Personal Experience

I grew up with video games. At age 6, I bought a Nintendo Gameboy, complete with Pokemon and Super Mario games. I stayed with Nintendo for years. Nintendo, of course, is an extremely family friendly game company. Most of its games are rated under that suited for a teenager. My parents were strict and kept me away from violent games. I sense that this was much easier back then, since violent video games didn't have nearly the level of hype that they do today. Still, this was a good decision on their part. Now, these days, I own an Xbox 360, a more mature console, but I can handle the violence now. 

Pokemon Editions Red and Blue

Super Mario Land

As an older cousin to a child that grew up with an Xbox 360, I now know my parents fear of the effects of violent video games on children. Along with the Xbox came Call of Duty (I forget which one) and my little cousin Andrew loved it. He even played the multiplayer mode with his friends. For a while, he seemed to change. His manners were less cordial, and his humor a little darker. I told his mother, my aunt, that letting him play these games was not the best idea, but now that his friends had it and invited Andrew over to play it with them all the time, stopping him from playing it here would have little effect.

 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, A recent game of the Call of Duty series

To keep a closer eye on him, I started playing these games with him to keep him on a leash, so to speak. When he got worked up over the game, I calmed him down. I did my best to tone down his dark humor. I like to think that it helped him. Now, my cousin is in middle school, and he is very well adjusted with his peers and school. I no longer have any fear for him.

Because of this episode, I believe that much of this fear of violent video games is lots of uncertainty. What danger there is, it can be kept at bay when paid attention to. If your children play these video games, supervise them. If you can, go as far as to join them in their playing. No child is ultimately doomed to future violence and anti-social behavior if they have you to look after them.