Can your child play Valorant safely?
The gaming world is often seen as the domain of children. This may have been true in the old days when most gaming happened in arcades or on the home Nintendo, but things have evolved quite a bit since then.
Even games that have a very kiddy vibe to them, games full of cartoon characters and bright colors, can actually pose a risk to your child, both through their content or the interaction with other players.
What is the age rating for Valorant?
Valorant is rated T for teens by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the most widely-recognized self-regulatory organization for rating games and revealing their content. This means the game is appropriate for children over the age of 13.
According to the ESRB rating, Valorant contains blood, some mildly foul language, and the use of firearms.
The full ESRB Rating list :
- E – Suitable for Everyone.
- E 10+ – Suitable for Everyone aged 10 and up.
- T – Content suited for teenagers aged 13 and up.
- M – Mature content suited for ages 17 and up.
- Ao – Adults only content suited for ages 18 and up.
- RP – Rating Pending, the game is yet to be rated.
What age rating is for Europe?
In Europe, the Pan European Game Information rating, which serves a similar function to the ESRB, is PEGI 16. It’s noted that Valorant contains violence and in-game purchases and isn’t suitable for people under the age of 16.
In addition, interaction with other players can’t be rated, so that simply depends on who your child plays with.
The game also has in-game purchases. Valorant game itself is completely free, but the various cosmetic items which can be bought in the in-game store can be rather costly. Make sure your child isn’t purchasing items without your permission and keep an eye out on your finances.
Talk to your child about Valorant’s safety
This is a good rule of thumb for most gaming nowadays. Remember that kids aren’t growing up in the same environment as their parents and some of the things that may seem obvious to you may not be obvious to your kid.
Talk to them, explain that this is only a game and if something about it upsets them, they should tell you or stop playing. Educate them on the reality of online interaction.
Your child’s safety isn’t just a matter of protecting it from others, it may also be crucial to protect others from your child. The lack of social experience in some children may lead to unintentionally offensive or annoying behavior.
The online world is just like the real one, a loud kid can ruin the experience for others. So, make sure your child is well-behaved while playing Valorant.
Other than that, Valorant is safe for kids above 13
The game is fairly fun and there are plenty of kids already playing it. There are some risks, but they are inherent to all other types of online interaction, be it via Facebook, Twitter, Quora, or any other online game that’s rated T.
Always make sure to talk to your child about how the online world works. That will minimize the risk of these kinds of interactions to a very reasonable level.
