Metaboli announces the launch of a first-of-its-kind tool to give parents control across all of their children’s PC gaming.  The parental control function will launch across all of Metaboli’s platforms.  The tool allows parents to set up each child with their own account on Metaboli and pre-select the games their children can play by the age certification, genre or on a case-by-case basis.  Parents can also use the weekly calendar to specify when and for how long their children will be able to play to help allocate a fair playing time for each child thereby minimising arguments.

The new report commissioned by Metaboli reveals:

• 7.7 million parents are unaware of their children’s video games content – nearly half of parents admit to not always knowing the content of their children’s computer games.
• Growing concerns over the time their children spend playing video games – 5 million parents are concerned about the amount of time their children dedicate to playing games on the computer
• Playing computer games are a source of family tension – over 90% of families admit that their children fight over getting ‘their turn’
• Parents want more control over the computer games their children play – one-fifth of parents would like more control and this desire increases as children get older with a third of parents with children aged over 13 wanting greater control
• Despite concerns, families believe that computer games are useful for their children’s education – three-quarters of parents believe that playing computer games helps teach their children new skills

The research reveals that despite parent’s concerns over their children playing video games, 45% admit that they aren’t always aware of the content of the games.  Parents with older children are less likely to know what their children are doing with 66% of parents with children aged over 11 admitting to not being aware of the content of their children’s games.  A further 17% of parents across the UK acknowledge that they can find it difficult to monitor what types of games their children are playing and 29% are concerned about how much time is spent playing them.

 For families with more than one child, 94% admit that children demanding ‘their turn’ on the family computer or games consoles cause arguments at home with an estimated 1 million parents owning up to constant fights over this issue.

However, parents are keen to allow their children to play video games with 72% believing that it helps to teach them new skills, and a further 27% thinking that it teaches them about the world.

With increasing pressure on budgets, families are looking to cut unnecessary spending.  With 14% of families admitting that they spend too much money on buying new computer games for their children, Metaboli’s subscription-based service offers an easy way for families to cut costs without cutting back on the latest games.  The Essential pack costs just £6.95 per month and offers families access to over 200 family games with a new game added every week.

For more information on the parental control feature including the available games and calendar functionality, visit www.metaboli.co.uk.