ESRB: Video Game Ratings

I will be the first to admit that I’m not good at video games. I used to be good, back in the day when I played Duck Hunt and that game where you had to type in up up down down left right left right B A start in order to get the extra lives.

But put me in front of a game system now, and my person always gets stuck on a cliff somewhere and Shrek is yelling at me to come on and I can’t seem to move.

My kids however, from the 17 year old all the way down to the 2 year old love video games. So does Geo and my dad. This Christmas, I know that video games will be on my shopping list for the kids.

Being video game challenged, I have to rely on the kids to let me know what games they want or pick out what looks good when I’m in the store. This doesn’t give me a lot of time to research the game and see if it is family friendly or whether it features someone’s head being blown off. This is especially difficult in a home where there is such a wide range of people who want to play the games.

Luckily, there is a simple solution for Moms like me. The Entertainment Software Rating Board puts ratings on video games similar to those found on movies. Not only are the games given a rating, but information is also given as to why it was rated that way. That way you can make decisions based on the actual content of the game.

On the newer game consoles, you can set parental controls to only allow games to be played with ratings you approve of. If you go to the ESRB website, you can read instructions on how to set up your Wii, XBox 360 or Playstation 3 to block inappropriate games from your children.

Of course, actually trying out the game is best, but when you are grabbing games off the shelf at 6 am on Black Friday, these rating systems will help ensure that you are picking out ones that are good for your family.

Kajeet Cell Phones

Kajeet, a cell phone company, sent us a very cool cell phone to review. I can honestly say this is one of the best things I’ve had the chance to review.

Kajeet is a company that has designed the perfect cell phone service for your pre-teens and teens.

Kajeet phones are able to be completely controlled by the parents. The parent logs into the kajeet website and from there is able to see who has called the child and who the child is calling. But wait! There’s more.

First, you can set up the phone to only allow calls from approved numbers. This means that you dictate who your child is allowed to call and who is allowed to call them. Kajeet goes further than that, by setting up parents and kid wallets.

Let’s take Callie’s phone. I have a wallet and she has a wallet. Calls that she makes to me, Geo, her SW, or my parents come out of the Parent wallet. Calls or texts she makes to her friends, ringtones she downloads, wallpapers or games she downloads? It comes out of her wallet. This way I can make sure that I am able to reach her to tell her that I’ll be late picking her up, but at the same time I don’t have to pay for her third Justin Timberlake ringtone. The phone is a pay as you go service so there are no contracts or the fear of your child going over their minutes.

I can also choose to not let her text or download things to her phone.

In addition to those controls, using the website I blocked her from receiving or making calls and texting during school hours or after 10 pm. An added bonus is I can make exceptions to that rule…for instance, she can call me during school hours, but no one else. You can also make temporary exceptions as well.

Child gets grounded? You can block all of her service.

The best part is that the phones look just like any other phone. Callie’s phone is a thin, blue flip phone. Has bluetooth and is a camera phone. That phone will run you about $100. There are four phone options to chose from. They start at $49.99 for your basic model (no camera phone) and there are two choices that run around $70.

The only downside I can see to the phone is that you get charged about 35 cents per day, but I don’t even mind that. Callie looks at it as the cost of having the phone. The coverage area isn’t as extensive as my AT&T phone, but even at our house in the middle of nowhere, Callie gets great reception.

This a great service. I even love the way their instructions and website are written. I like their slogan “Use it for Good.”  I like these phones so much and so did the girls, that elaborate negotations had to take place as to who got the free phone. And we purchased two more Kajeet phones that are on their way now.

If you are ok with your kids having a cell phone but are worried about who they would call and who has their number, this is the way to go. This is exactly what we were looking for in terms of a cell phone for the teens/pre-teens. And it is great for kids in foster care because they don’t need to worry about someone they don’t want getting their number being able to call them.

I highly recommend these phones!

You can check out the phones and place your order at www.kajeet.com.