Are Video Games Bad for the Kids?

So, many people think that some video games are too violent and can harm a child’s mind. I know from personal experience I was allowed to play violent games as a kid and I am not going around looting and stealing cars like in the game Grand Theft Auto. Playing games like Grand Theft Auto can actually give you some “street smarts,” your kid might not be doing well in school because of the time spent playing video games, but at least they will be smarter on the streets. Now some would argue that playing violent games is putting ideas in the kid’s mind they did not think about before. My defense against that, is anything you learn in a video game you will eventually learn anyway, and I would rather let my kid know ahead of time in a controlled environment. The only thing that could really turn out bad is your kid might be the one swearing or saying inappropriate words at school, but that should be taken care of by parenting them and letting them know that is not okay. There are a lot of games that involve killing and harming of people, and it should not be an issue for a kid to play these games, as long as the parents teach them values and make sure they understand not to do this outside of the house. They are eventually going to play these games later in life, so why deprive them of great video games in their glory years of gaming.