In the other thread, Josh asks a study explaining why parents do the stupid things they do. Ask and you shall recieve. From an article not quite a month old…

A study commissioned by the UK games industry found that parents let children play games for adults, even though they knew they were 18-rated.
…
“Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition,” said Jurgen Freund, Modulum chief executive. “Some may have not liked the content but they did not prohibit the game.”

The research showed that parents were more concerned about children spending too many hours playing games, rather than about what type of title they were playing.

Long story short: if parents are aware of the rating system and what ‘M’ means but still buys the game, at what point can all of the blame cease to be placed at the industry’s footsteps?

The original comments thread is here.