Barrie teen runs away from home, parents blame online games

reminds me of a family guys episode, peter said the exact same thing. He said something like, "being good parents by controlling your kids so they aren't subjected to the shows they hate, instead of blaming the shows themselves"

That's not a quote word for word, but, yeah.

Anyway that photo looks so fake! They look like bad parents anyway, they look like they're faking! Look at his expression, and look at the mother! she looks like a crack addict!

"I'm running away from home I hate you!"

"Oh yeah, here's your bags, I packed em for ya last night! And another thing, meet Henry, he'll be your pedophile captor for the evening! I hope you two have a good life!" *door slams*

Xav, nice dropping meat like this into the piranha tank. Watch the water swirl...



Can't wait until you guys are parents... I know you'll all be wonderful, with the understanding you're showing here.

Well I know for a fact that I won't hand my kid a packed bag, and laugh as he walks out the door. I also know that while playing video games non stop is never a good thing, I'll probably let my kid play video games over his freaking Thanksgiving break.

Based on those 2 things, I can already tell you that I'm going to be a better parent than these two. And also a better parent than you are/will be, because you obviously agree with this sort of parenting.

You're just too angry, offday... why are you?

I may be reading offday's comments wrong...but he doesn't come off (no pun intended) as angry to me. Should I be worried I'll be a bad parent too? *shrugs*

I have to agree with offday. I am a parent. I have a 13 y/o and a 2 y/o. My older son plays video games, with and without me. I don't allow him to do nothing but play, however I don't "limit" his playtime with any certainty. My youngest will be in the same boat. Also, the cliche pack the bags for your kid is just lame. Maybe the kid at 15 was smart enough to see what douchebags his parents are. Sure, 15 is young, but there are people out there to take him in and not play with his butthole.

@Doug

I'm a parent of a teenager and I don't have the slightest problem with the comments above you. I don't think making snarky comments on a gaming blog really reflect how sensitive someone would be as a parent.

Really, I would suspect that gamer parents probably monitor the time and content of their kids gaming better than non-gaming parents.

So true.

Look at his dad's face. You know he doesn't believe all that Xbox Live Organized crime crap. Man up, and admit you made a mistake and stop blaming something that had nothing to do with it. Go on tv and let your son know you messed up, and he'll probably come home. He's probably down the street at a friend's house watching this whole thing unfold.

Yep...his folks made a bad parenting mistake and, guess what, they aren't the first and they won't be the last! A lot of folks make them but they don't have to suffer the consequences these people do. I guess iot is easy to judge when you have nothing invested and nothing to lose. His father didn't display "audacity"...his father displayed honesty and courage in admitting his failure. Last I saw, there wasn't a manual for raising a kid. I am shocked at how "gamers" are eager to blame the parents and don't express concern for Brandon or the family. I am curious, if the worst happens and he was abducted by a pedophile, will you "gamers" feel as brash? Care to, for a second, try and place yourself in Brandon's or the parents shoes? It should be easy...you have shown a certain adeptness at living in a fantasy world. Get out and get some REAL excercise....

Hey Shawn Ryan, when was the last time you looked cuz a quick search of Amazon shows hundreds of parenting books for sale.
The "child" in question is only months away from being legal to marry have kids and work full time and these morons are treating him like a ten year old.
They dont have "courage" because they are using games and communication networks as a scape goat for their own mess of a family.

This is a good opinion piece from the guys over at TechDirt. The following is a copy and paste from their site:

Teenagers have a long history of running away after getting into arguments with their family, but throw in the fact that the argument was over a video game and suddenly you've got a big press story in which the press can slam video games as being evil. As you may or may not be aware, there's a story up in Canada concerning 15-year-old Brandon Crisp who ran away from home after an argument with his parents concerning how much time he was spending playing video games. Rather than suggesting that it may have been the argument that drove him from home, his parents are blaming the evils of video gaming, with his father saying:

"I'm worried he has met someone online through this game. It could be organized crime or someone involved in Internet gambling. Pedophiles can stalk kids through these games."

His mother apparently believes that he was taken by another video game player. So the press is having a field day, with the Toronto Globe & Mail running an editorial slamming pretty much everything to do with video games as being secretly addictive, and even claiming that video games are worse than drug or alcohol addiction, because parents and teachers encourage kids to play video games.

The problem is more insidious in some ways than drugs or alcohol because society approves of the basic activity. Parents don't bring home a case of beer or a vial of cocaine for their children but they do buy the computers that their children use. Schools demand that students use computers for their homework assignments.

Perhaps it's not surprising, though it is depressing, in this day and age that a newspaper opinion writer seems to simply lump all computer use together and automatically assumes that "video game addiction" must be the cause of the problem here, when that's not at all confirmed in any way. To support the opinion piece, the Globe quotes the guy who's been pushing to get video game addiction declared an official addiction, not noting that, as the guy who popularized it, he would stand to have his practice benefit greatly from getting to treat all those so-called "addicts." And, more importantly, the Globe article, which mentions the guy's crusade, ignores the fact that he was shot down by the American Medical Association which noted there is "nothing to suggest" that video game addiction "is a complex physiological disease state."

But why let any of that get in the way of a good opinion piece?

Dev as a parent I COMPLETELY agree with you.

It's the parents job to watch, teach, and set rules for their children. If they allowed him a game rated M and allowed him to play 15 hours a day and then pack his bags... then what else do you think is going to happen?

Gaming was the trigger, yes.

But it's likely that it's far from the actual cause/reason to him running away.

Yeah you're right. When I was 7 yrs old and ran away from my parents because they wouldn't buy me an ice cream at the state fair, it was TOTALLY the ice cream's fault.

Don't be stupid.

The kid wasn't kidnapped or abducted. He freaking ran away. The dad even packed his damn bag for him, and waved him off. Did you even read the story?

Offday...

The anger you're spewing all over this thread is EXACTLY the same kind of anger the father showed to his son. When you become a father, you will do EXACTLY the same thing to your son, unless you learn empathy. The father didn't have it. You don't have it either. That's how fathers get to be that way. It starts where you are.

There's a BIG difference between "losing" your child and driving him away. The latter is certianly the case, quite literally, in this instance.

That's funny, I've played CoD4, and I don't remember the part that says "RUN AWAY! JOIN THE MAFIA!"

Also, he's 15 years old - not 7 or 8. I think the idea that he's going to fall prey to some pedophile in a van with candy when he's 3 years from adulthood is a bit ridiculous. Yes, it's terrible for his parents that he's missing, but teenagers "run away" and stay at friend's houses all the time.

I really hope the kid turns up safe and sound, but saying it's somehow XBL's fault when his dad PACKED HIS BAGS is just an irrational way to scapegoat and push the blame.

Yes...because it's about a "man", who "bombs". It's obviously a terrorist training exercise.

:)

"Yes...because it's about a "man", who "bombs". It's obviously a terrorist training exercise."

I LoL'd.

The blame it on XBL because it is nothing of a person that can defend itself, meaning that XBL is not a person they can sue or getting arrested. You see the pattern a lot, school violence:goth music, drug abuse:hardcore gabber music etc. violence in general: movies and games.

Yay! Another ignorant American who thinks they invented everything! Fact: Canadians were celebrating Thanksgiving before the US was. Another fact: Europeans beat us both.

Next time try not to be a jackass!