Entertainment Software Rating Board president Patricia Vance is writing a series of articles for the Good Housekeeping website designed to help parents with selecting age-appropriate games for their children.
The articles will contain a wide range of information, including guides to the ESRB rating system, setting parental controls and what parents should know about online gaming. Each month, a list of the top-selling games will be presented along with their ratings, giving parents easily-accessible information regarding the games their children are mostly likely to ask for.
“Helping our readers make smart choices when it comes to the products they purhcase for their families is a fundamental part of what we do,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping. “Given the immense and growing popularity of videogames, particularly among teens and tweens, we’re delighted to be carrying on that mission by helping prepare parents to make informed choices about the videogames they bring home for their children to play.”
The premiere article in the series is largely a primer for parents new to videogames, offering a brief overview of the changing gamer demographic, the availability of parental controls in modern console systems and the importance of parental involvement in the gaming choices of children. Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about games, do research online and even to play the games themselves.
“Good Housekeeping has been an iconic, trusted source of information for over a century,” said ESRB President Vance, “And we’re extremely pleased that this partnership allows ESRB to become a part of that rich tradition by helping its online readers become more informed consumers when it comes to which videogames to buy for their children.”
Vance’s first article in the series is available at GoodHousekeeping.com.
