Parents wary of video games, survey finds

The idea of their children playing ultaviolent or overtly sexual video games worries parents more than underage drinking, a new survey suggests.

Video game guide What They Play polled nearly 3,000 fathers and mothers about the types of activities that would upset them if their child took part at someone else’s house.

A total of 19 percent of respondents said playing Grand Theft Auto is the activity they would object to the most, putting it in second place on the list.

Smoking marijuana occupied the first spot, with 50 percent, while watching pornography received 17 percent of the vote and drinking beer worried 14 percent the most.

Commenting on the results, John Davison, president of the guide’s parent company, explained that some parents see video games as a challenge to their parenting skills.

"These poll results demonstrate that parents are as apprehensive about their children’s media diets as they are about traditional social issues such as alcohol, drugs, violence and sex," he added.

A previous poll by What They Play revealed that 43 percent of parents let their kids spend "as much time as they want" playing video games.