Feb 29th 2008 11:33AM I'm a big proponent of letting kids play as long as there are adults there with them. My daughter is three and likes to run in circles in Coldridge Valley with her level one gnome rogue. Her character has the parental controls and swear word filters on, as well as using 'Bug Me Not' which auto-refuses all whispers and duels. She enjoys it and it's a special Saturday morning treat for her to be able to spend a forty five minutes with Mama, playing WoW. My fourteen year old BIL plays, but as his parents don't play and his sister, BIL and myself all do, the rule is that one of us MUST be online and with his characters if he's playing.
My Guild is family oriented and have a special channel in Vent for our younger players, called "Junior Raiders". My daughter is our youngest semi-active player, while the next few are seven or eight years old.
I am a firm believer that MMOs teach children lessons that used to be learned in the roving throngs of children during the summer and on weekends. Cooperation, focus, social interaction - things most of us adults learned in person that isn't safe or applicable for alot of kids now. When I was a child, the rule was be back to the house when the street lights come on. I don't feel safe letting children out that long and I live quite a ways out of town, so it's not really applicable. So the kids are learning these same lessons in a virtual world.
Personally, to me, WoW is like television - a great treat and lesson for kids but it cannot become a steady diet and without supervision, kids have a tendency to grow into what they see. *lol* Soap Operas and Barrens Chat are not what I want my child growing up thinking is okay or wanting to emulate. That's why I watch, why I play with them.