To be devil's advocate..
Okay, Jen is probably going to kick my ass for doing this...but I just felt inspired.
My friend Jen is pretty passionate about the fact that there is nothing wrong with playing video games and that children should not be limited in their video game playing time. etc.
I'm not really a video game lover for that matter...but I feel on the fence about this issue generally and I felt like playing devils advocate with her ;)
:::I <3 you Jen:::::
(All of this ofcourse...is in my opinion and I'm just having fun and not trying to be an asshole)
Video games, in general...are okay.
A lot of people play them and passionately like them.
There are online games which allow people to bond with others all over the world and play with them and build trust with other players etc. I think that concept is good.
Although...online games etc are generally (by my impression) played by "adults" 14yrs+ and are pretty violent...which is fine if you enjoy that sort of thing.
I don't really think that any hobby is a waste of time if the person does it in moderation and thoroughly ENJOYS it :-D All people like different things and have fun doing different things...so even though I don't particularly care to spend 4+ hrs playing video games...it doesn't mean that my dad or jen or khemara can't like it etc.
However, I think children & video games Vs. Parents is an interesting topic and is quite different.
I am classifying children as under 14 yrs old...because I think once you get to be 15, you can generally make your own descisions and have a good grasp on responsibilities etc. Under 14 though...I feel like they need a great deal of guidence.
Exhibit A: Childhood Obesity epidemic.
Okay...obesity isn't caused my video games solely.
BUT. If your child is say 9...and doesn't eat very well and plays video games for 4 hours every day and watches tv for another 4+ and doesn't go outside....then I think you need to limit their "infront of TV" time.
If you don't limit them...and they continue this....It'll become a habit for them and they'll probably get fat and will have little or no social skills or interactions. Yes...kids go to school... but I doubt a kid would have a shitload of friends if all he/she did was sit inside and play games and watch TV.
I guess if your fellow school mates played games a lot, you could have game parties or whatever, but still I think that would create an isolated group of kids etc.
So i think that Video games, a couple times a week is fine. Or I think that there doesn't have to be inforcement of video game law if your kid is outside playing a ton and eats fruits and veggies a lot :-D
Exhibit B, C, D: Development and School Work, Roles, Violence.
I think that if you don't limit kids from playing games.........they may not uphold their school responsibilities etc.
As a parent, I think it's your job to tell kids :::Hey! Time to stop and do your homework now!:::: and eventhough kids are going to bitch and moan etc...they still need to do their homework. Cuz, in the grand scheme of things, they need to go to school and do well. And that's more important than playing Mario.
I also think that young kids who play games a lot without parent involvement have role playing issues.
I think this is especially true if they play violent games at a young age, and don't have someone to explain that it's pretend and that people aren't like that in real life etc.
I also see something interesting which comes with children playing video games without limitations...
(not that my sister is a bad mom or anything etc) My nephew (I would say) plays video games without limitations. I don't even think that the content of the games is regulated. And as a result of this...he doesn't listen to anyone.
If he is standing directly infront of me, and I tell him to take of his shoes before walking all through the house, he just looks at me like I'm out of my mind.
Now....I'm an adult...and when I was young, I was always taught to respect adults and I wouldn't DARE ignore one. I Wouldn't DARE.
He especially gets into this gaze when watching TV...you have to say his name about 2183198 times before he'll even pay attention, and thats cuz he watches too much TV and plays too many video games. He doesn't feel responsible to respond to the outside world.
I also see him get VERY ANGRY at video games.
When he doesn't win, or if something happens in the game...he gets VERY ANGRY and screams and cries and calls himself stupid etc.
So when it comes down to it.
I think limitation is important in video game playing if you, as the parent, see it necessary.
I played Mario and appropriate games of that nature a lot with my dad when I was younger. But my dad often played WITH me, which allowed us to bond, and also allowed him to monitor my playing.
This, I think is an ideal situation.
Anyway. This was fun. I just felt like there was much to be said about video games.
Much Love-Meredith
My friend Jen is pretty passionate about the fact that there is nothing wrong with playing video games and that children should not be limited in their video game playing time. etc.
I'm not really a video game lover for that matter...but I feel on the fence about this issue generally and I felt like playing devils advocate with her ;)
:::I <3 you Jen:::::
(All of this ofcourse...is in my opinion and I'm just having fun and not trying to be an asshole)
Video games, in general...are okay.
A lot of people play them and passionately like them.
There are online games which allow people to bond with others all over the world and play with them and build trust with other players etc. I think that concept is good.
Although...online games etc are generally (by my impression) played by "adults" 14yrs+ and are pretty violent...which is fine if you enjoy that sort of thing.
I don't really think that any hobby is a waste of time if the person does it in moderation and thoroughly ENJOYS it :-D All people like different things and have fun doing different things...so even though I don't particularly care to spend 4+ hrs playing video games...it doesn't mean that my dad or jen or khemara can't like it etc.
However, I think children & video games Vs. Parents is an interesting topic and is quite different.
I am classifying children as under 14 yrs old...because I think once you get to be 15, you can generally make your own descisions and have a good grasp on responsibilities etc. Under 14 though...I feel like they need a great deal of guidence.
Exhibit A: Childhood Obesity epidemic.
Okay...obesity isn't caused my video games solely.
BUT. If your child is say 9...and doesn't eat very well and plays video games for 4 hours every day and watches tv for another 4+ and doesn't go outside....then I think you need to limit their "infront of TV" time.
If you don't limit them...and they continue this....It'll become a habit for them and they'll probably get fat and will have little or no social skills or interactions. Yes...kids go to school... but I doubt a kid would have a shitload of friends if all he/she did was sit inside and play games and watch TV.
I guess if your fellow school mates played games a lot, you could have game parties or whatever, but still I think that would create an isolated group of kids etc.
So i think that Video games, a couple times a week is fine. Or I think that there doesn't have to be inforcement of video game law if your kid is outside playing a ton and eats fruits and veggies a lot :-D
Exhibit B, C, D: Development and School Work, Roles, Violence.
I think that if you don't limit kids from playing games.........they may not uphold their school responsibilities etc.
As a parent, I think it's your job to tell kids :::Hey! Time to stop and do your homework now!:::: and eventhough kids are going to bitch and moan etc...they still need to do their homework. Cuz, in the grand scheme of things, they need to go to school and do well. And that's more important than playing Mario.
I also think that young kids who play games a lot without parent involvement have role playing issues.
I think this is especially true if they play violent games at a young age, and don't have someone to explain that it's pretend and that people aren't like that in real life etc.
I also see something interesting which comes with children playing video games without limitations...
(not that my sister is a bad mom or anything etc) My nephew (I would say) plays video games without limitations. I don't even think that the content of the games is regulated. And as a result of this...he doesn't listen to anyone.
If he is standing directly infront of me, and I tell him to take of his shoes before walking all through the house, he just looks at me like I'm out of my mind.
Now....I'm an adult...and when I was young, I was always taught to respect adults and I wouldn't DARE ignore one. I Wouldn't DARE.
He especially gets into this gaze when watching TV...you have to say his name about 2183198 times before he'll even pay attention, and thats cuz he watches too much TV and plays too many video games. He doesn't feel responsible to respond to the outside world.
I also see him get VERY ANGRY at video games.
When he doesn't win, or if something happens in the game...he gets VERY ANGRY and screams and cries and calls himself stupid etc.
So when it comes down to it.
I think limitation is important in video game playing if you, as the parent, see it necessary.
I played Mario and appropriate games of that nature a lot with my dad when I was younger. But my dad often played WITH me, which allowed us to bond, and also allowed him to monitor my playing.
This, I think is an ideal situation.
Anyway. This was fun. I just felt like there was much to be said about video games.
Much Love-Meredith