personally, I like Halo,but I'm not a very picky gamer anyway. It's fun to play one when the other tires you out a little. I don't like Halo's story as much as gears, but the super sci-fi aspect is kind of refreshing from the bloodiness of gears. but gameplay in gears is a lot funner. So they both have their perks to me.
on the kids topic...it's never the games fault. The parents should discipline there kids more if they throw tantrums over not being able to play. I almost turned out that way but my mom always did the "if you clean the house well enough I'll let you play" Kinda thing. So I always cleaned the house, cause crying about just gave me a headache and not what I wanted.
the best way to avoid dangers of things like children imitating, is to inform, discipline and restrain if necessary