Something funny happened in church yesterday . . .

[Hypersmurf]

"Grand Theft Auto San Andreas," he answered.

Six years old.

So what did he end up writing?

-Hyp.

 

[pogre]

After my first crazy week as a second-grade teacher, my mentor half-jokingly told me that I needed to be at least as entertaining as a computer game, since that's what I was competing against for kids' entertainment. I can make math fun, but frankly, I can't make it that fun.

About two weeks ago I was talking to one of my students who really, really can't pay attention in class (he desperately wants to, but the concept of self-control is totally foreign to him). I was trying to help him think of something to write about. "What do you do when you get home from school?" I asked.

"Play computer games."

"Aha!" I thought. "Me too! Here's a place I can make a connection with this six-year-old!" Out loud, I said, "Really? Cool! What's your favorite game?"

"Grand Theft Auto San Andreas," he answered.

Six years old.

Daniel

I'm surprised a kid with behavior issues is in 2nd grade at age 6.

I'm on board with most folks on this one. My 4 kids get 30 minutes of "screen" time per day. It can be TV, video games, cpu time, but they do love video games.

I usually play a game with them as part of our routine. They love battlemasters, talisman, lord of the rings (the kids' version), mission command games, etc.

When I was younger I used to say I'll never let my kids near a TV screen, but I think we have made a good compromise.

 

[Shortman McLeod]

When I was younger I used to say I'll never let my kids near a TV screen, but I think we have made a good compromise.

My wife and I agree. There is actually some pretty cool stuff on TV for kids, even though most of it is junk. Limiting their screen time severely makes sense. And as I said earlier, for myself I just don't want my daughter playing video games yet. She can learn them when I did (age 10 or so).

Not to derail my own thread, but some board games I love playing with my daughter: Candyland, Monopoly Junior, Chutes and Ladders, and some card games (with special made-for-the-kids cards) like Go Fish and Old Maid. Basically, the classics.

Already looking forward to playing Risk and "real" Monopoly with her when she's a bit older, not to mention my true passions: Axis and Allies, Runebound, Arkham Horror, Cities and Knights of Catan . . . well, you get the idea.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

He needs to be happy and I need ditches.

I have to wonder, for what, exactly?

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Yes and no. I think kids need to learn their own lessons on managing time with some parental boundaries set. Where would the world be if Mozart's dad kept his son's music practice limited to 30 minutes a day? If your child has a talent, it should be developed within limits of being a child.

I hear tell Mozart's dad was a maniac who made his child play piano relentlessly to the exclusion of other, more age-appropriate, pursuits. Mozart was rewarded with musical ability to underwrite his natural talent and a bucketful of daddy issues.

I also don't suppose that the piano has ever been in the top ten list of things that parents wish their children would do less of.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Not to derail my own thread, but some board games I love playing with my daughter: Candyland, Monopoly Junior, Chutes and Ladders, and some card games (with special made-for-the-kids cards) like Go Fish and Old Maid. Basically, the classics.

Already looking forward to playing Risk and "real" Monopoly with her when she's a bit older, not to mention my true passions: Axis and Allies, Runebound, Arkham Horror, Cities and Knights of Catan . . . well, you get the idea.

To steer this in a bit more of an RPG direction, I can't wait until my daughter turns 6 so I can play Faery's Tale with her. I'm hoping she gets a real kick out of it and I'll be helping her to use her imagination and helping to build the next generation of RPGers.

EDIT: All of the above are some excellent games.

 

[Jeysie]

I would have lost a good deal of my fond childhood memories if I'd been limited to only an hour or half-hour of "screen time" per day. I spent a lot of fun and memorable hours watching all those fun 80s cartoons and using my computer and video consoles.

Being a geek wouldn't be half as good without that. For one, years of my dad teaching me computers and my tinkering with them on my own has left me much more knowledgable about using them than most of the people I work with.

For two, it's more fun. For instance, there's a fellow in my RP group who's a major geek who grew up without cable TV and video games. He's always kind of left out when me and one of the other fellows start remininscing about Transformers and Voltron and TMNT and all those old cartoons, and old NES games, and old computer games...

Plus the times my dad and I spent watching things like Star Trek and Quantum Leap together are more of my fond memories of him, and sparked my interest in science fiction.

Of course, even though my parents didn't limit my TV time, I voluntarily spent time doing other things, too: playing outside with friends, reading (I've always been a major bookworm), playing board games with my dad and cards with my mom, playing with action figures...

I do have my own share of social problems, but those come from being bullied as a kid, not from my recreational choices.

I can understand not wanting your kid to spend all day watching TV or playing video games, but banning them completely or limiting it to only a few minutes a day seems a bit harsh. And in today's work climate, the more experience and comfort your kid has with computers, the better, IMHO.

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[Jesus_marley]

When I was a kid I played my share of video games (Atari, Coleco, Commodore 64), but the one thing that I never got bored with was Lego. I had a 5 gallon bucket full of it. And I'm talking about the old generic stuff not this newfangled prefab crap. THAT was a toy worth playing with.

 

[Nyaricus]

I was an assistant teacher in a second grade classroom a few years ago. There was a kid in my class one year whose family did not own a TV. That meant he had no access to television or video games at home. He was an amazingly voracious reader, and probably the brightest kid in the class. It was such a striking example that I'd seriously consider following it if I ever have children myself.

TV will rot your brains and turn your children into zombies. Anything that encourages them to be creative, and anything that encourages them to excercise their bodies is a good thing. Outdoors or indoors, physical or mental, their brains should be engaged, not pacified.

I think your "rotting brains" and "child zombie" bit is a bit overstated; for example in grade 6 I was not only the top reader in the class, but also in my grade - I read about 40,000 pages that year (that's about a 450 page book every 4 days or so). But I was also playing my Nintendo64 constantly and watching TV and going to movies - and I was on a soccer team, I went to my cabin almost every weekend Friday night to Sunday evening, and I did a lot of walking around and hanging out with friends.

Video games can definitely inspire children (or anyone) to be creative, and engage the brain. There have been studies that children who play racing games make better drivers because their reaction time is better then average, and many of the world's pilots train in flight simulators - these are the people who are up there every day, commercial and military alike. Video gamers can help with camaraderie and friendship, co-ordination of efforts and any number of other inter-personal skills. Games like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero can help with hand-eye co-ordination, and the Nintendo Wii encourages you to get off your feet and get active with the game - and is selling in droves to non-traditional video game audiences, like middle aged women looking for an interactive form of exercise that she and the whole family can share in.

My point is that people do not give video games nearly enough credit that it deserves. Some games are simply garbage - fun, addictive garbage, but garbage none-the-less. However, many games are far-removed from the malignity you attribute them.

And Pielorinho, as a long-term fan of GTA, I can only shake my head at that child's colossally inept parents. Theres nothing in that game a 6 year old should be exposed to for the next 10 years of his life. It's people like that which make me think that breeding licences should be mandatory (only partially kidding on that, but *shudder* that's definitely a sickening story mate)

cheers,
--N

 

[Blackrat]

And Pielorinho, as a long-term fan of GTA, I can only shake my head at that child's colossally inept parents. Theres nothing in that game a 6 year old should be exposed to for the next 10 years of his life.

What about the beautiful scenery ? Seriously though, I totally agree.