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Let your kids have video games?

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BigJim

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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?
 
BigJim;1612487; said:
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?
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I grew up with video game systems, owned practically all of them at some point or another back in the golden age (Atari, ColecoVision, Odyssey, Intellivision, Vectrex, etc ...) and when I wasn't home playing video games, I was working for quarters to go to arcades or the corner drug stores/carry-outs that had arcade machines.

I never saw the harm in it, and I think my interest in video games carried me into computers and has lead to a pretty rewarding career.

My wife and I are easily more strict with her son (9) than my parents ever were with me. The big issue is monitoring what he gets himself into when he uses the computer, or which games he's playing on the consoles (things like Grand Theft Auto are obviously off-limits for him). He's big-time into WoW now, so the wife and I use WoW-time as an incentive for him to do other things beyond homework, such as extra credit assignments, house chores, or reading books.

I don't see video games/television as a huge problem provided parents try to work in equal time encouraging non-technology play, whether artistic, outdoor/sports, music, reading, or simply some family time playing a board game. No matter how engrossed our boy gets in video games, he'd drop whatever he was doing in a second for a game of Monopoly or Sorry! with us, so I think we're doing something right.
 
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My brother and I weren't allowed to have a video game system. We could play computer games, but only if they were of the educational sort. If I had kids I would probably let them have one but limit how much they could play it, or use it as a type of reward system related to school work.

Manfred just bought me a Wii, so that's my first gaming system ever. :)
 
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I think the only real danger posed by video games is the extent to which a person lets the games control, stagnate, or even derail their life. It doesn't even have to be a child. I don't think it is a content issue. I mean, a child can play video games for hours, but if he does well in school and doesn't have any social issues because of it, that's fine. Personally I don't think it is the best way to spend time, but whatever. I personally don't play video games, though I have been considering getting a system just so I can play these awesome looking sports games that they have now, like NCAA Football, FIFA, and Madden.
 
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Six Train;1614536; said:
I think the only real danger posed by video games is the extent to which a person lets the games control, stagnate, or even derail their life. It doesn't even have to be a child. I don't think it is a content issue. I mean, a child can play video games for hours, but if he does well in school and doesn't have any social issues because of it, that's fine. Personally I don't think it is the best way to spend time, but whatever. I personally don't play video games, though I have been considering getting a system just so I can play these awesome looking sports games that they have now, like NCAA Football, FIFA, and Madden.
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This post basically nails my general feeling, except that I do play video games. On one hand I agree with what Dryden said. On the other hand, every time I play for 2-3 hours I think about how much time I just wasted where I could have been doing something else.
 
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There are some benefits to playing video games... even one's that aren't "educational" You're working on hand eye coordination, for example. Problem solving might be another example, depending on the game... or planning and executing that plan being another.

Like all things, though, the benefits of gaming can turn in to costs pretty quick. there are other ways to learn hand eye coordination - like.. throwing an actual ball to a friend, and catching it when he throws it back. Everything, in moderation. :biggrin:
 
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I never played console games, but I was a nut for computer games. Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, Counterstrike, all sorts of stuff, from a really young age, like 7.

When I was younger (the 7-12 age I suppose) my parents definitely put limits on my gaming time. Half an hour a day, an hour a day, stuff like that.

As I got older, they relaxed it a bit, because I was still getting straight A's, and I'm definitely a sports nut as well. Did sports my whole life. Also, I wasn't playing the games alone, I was playing them with friends. So I guess the concern that I would be an introvert who was unathletic and just sat on his butt all day playing video games was certainly not going to happen, so they relaxed a bit.

One problem is that video games are uninterruptable. You're playing a game like WoW or whatever, and you can't just get off without your character dying. You play a competetive multiplayer game, and you'll lose. That was a big problem when I was younger, like 13. My dad would ask me to do a chore right then, and I would be really ticked off because I would have to quit the game, and I didn't understand why I couldn't just do it as soon as I was done.

I guess my point is this--I think video games are fine, and fun. I had a lot of good times playing them with my friends. I actually get really nostalgic about it sometimes. But, and this is the key, all things in moderation, all things in moderation, all things in moderation.

Too much is definitely a bad thing. Video games can give people nasty personalities. Some of the only times I've ever been truly ashamed of my behavior have been when I was on the computer, absorbed into what I was playing and ignoring what was going on around me, not doing chores, etc. Likewise, I get disgusted with other people's personalities when they play video games, because they're so focused, and it's just a freakin VIDEO game!

Make sure that your kid can still enjoy a good game of soccer or whatever outside. That's important. When video games replace real games.. That's bad. That's very bad. NOTHING can replace a good game of 3-on-3 football in the back yard, or some soccer, throwing the frisbee, having a snowball fight. Nothing.

Likewise, don't let it mess up their academics, either, of course.
 
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I always had video games but ONLY if my grades were good.

Yes there were times when my grades were good but my parents didn't feel as if I was putting forth enough effort where I lost the privilege. I think that's the point - it is a privilege not a right. And that's exactly how I'll govern my kids video game use when they are old enough.
 
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BigJim;1614585; said:
This post basically nails my general feeling, except that I do play video games. On one hand I agree with what Dryden said. On the other hand, every time I play for 2-3 hours I think about how much time I just wasted where I could have been doing something else.
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Not to sound crass, but what were you going to do with those 2-3 hours you were playing video games? Rescue kittens from trees? Save the baby seals? Cure cancer?

I mean, I know exactly what you're saying. When I lose myself in an RPG like Fallout 3 for 100 hours I get done with the game and the angel on my right shoulder says, 'Dryden, you're a total dork for just shutting out your family and staying up until 4:00am every night for three straight weeks to play this game.' But then the devil on my left shoulder says, 'Dude, if you hadn't been playing Fallout 3, you only would've spent those 100 hours reading Buckeye Planet, surfing the Internet for boobies, and jerking off. What you just did was far more productive and rewarding!'
 
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You also have to look at video games as a hobby. I know I get enjoyment from playing them, especially sports games. Growing up I would only play video games after playing sports outside with my friends from the time I got home from school until dinner. Then after dinner homework was done, then if I had time I played video games.
 
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Dryden;1615151; said:
Not to sound crass, but what were you going to do with those 2-3 hours you were playing video games? Rescue kittens from trees? Save the baby seals? Cure cancer?
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That's a good question and a valid point. I'm a little different than some in this aspect for two reasons. One, I have a series of exams that I need to pass for my career so I could always be studying instead. Two, I do pretty well in online poker and know that every hour of the day that I'm not playing "costs" me X dollars per hour. Both are clearly more productive than video games.

But more generally speaking, since not everyone is still in a stage in their life where spending time outside of work on work-related efforts can be a good investment for future returns, it's not as clear cut that other activities are more productive. Assuming video games do not get in the way of a few obviously important functions -- staying in good physical shape and socializing with family/friends/etc. -- I guess it really comes down to your values in life. I personally love to read non-fiction stuff. History, theoretical physics, you name it. I feel like I am a more valueable person for it but more than anything, it interests me. Video games interest me too, but I don't think I'm a better person after playing. There are some benefits (practicing problem solving, etc.) but as BKB pointed out, the benefits turn into costs rather quickly. But then some people may not care how much "worthless" (as they may see it) knowledge they gather in their life. To them, freetime may as well be spent doing something you enjoy. And that's partly where I would differ with them in personal values, but as I said before, I'm lucky in that I still enjoy reading and learning so it's easier for me to say that. Not that reading is the only way I suggest to spend your time other than video games. That's just one example that works for me.
 
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