Desensitization for Teenagers

In psychology, desensitization (also called inurement) is defined as the diminished emotional responsiveness to a negative or aversive stimulus after repeated exposure to it.

I have the privilege of counseling/advocating for teenage males generally between the ages of 14-25.  I have seen a trend that is quite disturbing and one that few people discuss.  Todays video games are quite violent, especially the war and shooting games.  There is blood, guts, rampant killing, and tons of vulgar swearing screamed at one another over the headphones.  You can violate ALL laws while playing video games.  For instance, I can tell someone "I will kill you" while playing a video game, however in real life this is a felony.  We assume  kids as young as 7 can tell the difference.  I see prepubescent boys playing mature rated games all the time.  I really don't get the parent that allows their child to play a violent video game.  I want to state that a 15 year old should not be playing a mature game, do you allow them to watch mature movies??

I hear politicians want to control guns, I believe we need to start at a much earlier point in time.  Lazy parenting needs to be addressed.  Parents, DO NOT ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO PLAY VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES!  This is insane, maybe your child can tell the difference, then again maybe they cannot.   For the safety and sanity of the world, why don't we simply avoid this type of escape altogether   Let them play Nintendo games, or sports game, or even games that require mental thought over violence.  Frequent exposure to the violence reinforces the acceptance of killing and violence.  I have played the games and they are adrenaline pumping and unbelievably real. 

I hear all the excuses from parents, all the other kids parents allow them to play these games at their house.  We don't allow this logic when a child makes a mistake, "Tommy always plays in the street"..We say, " if Tommy were jumping off a cliff would you join him?"  Please parents, do not take the easy path...Know what your kids are doing, watch them, monitor them closely.  If the game is for 18 and over, please follow the guidance.. don't be the "cool" parent, be the good parent.

We have to start somewhere, lets promote love and acceptance instead of hostility and aggression in our children.