In an unexpected twist, the just-released annual game industry report card from the National Institute on Media & Family had some praise for the game industry and gave parents an “incomplete” grading.

GamePolitics has a nice summary of the results.

In particular:

Parents are falling behind… this year’s parental survey uncovered an alarming gap between what kids say about the role of video games in their lives and what parents are willing to admit… This much is certain: too many of us do not seem to exercise enough control.

As a father of two, I can certainly appreciate the challenges of parenting, balancing the demands of work, etc. But, it’s no excuse not to be involved in the media diet of our children.

In part, I’m guessing it comes down to a lack of “respect” and understanding of games as a significant form of contemporary art and culture (versus just being a toy)…