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Thanks all for enlightening me on a different side of the spectrum. I now know, just because I don't believe in the concept--don't mean that many people feel the games has its' benefits. I'm thinking of each of your comments and see how the Wii could be a learning toy for the young. It's nice to be enlightened at the ripe age of 41. I did not have this problem 16 years ago with my daughter. We had a VTech and she learned so many things from it. Once again, thanks for all the comments.
I have two little brothers. One is 7 and one is 5. When the PS3 was released, I decided to buy him one. That made him 5 at the time. Since then, they've gotten a Wii, and a Xbox 360.
Are they spoiled? The correct answer would be yes, it's something that cannot be refuted. However, they are 2 of the most well behave boys you will ever meet. Also, they bot do very well in school. Logan, the 7 year old, is already doing math that 5th graders do and he reads extremely well. William is also a very good reader for a 5 year old and he can put his thoughts into sentences. He is already multiplying and dividing.
They both are involved in soccer and tennis. Logan can play the piano and William in dance classes. My dad and stepmom don't put any restrictions on them. They are allowed to do whatever they want when they want to do it. If they want to play the Wii, they can play the Wii. If they want to read a book, they can go into the library and get a book. If Logan wants to play the piano, he can go play the piano. I don't live at home anymore, but I have visited a lot in the past few months and I can tell you that very seldom are they watching TV or playing video games. They are usually doing other things.
What my dad and stepmom do is give them choices and in my opinion, that is the best thing that a parent can do for a child. Our father is a psychician and he is able to provide them with anything that they want, but my parents also explain to them that they should appreciate everything they have. My stepmom told me that she saw Logan packing up some of his clothes and his Nintendo DS into his backpack. She told him that he couldn't take these things to school because he would get into trouble. And he told her that there was a little boy in his class that lost everything he had in a house fire. He wanted to give his things to someone else.
I think in his case, it came down to what our parents teach them. And that's all that is important. You can get your child anything and as long as you teach them the right things, they will be fine.
For every story I've heard about good kids that don't abuse their privileges there's at least 5 that do. There are so many kids out there who basically do crappy in school, sit on their duffs in their bedrooms at night and all day on the weekends, playing video games and cramming twinkies. The next generation of shiftless losers. I grew up with some kids just like that.
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Who would allow their kids to do this now? I, sadly, don't. If my kids go outside, I go with them. We have to watch our kids much closer today because things are just different. It's not as safe... I'm not sure what's happened to the world but we have to be more cautious with our kids.
While I do agree that things are more cautious today than when we were younger, I have to say alot has to do with the type of neighborhood that you live in. In my neighborhood, on a nice day there are always loads of kids playing outside and people walking their dogs and running. I have no problems letting my six year old go outside for a bit while I stay inside. Now he has to stay within eyesight of my house and I peek at him every 10 minutes or so. Not to say that it would be impossible for someone to grab him and run but at the same time, there have always been kidnappings and I am not going to sacrifice my childs mental and physical health over it.
When he is 8 if I still live here, I will have no problem letting him walk to a neighbor's house by himself. Not exactly roaming but it is giving them some freedom.
For every story I've heard about good kids that don't abuse their privileges there's at least 5 that do. There are so many kids out there who basically do crappy in school, sit on their duffs in their bedrooms at night and all day on the weekends, playing video games and cramming twinkies. The next generation of shiftless losers. I grew up with some kids just like that.
but it has absolutely nothing to do with the video games and has everything to do with the parents. If it wasn't the video games they were abusing it would be the TV or the telephone or whatever else.
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