the dads who are in favor of this are you going to be comfortable with watching hard core porn with your son when he is 16? Are you going to be comfortable as his headboard is slapping the wall at two in the morning on a Saturday night as his girlfriend moans like the characters on your fav TV show "Game of Thrones?"

That is a logical continuum is it not? And of course, by law he is old enough for consensual sex.

But fret not, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are a "really cool dad!"

Don't you just love "PROGRESS?"

[nof60]

Tell him he can watch it but first he must read all the books.

[ESOXangler]

Bottom line you're not his dad. He has a mother, and she made a decision. Override her and see where it gets you hahaha! She might not say much this time but it'll come. And the kid will decide your a ***** too! Tough spot bud, I suggest you keep him too busy to watch it! Might end up being a better bonding experience!

I also "think" I would allow my son to watch it as well, but I'm not there yet!

[MadMarty911]

Your house, your rules.

I don't change who I am based on what family is coming over.

It's easy to pass off reasons to let him watch it, ie he plays Grand Theft Auto
But at the end of the day all we have are our convictions. Having met you, I know your a smart gentleman. You'll figure this conundrum out

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by nof60

Tell him he can watch it but first he must read all the books.

If he can get through the last one he's earned it.

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

Perhaps I'm strange. I tend to take 'em outdoors and share it with them.

We have about a dozen kids now in their early 20's that still talk about those adventures and how fond their memories are of them. Strangely enough, not one of them could recall what we watched on tv those weekends.....

You may be on to something here. Offer a positive alternative. Sometimes it's about encouraging something better and engaging your kids.
Maybe when you ask your kid to go to the range he'll want to go instead of playing his tech toys.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Faststeel

Might be an operator error. Lord knows I'm not that great with my Galaxy

Meh, it's a BlackBerry. What more can I say?

But yeah, it still stuns me how many people seem to be able to afford data plans and tablets for their kids to play on. But I digress...

Perhaps I'm strange. I tend to take 'em outdoors and share it with them.

Awesome.

[58thecat]

Yep bubble wrap your kids, protect them from that evil t.v. and then when you are not around watch the little bugger turn out to be a hooligan! If your 14,15,18 year old kid sits at the table and says please and thank you, does everything excellent I believe you are being played, how about a little sit down, turn it on, laugh and indirectly put your thoughts out there as this is not the real world and is just a show for entertaining those who choose to watch it. Either way he/she will probably watch it at a buddies house and enjoy a beer or two!

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by sns2

I would never tell parents how to raise their kids unless asked, and indeed I have offered my advice in a pm.

However, to the dads who are in favor of this are you going to be comfortable with watching hard core porn with your son when he is 16? Are you going to be comfortable as his headboard is slapping the wall at two in the morning on a Saturday night as his girlfriend moans like the characters on your fav TV show "Game of Thrones?"

That is a logical continuum is it not? And of course, by law he is old enough for consensual sex.

But fret not, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are a "really cool dad!"

Don't you just love "PROGRESS?"

Have you seen the show? I don't see the correlation myself. Didn't you get lucky when you were 16 like the rest of us? FS

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Faststeel

Have you seen the show? I don't see the correlation myself. Didn't you get lucky when you were 16 like the rest of us? FS

I want my son to do very little of what I did growing up. Very little.

[FreeLantz]

Originally Posted by sns2

I want my son to do very little of what I did growing up. Very little.

Isnt that kind of the point? You did stuff that was maybe questionable, and turned out fine I'm guessing. What's to say this boy won't either?

The things I watched and did as a teenager had little result on who I became as an adult. Sure I still drink to much, and carry on a bit but who doesnt? I grew up watching 90210 in the 90s because my mother thought it was the best show on the planet. I have zero inspiration about acting like those buffoons. I think people put to much weight on tv's effect and to little on the brains of kid.

But......honestly Game of Thrones is pretty graphic in parts. And also pretty boring and hard to follow in others. Personally at that age I wouldnt even want to watch it, unless I fast forwarded to the boobies. Id urge him to pursue other interests, gently.

[BeeGuy]

mmmmmm booooooobs

If only there was google when I was 14...

[ESOXangler]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

mmmmmm booooooobs

If only there was google when I was 14...

There was altavista and the beginning of webcrawler for me! Nothing like it at 14.4k dial up! Hopefully someone didn't call and bump you off.
Anyone remember what the web was like before they filtered it? Even if you typed in Jesus you'd get porn.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by ESOXangler

There was altavista and the beginning of webcrawler for me! Nothing like it at 14.4k dial up! Hopefully someone didn't call and bump you off.
Anyone remember what the web was like before they filtered it? Even if you typed in Jesus you'd get porn.

A stack of stolen magazines out in the back forty was our dial up...

[kevinhits]

What age do you guys think is appropiate for kids to watch walking dead?

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by kevinhits

What age do you guys think is appropiate for kids to watch walking dead?

Don't matter what we think, matters what you think. It is a TV show, make believe. FS

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by kevinhits

What age do you guys think is appropiate for kids to watch walking dead?

I think it's more a case of severity of the infraction and how angry I am,rather than age before I'd force a kid ...or anyone else to watch that.

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by kevinhits

What age do you guys think is appropiate for kids to watch walking dead?

What age is appropriate for kids to play Grand theft Auto all the rest of those EXtreme violent video games.
You can ask this question about any number of subjects but you and your wife are not on the same page it is a complete waste of time. FS

[kevinhits]

All I asked was what age do you think you would allow your kid to watch walking dead? I just want your opinion..... That's all

[roper1]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

To the OP, our gut feelings don't steer us wrong to often.

x2

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

It's 'inappropriate', sure, but at 14 I don't know that I'd stop him. The violence is everywhere, and if he's interested in seeing boobs and knows how to work a keyboard...

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Mr. Bigglesworth

It's 'inappropriate', sure, but at 14 I don't know that I'd stop him. The violence is everywhere, and if he's interested in seeing boobs and knows how to work a keyboard...

It does make some sence on the surface to say, if you let a kid go online without supervision then you might was well let him watch whatever he wants on TV. Why start trying to be a parent now? He's probably seen worse.

But here's the counter... just because a kid is doing something doesn't mean you condone it or allow it in your own house. Your kid may smoke pot or drink under age, but it doesn't mean you allow it in your home. My sons are 23 and 25, and I know neither are virgins, or have been for a long time. But I would never allow them to bring girls home and sleep with them, and they have enough respect to never ask. The girlfriend sleeps in separate bedrooms if she stays here.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

It does make some sence on the surface to say, if you let a kid go online without supervision then you might was well let him watch whatever he wants on TV. Why start trying to be a parent now? He's probably seen worse.

But here's the counter... just because a kid is doing something doesn't mean you condone it or allow it in your own house. Your kid may smoke pot or drink under age, but it doesn't mean you allow it in your home. My sons are 23 and 25, and I know neither are virgins, or have been for a long time. But I would never allow them to bring girls home and sleep with them, and they have enough respect to never ask. The girlfriend sleeps in separate bedrooms if she stays here.

Yup, fair point and I would agree. There is absolutely a difference between realizing that things do go on that are out of your power, and giving consent by giving your permission for those things to happen. But this, to me, isn't an example of 'make the right choice', it's just about exposure and whether the boy is or isn't too young to see that much voilence/nudity/whatever.
That said- there's obviously some common sense there and 'exposed' doesn't equal 'zero barriers'. Probably not reasonable to say that my 2 year old ought to be able to sit and watch Wolf of Wall Street "because surely he has already heard an F-bomb or two dropped by me by accident".

My point was only that at 14, when the boy almost certainly has access to a computer or smart phone- if nudity is the worry, is the OP really sheltering him from anything? Allowing him to watch Game of Thrones doesn't have to be the same as saying "Ok. Bridge crossed. Go ahead and bring some hard core movies into the house now".
Same goes for violence...he can try and limit the kids exposure, but when every video game he plays and every PG-13 action movie of the last decade is full of it, I'm not sure that saying "not in my house" amounts to anything more than burying your head in the sand.

IMO it makes more sense for the OP to ask himself if this (small) battle needs to be fought, being that the kid is already exposed to these things on a daily basis at his own discretion.

[AndersonSkiTeam]

I guess I have different expectations for my kids than many of you have. I think many kids do not want to be drinking, watching porn, and violence at the age of 14. I think that many kids at this age do watch inappropriate things and sometimes by their choice, but most of the 14 year old boys I know are not drinking and not watching porn because more is expected of them. It is not simply thought that all boys do these things so just let them do it. Odds are they will be curious but I hope they choose not to participate regularly in these things. Every parent can make the choice of where to draw the line, and I am sure I am more on the prude end of the spectrum, but don't be scared to expect more from your boys.

[Redfrog]

It sure is easier to not set boundaries....at least at 14. At 22 and up to his ass in gators....mmmm not so much.

[Saltmania]

No it's not appropriate for a 14 year old. Maybe in 2 or 3 years IMO.

The books would be fine. The material might be a bit mature, but at least the act of reading them will improve his mind...the TV series while excellent won't do much for his development I'm afraid.

There is more violence and less sex in the books. Most of the sex scenes in the the HBO series are conjured to bolster subscriptions it seems to me. In the books I don't recall Renly Baratheon ever being directly described as a homosexual let alone getting down with the the Knight of Flowers. Martin only describes that he likes clothes...a lot...

[BeeGuy]

If your boy is old enough to hunt and handle a firearm at 14, they are old enough to see a pair of boobs.

imo

[roper1]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

If your boy is old enough to hunt and handle a firearm at 14, they are old enough to see a pair of boobs.

imo

Agree on that one but Game of Thrones is a lot more than a pair of boobs

[Tundra Monkey]

I agree Roper.

All the guys that think this is appropriate for their 14 year old sons.

All good for your 14 your old daughter as well??

[Redfrog]

It's easy to win if you just keep setting the bar lower.