I was in the kitchen and found myself whistling along to that old familiar tune. The only thing was, the tune was the theme song from the video game that the boys were playing in the other room. ...I'm thinking, I've definitely heard that song way too much! ..Ohh No!.....My children's minds are being sucked into that black hole called a game console. ..So I went in the other room and turned the game off.
.....Then I read this article online.
The Good Things About Video Games
.....Then I read this article online.
The Good Things About Video Games
...So there you have it, boy was I wrong !...This is just what my kids need ! ..Right up there next to vitamins and exercise! Who am I to deny my children, the wonderful benefits, video games can provide?
...I'll tell ya who I am...I'm the Dad that's who! ...Geesh ...That article had to be written by the same people that are marketing this stuff . ....So ...fun is ok ...but I'm thinking less is more!!!
Maybe we'll make something with paper mache today : )
4 comments:
This post comes from a household with no time limits on gaming. They do learn so much from them.
One example I can give is our 10 year old son. We were trying everything under the son to help him learn to read to no avail.
We took a break from school for one month. When we began again he was reading like a champ! I was shocked and asked him where he learned to do that in only one month and he said from the online video game Runescape. He said he wanted to know what the other kids were saying so he figured it out. LOL
They learn no matter what they are doing. Just ask your boys what they learn from them. You may be surprised at their answers. :-)
That article and maybe even the comment was a plant from the gaming industry. Get them hooked now. Next it will be a poker machine. Then it will be their college money - vanished. Teach them all to chain smoke too, I say. :0
My children are only three but I don't even let them watch television that much. They wouldn't even know what a video game is. Good for you for turning off the TV. God forbid they stop being zombies and actually learn something from the real world. God forbid they turn into me on the internet reading blogs. So many blogs, so little time. Must. turn. off. blogs.
You are so correct - and strong, if you can stand against the tide of homeschooling parents who say video games = education! I encourage you to ask for MORE than that for your kids!
Unfortunately, parents are hiding behind the idol of "choice" as an excuse to rest on the purported all-encompassing education offered by gaming - "that's what he wants to do - he wants to be a programmer when he grows up - he's learning a lot" - in reality, the kid didn't make that choice based on having CONSISTENTLY experienced a wide range of interests - he's dabbled in math, skipped around science, spent a month or two on history - the only thing he CONSISTENTLY experienced was playing video games!! Was there anything else he applied his passion to DAILY?? NO. So his "choice" wasn't really his choice, it was his default, because that's how his minutes, days, months and sadly years have been spent, never given a "choice" of falling in love with any number of other interests. So if, at the ripe old age of 18, 20, even 25, or older, when many many people finally do make a REAL career choice, he's at SQUARE ONE - because no one taught him history, no one taught him geometry, so one even taught him how to take a test - which is not a curse, it's a skill, teachable like any other skill! And now he needs to get a degree. It's sad.
Again, be strong! God bless!
becauseilovethem,
Your comments are full of assumption. I know many homeschool parents who do not set limint on gaming who have very well rounded children. I'm raising 5 of them. Our 14 year old son has already begun full credit college courses. Yes, he's a college student. He's finished one class with an A and is accomplishing the same in his current class.
Allowing children to follow their passion until that passion matures into another can be a valuable experience for the child. Any parent worth their salt would also "set the stage of their home" so that there are many more options to choose from also.
Allowing our children to play video games whenever they want has neither stunted their emotional, physical or educational growth. If anything the free life we've allowed them to live has given them opportunities to explore ALL of their passions, NOT just the ones we as their parents feel are important. God has given us free will. Why take that from our children?
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