I couldn't wait to turn 13.
Driving at 16? Drinking and voting at 18? Didn't care, because 12 years old meant video games with the big "T for Teen" could never join my collection.
Can I play Goldeneye? Nope, Metal Gear Solid? Not a chance. But after the big 1-3 I finally had some leverage in the violence vs. Mom and Dad debate.
Even now at 23, parents and well meaning relatives can point out the depravity of Bulletstorm or the abiding debauchery of Grand Theft Auto with just the most peripheral knowledge of the industry.
But I can't blame them, because the mainstream news coverage only extends to the next Halo or Call of Duty. So it's no wonder people assume the majority of video games exist to teach children how to make people/aliens/prostitues die.
Turns out, we were wrong.
The ESRB broke down their assigned ratings for 2010 and out of 1,638 games, the frown inducing 'M for mature' rating only accounted for a measly 5%.
Five per cent. That's like assuming lucky charms are mostly shooting stars. In fact, people have gone around calling it "Shooting Star" cereal. That's just not accurate. There's rainbows and moons and horseshoes swirling in a sea of toasted oats.
T for Teen came in at 21% and E for Everyone accounted for a whopping 55%.
The ESRB said around 6 in 10 games released over the last two years received E for Everyone ages six and up.
"In fact, three quarters of the ratings we assigned last year were for games that are appropriate for those under the age of 13, so there's a huge variety of games available for players of all ages."
That's a whole lot of toasted oat chunks.