Question for the Dads

[gtadroptop]

There has been some good that has come out of my son playing video games. He learned how to read and comprehend by looking at the cheat books. They held his interest when school books didn't. He learned how to effectively apply what he read and saw in those books to the games. Other than that, I can't defend them. He would rather play them than play outside. I make sure that time limits are set.

 

[LOCAL669]

Thank You to all who have given me there opinions. I have taken a mix of the advice and everything is cool. Thank You.

 

[Gator]

No video games here, never has been, they never expressed more than a passing interest in it. This is just my opinion, but i think there are much more healthy activities than sitting around playing video games

 

[jkoj]

My son(who turns 6 in Feb.)got a playstation 2 for x-mas.He loves the two games that we have.Madden 06 and smackdown.I had never played any video games so it was new to both of us.He only gets to play on weekends.It's too crazy in my house during the week,homework,baths and dinner for the wife and kids

 

[gtadroptop]

No video games here, never has been, they never expressed more than a passing interest in it. This is just my opinion, but i think there are much more healthy activities than sitting around playing video games

Overall you're right, but if they have to play video games I would strongly recommend the Wii. With it, you're way more active than just mashing buttons. With a lot of the Wii games, you're moving around and can get a halfway decent workout. Nothing compared to being outside and playing, but it's still better than the traditional video game systems. And now that Christmas is over, they might be available in the stores again.

 

[garvey]

Our son has had video game consoles since he was a little kid. At 17 he still plays XBox -- he loves the Halo games and Call of Duty. He may play it for an hour, sometimes has friends over and they do a gaming session. But he manages his time and understands the importance of balance and prioritizing.

I think giving him a Nintendo when he was 10 has helped him in so many ways. We limited playing time to a 1/1 equivalent of reading time & game playing time (and we excluded school reading). Now he is 17, incredibly self sufficient, he's 6'3", 220lbs, plays football, lifts weights, and still plays video games.

Video games haven't hurt him one bit.