You already know I have a bit of an "attitude" about video games. I used to flat out insist no video games would ever enter my house. Nowadays I am eating my words as my oldest son has accumulated a few consoles, we got a Wii for the family, and my kids play educational games on my computer. We don't spend a lot of time on them… maybe a few hours a week but I am happy with these changes because they have enriched our lives instead of detracted from them. I am not feeling that same love for TV but I have loosened up on the games even though I would say I have/had good reason to feel the way I did. I have a family member who is addicted to gaming. It can be just as bad as someone addicted to alcohol or gambling. When someone in your life can spend 40+ hours a week (as in ALL their free time, not spent sleeping or working) you begin to despise the object of their addiction.
BUT a couple games have changed my thinking on gaming.. as long as it is kept to a healthy minimum. I guess I am now thinking more about how gaming can be enriching as long as it doesn't replace REAL things like human contact, hobbies and activities. In fact I require that games in our house "encourage" these things, IRL.
Last year my kids started playing Magic Artists Deluxe, Kid Pix, and JumpStart World. The first two are not so much games as they are art programs. My kids REALLY enjoy them because it allows them to create paintings and pictures with all sorts of different tools and techniques… media art. At least two of my kids are very artistic (drawing, painting, sculpting) and I am not. Giving them tools to express their art has been a wonderful thing. Imagine how fun it would be for a child to take a blank piece of paper, color it their favorite color, use 5 different paintbrushes to swirl accent colors around, maybe take a sponge to blend some colors, then paste little hearts and stars all over it, and sprinkle with glitter or chocolate chips. Doing all of this on a computer allows for that wonderful experimentation. They use what they learn via these programs to create art offline too.
The last game is something we played while homeschooling. It encourages reading and math by making it a game.
This year we got the Wii and found a wonderful way to exercise and play active games like bowling and golf right from home. It even got my oldest son interested in running. And yet my kids still spend lots of time outdoors because the Wii only contains their adventurous spirits for a few hours a week. Keeping the Wii stored away when not in use helps with that I think.
The latest game we have been playing is on Facebook… Farmville. It got started when my mother introduced my daughter to the game and set her up a farm on my account, without my knowledge. At first I was not too happy because this was around New Years and I had read the resolutions of several bloggers to abandon Farmville because it was taking up too much of their time. Grown adults were having problems keeping their activity in check!
But all things considered it has been a great thing for my daughter and now my oldest son. They are learning so much about managing a farm, planting things, harvesting, taking care of animals, etc. They are also chatting with and "playing" with family members they don't get to see often, like their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. It has helped them form personal connections with people, not a disconnection. It has also given them big dreams of gardening this spring and trying this Farmville stuff for real.
So I guess that is it in a nutshell… using media to enhance our lives not just entertain us. It is a tall order in this day and age but it can be done. Is it healthy? Well, that's a stretch. Is it educational? It can be. It is at all bad? No. Its all about turning something that can be lemons, into lemonade.
What are your thoughts about kids and gaming?
My husband got a WIi-Fit for himself for Xmas but of course the whole family plays. And of course my 5 year old is addicted to it after never having played any video games before it, and I knew she would be and I’m so annoyed. Yes, I get that Wii is better than Playstation, etc but she’s in front of a screen and doing what I feel is fake exercising. I think the Wii and other videa games are like pot for up and coming drug addicts. First it’s pot, then hash, then coke, then meth….. okay okay, I’m probably over-reacting but I still feel like we’re headed downhill from here as soon as she gets exposed to the games she’s missing out on from her friends.
I agree with your post. The key is choosing the right game and doing it in moderation.
I have learned that saying your kids will never do something is ridiculous. I SWORE my kids would never know what McDonalds is, how silly is that? We don’t go often, but they are smart enough to recognize the sign and ask for it.
i have 3 boys ages 3-7 and i do not have the Wii. :)
not only do i hate how it takes away from other activities, i know my kids would become addicted; how expensive the unit and games are and it becomes all they want and all you can give them giftwise when they’re older; ugh and storing the darn thing; they are always adding to them and making them better every few years so everyone has to go out and get that new thing -trust me personal wii will be out next cmas; and then every kid needs them in their hand when out at an adult errand or doc appt or 5 unentertained mins- but the main reason i am NOT getting them is so i dont have to use it as leverage like to take it away as a punishment or start bartering with my kids (about something else) ie ok do your homework and then you can play wii, or listen to them argue about not being fair about whos turn it is… UGH. we have enough of that already. it is SO NICE to not have wii (dsd, ps3…) in my life!!! they can play it at their friends’ all they want. i dont care how much fun we could have doing it-we have fun w/o it. dont even get me started on Disneyworld! LOL!
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I am a gaming-widow. I think gaming can be like crack! I dont think all games are bad and I dont think things in moderation are bad. I am disciplined. I can watch one tv show and turn off the tv. Computer games arent always like that. They can play for hours and not realize it. My husband is the worst, and unfortunately, his decisions involve the kids. He is MIA for them as he obsesses over his games. And he involves the kids in games that I wouldnt want them to play and he allows them to waste numerous hours. Valuable hours that could be reading or going outside. Yes, I am bitter but honestly, games have ruined many lives, families and marriages. SO BE WARNED. Use computer games with great discipline and thought.
Hey I agree with you Moderation is the key of course. I am 100% no TV, don’t even have one. We watch movies on the Projector!. Once a week. Friday or Sunday… we try to limit to a few hours a week for the Online games like in Star Fall.. educational games. I can see how an addiction will form quickly, even at the young age of 4-5
I have friends that TV is the main focus of their home.. and they all seem lost and rude. the volume is always at the MAX, well that’s what it seems like anyways..
I love listening to my children play!
NOT IN MY HOUSE! To each their own, this is just how I feel.
In fact next week we are getting rid of the internet. That means no cable, no cell phones and now no internet. Just think how great life can be when you are no longer distracted and fully connected to your family. Wow, I am actually really excited! But we all have to do what works for us. I judge no one else!
40 hours a week is nothing! My 20 year old brother plays for at least 60/week. It’s absolutely insane. Luckily, he just got married and his wife is causing him to venture out some, but unfortunately, she’s somewhat of a gamer herself, lol. I only have one child, and he’s only 8 months old, so I’m making no promises of whether we’ll have games in the house or not, but it’s hard for me to think that we will. We’ll see in time, though. Great post!
I personally love video games. I was addicted as a child. And I know the side affects of too much of the stuff. Because I was an overweight unhealthy teenager who sat in front of a screen during any free time I pay close attention to how much game time I allow. However, we do play. When we play we do it together. We purposely choose family games for Wii that we can do together and our kids never play alone… My hubby and I even have game nights with our friends playing Trivial Pursuit and other board games that have been made into Wii games and everyone has a great time and we are always planning the next game night. I think mostly it is personal choice. If you cannot trust yourself or your family not to abuse it then you shouldn’t use it. It you use it with moderation and choose your games carefully then you should be fine.
My boys have been playing video games since they could hold the remotes. The research unanimously states that video games improve visual acuity, spacial awareness and fine motor skills. In fact, there is an article in Scientific American Mind magazine this month about how Grand Theft Auto has actually successfully used to improve driving skills in older adults because it improves their peripheral vision. The military uses Call of Duty and other such games to improve soldiers ability to track multiple targets. The university of Kansas also did a controlled study on first person shooters and found that those class of games do indeed improve awareness in the real world. Another University (I forget which one) did another study and found that games like prince of persia and other problem solving games also help sharpen real world academic problems. In other words, it’s pure fantasy that video games are bad.
Kid Pix is fun! I’m an elementary school teacher and I HATE video games, except for the Wii-fit ones. I can almost always tell who plays video games (a lot) and who doesn’t. Dr. Leonard Sax talks about the impact video games have on boys in his book Boys Adrift, http://www.boysadrift.com/. I totally see the violence correlation!
I have mixed feelings about video games. But if someone does let their kids play them, then I think moderation is key. I think it can be detrimental if it’s done too much or used in place of something else (like going outside, being creative, etc).