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Posting in the thread about the kid waking up at 5:00 a.m. to play XBox got me thinking about video game free households. In this age where children have access to every electronic device imaginable, how many of you do not have an XBox, Playstation, Wii, etc...in the house? If you don't, how do you explain to your children why they don't have one but their friends do? We're a very outdoors oriented family, but we don't live in the dark ages either. My wife and I both have laptops, she has an iPad for work that my daughter already plays with because they have a lot of great educational apps for toddlers, but I'd really prefer that we NEVER get a video game system. That said, I do see the value in it for a rainy day-I had one as a kid but never really used it much. Anyway, just curious what the experience of others has been in this regard.
I would really love to have one, although I know the basic rule of parenting is never say never. I have two kids and still no cell phone (let alone an ipad, I don't even know how to use an app) or game consoles. Have a computer for work purposes and play for when the kids are in bed.
We don't have any, just a laptop. We've talked about getting a Wii (what I want) or a Playstation (what my BF wants) but in the end we don't see the point in them right now. I'd rather we played card games and board games together as a family on rainy days (well once my daughter is old enough to play) but then again I might retrieve my old MSX from my parent's attic for my daughter to mess about on when she's a bit older.
Don't have one, don't want one but have no children in our home, they are all grown with their own families.
I would not even have a television if my husband did not want it.
We have a Wii and an XBox. What we don't have is any television stations. We never had to explain why any more than we had to explain why they were vegetarians and we aren't...
Until I found out that my two older boys would go crazy every time they went to a friends' house who had one.
These days, especially for many boys, video games are a kind of social currency. It is a way they can relate to each other. So when we didn't have it, my kids turned into zombies around one.
We got an Xbox. These days it's just part of the household that they play sometimes, but not excessively.
The only games we have are the sports games like Madden, a couple of Call of Duty games for the 17-year-olds, and of course Minecraft.
My point is it has not been the portal to hell that we feared it would be.
To OP, why make your kids outcasts? Why push your feelings on them? Maybe they HATE outdoor activities. Let them have a game system, but use it in moderation, just like with outdoor activities. Help them to be better able to relate to their peers, gain better coordination and overall be better integrated into the world we live in...the digital world.
Last edited by Jaded; 08-21-2013 at 06:58 PM..
Reason: Inappropriate comment
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