Is League of Legends Appropriate for Kids?

I have fond memories of playing League of Legends during highschool when it first came out. As soon as the bell that symbolized the end of the class rang, my friends and I would go to the local internet cafe down the street and spend hours before going home, much to the chagrin of our parents. That was in 2009, when I was younger. And while I wasn’t exactly a child back then, I know it’s important for parents to know which games are appropriate for their kids.

Fast forward to today, and I’m a father of a 7 year old boy myself, so I know how it feels. Personally, League of Legends is one of my favorite games of all time. No matter what happens in life, I can always pick up right where I left off and feel that familiar comfort during the login screen. So it begs the question, is League of Legends appropriate for kids? Does the cartoonish violence in-game incite some sort of negative effect on our children? While I’m no pediatric psychologist myself, let’s look at some of the things relevant to the question that we know for a fact. At the end, hopefully we can draw a general conclusion to whether or not it is appropriate for kids. Without wasting any more time, let’s dive right into it.

​​The Age Rating

While League of Legends does hold an age rating of PEGI 12. Interestingly enough, however, actually reading through the terms of use states that you need to be 13 and older to actually play it. So in some ways, League of Legends is actually made for teens. While it does have a relatively cartoonish art style — despite Riot changing the design language over the years, shifting from a more cartoon style into something else entirely — it still shows things like red blood when champions interact with each other. Whether or not it’s a legal thing or a psychological development thing is still up for debate, but it is what it is.

The Point 

That being said, technically, it isn’t appropriate for kids officially. However, as a parent, you have the option of using your best judgment and the benefit of knowing your child more than anyone else. While the police won’t come busting through your door when the government detects your 12 year and 11 month old child logging in through the Riot launcher, it’s important to note that there is a reason that these ratings exist. As a father of a 7 year old, I’m going to wait a few years before I dust off my laptop and introduce him to the world of League.