Something funny happened in church yesterday . . .

[Shortman McLeod]

[Don't worry, this isn't about religion. Read on.]

So yesterday I'm at mass (we're Catholics) and early on our priest, Father Peter, calls up all the children to be dismissed for children's liturgy. Before they depart, he chats with them a bit at the front of the church.

Now there are about 40 kids up there, ranging in age from 3 years old to perhaps six or seven. Father Peter asks them, "How many of you like to play board games?" Not a single kid puts up his hand. A bit surprised, Father Peter says, "You know, games like checkers, Monopoly, games like that? Anyone?"

Nothing from the kids.

Then Father Peter says, "How about sports? Do any of you like to play sports?" One kid puts up his hand and says, "Hockey." (We're in Canada. ) Another two kids say, "Soccer."

Finally, Father Peter says, "Well, how about computer games, or video games? Do any of you like to play those?" And I kid you not, almost EVERY HAND went up.

Frankly, this depressed me a bit. Are kids today really not playing board games and getting into outdoor sports? Are they really sitting on their collective rear ends in front of screens all day?

Now I'm no Luddite. I love video games and I've been playing them in one form or another since the old days of the Atari 2600. But I don't want my four-year-old daughter to play them until she's older. Right now her free time consists of Tae Kwon Do, board games with my wife and I, and going for walks to feed the ducks at a nearby pond. Not to mention swimming, gymnastics, and playing with Lego. She rarely watches television and, as I said, no video games at all until she's about nine or ten or so.

But I fear she's a tiny minority.

Now obviously, one group of kids at my church isn't a representative sample, but it really did surprise me.

Comments?

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

Nope, she and my son are definitely the minority. I volunteer a lot at my son's elementary school and I get to talk with many kids ages 5-9 and that is pretty much the response I get from the vast majority of them.

 

[Fenris]

Sad but true. I remember at swim lessons last year, the instructor was showing my son how to use the kick board. She said "now hold it like a video game contoller" and when he couldn't do it my wife and I had to let her know that "he doesn't play video games" and she was rather surprised.

My son does get to play some games though, mostly at the YMCA after school, but they;re on a PC and are older games (Mario brothers, Donkey Kong Country etc.) That's the limit of his exposure though. But he is desperate to play more. All his friends play so much and tell him about them. It's hard when he whines for it, but the time is far better spent doing other things.

 

[Tarek]

That's because it's easy... it's easy for many parents to just let the kids sit in front of the TV, or the computer, as a way of keeping the kids occupied so that the parents can do whatever they need to without having to worry about the trouble the kids are getting into.

And, of course, there's a rise in ADD... which can be attributed directly to the "fast cut" and rapid scene changes in video games and children's television. ADD was extremely rare before Sesame Street... and it's not because the diagnosis was unknown.

If I were you, I'd push it even farther back... don't allow your daughter to watch TV until she's twelve, and no video games until she's fourteen.

 

[Huw]

I had the opposite situation the other day. A family friend had left their daughter (aged 9) with us that afternoon. To keep her entertained, I suggested chess. She immediately said yes even though she hadn't played before, but picked it up quickly. I suggested she might practice with her mum and dad, but she told me they didn't play!

So there's at least one child out there who wants to play board games, but her parents aren't interested.

BTW, my son's 6, and is an enthusiastic, but not very good, chess player. He just needs to stop advancing his king out to the middle of the board and exchanging his queen for a bishop.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Or you could lock them in a room with a set of Lincoln logs until they're old enough to pick cotton all day.

Seriously though. Don't shelter your children from all this newfangled technology. Doing so will almost certainly insure that they are behind the curb compared to their peers. I'm not saying your toddler should be playing Grand Theft Auto, but education can be found in nearly every facet of life. And as it turns out, a great deal can be learned from TV, and yes, even video games.

I grew up on computers and video games and I watched TV when I wasn't doing that. Sports ranked very low on my hobby list. I had a few friends who were the same way. On the other hand, I also had a lot of friends who played all kinds of sports and did all the "normal" stuff kids are supposed to do.

My geeks friends and I all have careers in the various engineering disciplines while a huge number of those "normal" kids are working at sock mills or pushing carts at Wal-Mart. Sure I got picked on as a kid, but who's laughing now.

Do what's in the best interest for your kids, but don't shelter them from the real world. And I hate to break it to you, but the newer forms of media (TV, Video Games, the Internet) are quickly out pacing the traditional in terms of education potential.

 

[Shortman McLeod]

My geeks friends and I all have careers in the various engineering disciplines while a huge number of those "normal" kids are working at sock mills or pushing carts at Wal-Mart. Sure I got picked on as a kid, but who's laughing now.

Of course, the purpose of life isn't just to enhance one's socio-economic status. But that's a different thread.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Of course, the purpose of life isn't just to enhance one's socio-economic status. But that's a different thread.

I'm of the mind that we define our own purposes in life.

That said, considering the amount of alcohol some of the "normal" kids are drinking these days, I'm guessing they haven't defined their purpose as "poverty stricken bottom feeder". But I could be wrong I suppose.

To each his own. If a man is happy digging ditches, more power to him. He needs to be happy and I need ditches.

 

[Felix]

Don't shelter your children from all this newfangled technology.

I suspect that plonking the kid in front of the TV has less to do with trying not to "shelter children from technology" than it does leaving the kid with an electronic nanny.

Using electronic media to educate for a purpose is one thing; doing it because you as a parent can't be bothered to take your kid on a walk or drive him to soccer practice is something else altogether.

but who's laughing now.

If you're laughing at them because of their state in life, then are you not guilty of acting in the same wretched manner they did, without the excuse of being young and unaware of the pain they cause by their actions?

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

I suspect that plonking the kid in front of the TV has less to do with trying not to "shelter children from technology" than it does leaving the kid with an electronic nanny.

Using electronic media to educate for a purpose is one thing; doing it because you as a parent can't be bothered to take your kid on a walk or drive him to soccer practice is something else altogether.

I agree 100%. This is a problem. There is a fine middle ground there. While I would not advocate banning your child from TV or video games, I likewise wouldn't rely on such things to raise my child. That's poor parenting altogether.

If you're laughing at them because of their state in life, then are you not guilty of acting in the same wretched manner they did, without the excuse of being young and unaware of the pain they cause by their actions?

Well, I wouldn't laugh at them to their face. I have no intention of hurting anyone's feelings, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't I draw some small amount of satisfaction from their situation. I'm not proud of that, but it's true.