Pint-Sized Gamers
May 25th 2010 14:00
We went on a field trip to Green Bay a little while ago. It's about a two hour bus ride, on a school bus. There was the normal singing and jumping between seats when they thought we weren't looking, stuff bored kids on a bus tend to do. But there was something I hadn't seen before. Kids in the front of the bus were talking to kids in the back of the bus, but not verbally. They were chatting on their Nintendo DSes, writing back and forth. At least fifteen kids on the bus had them, all connected together wirelessly. Those who weren't writing back and forth were playing different types of games, and those who didn't have DSes were begging to play them. I admit, I borrowed one and wrote to all the kids on the bus that “Mr. Adams RULES!” It was pretty cool.
When I was a kid, my brothers and I never got a Nintendo, though we often asked for one. My parents were sure we would fight over it, and they were probably right. Getting to play video games at a friend's house was a huge treat. Over the years since I first moved into my own apartment, I have acquired four different video game systems. I mainly use one of them, but keep the others for when my nieces and nephews come to visit. They love MarioKart 64! Most of the kids I know have some sort of video game system, portable or otherwise. Many have several different kinds.
I love playing video games, and I try to play them in moderation. I've seen several levels of video game use in the kids I work with. Some don't play video games, because they can't afford video game systems or just don't have them. Others are like me: they play occasionally and the amount of time they spend playing is limited. Then there are the ones that play all the time-their parents use the video games as a baby sitter much the way parents before video games would plop the kids in front of the TV. The kids are quiet, so the parents are happy. We have kids at school that show up exhausted every day because when their parents put them to bed at night, they just play video games in their room all night instead of going to sleep.
I'm not against kids playing video games. They keep kids from getting bored on long bus rides. They've been shown to improve hand-eye coordination and problem solving, and kids love them. Playing video games online is one of the main ways that I keep in touch with my younger brother that lives five hours away (I wouldn't recommend letting your kids play online unsupervised...there are a lot of jerks and weirdos out there). But like any good thing, they should be used in moderation. If video games are interfering with other aspects of your kids' lives, like school work or playing with friends, it's probably time to cut back. Ditto for if they aren't getting enough exercise because they're sitting in front of the TV all day. Unplug the game system, take it out of their room if you have to (or don't put it in their room in the first place), and use my parents' favorite line: GO PLAY OUTSIDE!!! Better yet, go play outside with them!
When I was a kid, my brothers and I never got a Nintendo, though we often asked for one. My parents were sure we would fight over it, and they were probably right. Getting to play video games at a friend's house was a huge treat. Over the years since I first moved into my own apartment, I have acquired four different video game systems. I mainly use one of them, but keep the others for when my nieces and nephews come to visit. They love MarioKart 64! Most of the kids I know have some sort of video game system, portable or otherwise. Many have several different kinds.
I love playing video games, and I try to play them in moderation. I've seen several levels of video game use in the kids I work with. Some don't play video games, because they can't afford video game systems or just don't have them. Others are like me: they play occasionally and the amount of time they spend playing is limited. Then there are the ones that play all the time-their parents use the video games as a baby sitter much the way parents before video games would plop the kids in front of the TV. The kids are quiet, so the parents are happy. We have kids at school that show up exhausted every day because when their parents put them to bed at night, they just play video games in their room all night instead of going to sleep.
I'm not against kids playing video games. They keep kids from getting bored on long bus rides. They've been shown to improve hand-eye coordination and problem solving, and kids love them. Playing video games online is one of the main ways that I keep in touch with my younger brother that lives five hours away (I wouldn't recommend letting your kids play online unsupervised...there are a lot of jerks and weirdos out there). But like any good thing, they should be used in moderation. If video games are interfering with other aspects of your kids' lives, like school work or playing with friends, it's probably time to cut back. Ditto for if they aren't getting enough exercise because they're sitting in front of the TV all day. Unplug the game system, take it out of their room if you have to (or don't put it in their room in the first place), and use my parents' favorite line: GO PLAY OUTSIDE!!! Better yet, go play outside with them!
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