Let your kids have video games?

[Deety]

Brain implants, duh.

I've always wanted one!

 

[buckiprof]

My kids have video games (X-Box and Playstation 3?) and there isn't a problem. Granted we have monitored the games played, but honestly that was never really a concern for me.

My concern was the spending of 2-3 hours playing the games when they could have been doing something else that was more physically active.

Yet that concern never materialized either.

After playing for about an hour, they usually power down and head outside. They much prefer the physical playing than coach potato playing.

They have cousins who spend up to 5 hours a day on video games and when the cousins were up for Thanksgiving, my sons complained that all they wanted to do was play video games. Not coincidentally, their cousins are somewhat overweight and really out of shape.

I guess in our household, video games are treated as what IMO they should be. A nice diversion that is okay, even daily, but it comes nowhere near dominating their time.

 

[buckeyes_rock]

I guess it depends on the kid. My kids use them as random diversions. They're great for long car trips and cold winter days. But my kids are good about it and never sit for hours on end playing. As others have said though, there are kids who would play them all day long. We have a neighbor kid who will often not come out and play in the summer with the other kids because he's too busy playing a game.

To me, it's no different than watching TV. You just can't allow it all the time. But it can be a lot of fun for the whole family. We love to have game nights where we play Wii or have tournaments with fun family games.

 

[BrutuStrength]

To me, it's no different than watching TV. You just can't allow it all the time. But it can be a lot of fun for the whole family. We love to have game nights where we play Wii or have tournaments with fun family games.

I agree. We haven't done a family game night in a while, but that's usually how we spend our New Year's Eves. We all camp out in the family room and play games and watch movies/shows, then we watch the new year arrive in NYC and go to sleep.

We also have made a conscious effort in the past to buy games for the kids that help to keep them a bit more active, like Rock Band and Wii games that require motions and not just button mashing. Now that our kids are getting older we're letting them pick more of the games they want. But like prof said, they'd usually rather be outside playing with their friends.

 

[Ttown]

My kids have video games (X-Box and Playstation 3?) and there isn't a problem. Granted we have monitored the games played, but honestly that was never really a concern for me.

My concern was the spending of 2-3 hours playing the games when they could have been doing something else that was more physically active.

Yet that concern never materialized either.

After playing for about an hour, they usually power down and head outside. They much prefer the physical playing than coach potato playing.

They have cousins who spend up to 5 hours a day on video games and when the cousins were up for Thanksgiving, my sons complained that all they wanted to do was play video games. Not coincidentally, their cousins are somewhat overweight and really out of shape.

I guess in our household, video games are treated as what IMO they should be. A nice diversion that is okay, even daily, but it comes nowhere near dominating their time.

Totally with you and your family on this one buckiprof

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Does anyone here not let their kids have video game systems? Or was anyone that grew up in the video game age not allowed to have a video game system? I don't have kids yet but if/when I do I've been toying with the idea of not letting them have a video game system.

Thoughts?

The only video game our father EVER bought for us was NES Jeopardy because it was "more educational" than the other games. Naturally, my sister and I memorized the questions and baited people into playing with us so we could destroy them.

I've always wanted one!

Go for it! Your other implants turned out beautifully.

 

[aurorabuckeye13]

I agree mostly with what's been said. In some cases it can actually be a negative, because youre kids might go overboard when they do eventually get video games. If they grow up around them and (once again) use them in moderation, its fine. I know for myself its a way to relax or break things up. I'm in college and if I have a night where I don't have alot of homework, I'll pop in NCAA Football and start up a game. I'll do a couple of homework problems or read a section of the book after every quarter. It's a nice way to break things up especially if I've had a long day.

 

[BayBuck]

Bump for the app era... I wonder, for the younger of today's kids, how much more they are playing "video games" on tablets and smartphones, as opposed to consoles? And are they probably starting earlier than we all did growing up? I have a kindergartener and a preschooler, and they are both very proficient on touchscreen devices, well before the age when I was learning a PC, let alone had my first Nintendo. We allow this kind of "screen time" as a reward sometimes, and also admittedly as a way to pass the time and keep them quiet, in a car ride or busy restaurant for instance. There's a lot of dress-up-baby and town-building crap clogging up the free/cheap app pipeline of course, but the best of them seem to give our girls all those wonder-ous early-gaming experiences I once had.

My older daughter just got through Monument Valley by herself (usually sitting next to me for occasional consultation), which if you haven't played it, is a beautiful and mysterious game that requires a lot of problem-solving and spatial intelligence, and it turned out to be a memorable experience for us both. And she still enjoys book-time and playing outside, so I guess it's always about balance.

 

[Crump's brother]

Funny you brought this back, as I'm lending my sister my N64 for the week-I don't use it (just for a wrestling game and Goldeneye). Her kids 7 and 5 are also well rounded. Curious to see how it goes, as they are IPad users too.