Wait on Video Games- If You Can

There are actually a number of things that I, personally, would throw into the “I’d do it differently now” category when it comes to the kids. But the one big one I always come back to is video games. In short, I really wished we’d waited before introducing them to the kids.

For one, both kids get nasty after playing with the game for awhile. I don’t know if staring at the pixels affects their brain or if there some kind of subliminal thing going on, but more often then not the kids get short tempered and grouchy after playing the game. It’s like they’re coming down off a high or something.

For two, the boy takes these games way to seriously and personally. There’s been many a time where the Wife and I stare at each other in slack-jawed amazement as the boy screams and cries in fury at a game. That’s usually followed by blaming the game for trying to cheat him. When we suggest to simply put the game down and walk away for a few minutes until he regains some semblance of dignity and composure, he refuses.

For three, there’s nothing more annoying than having one kid play and the other sit there and watch. And watch. And watch. If the one plays for 2 hours, the other will sit and watch for those 2 hours. The Wife and I have to resort to either pulling the plug on the games in general, or insisting the watcher go do something more productive.

Plus, there’s the non-stop “Can I play on my DS?” or “Can I play the Wii?” Then they get bored with the games they’ve got and want new ones, so that battle has to be fought.

I let myself be swayed by arguments for how the games encourage problem solving, eye-hand coordination and other such “benefits”. Plus, the friend factor works against the “nots” as well. Even if a game is refused them, thye will still get exposed to it via their friends. If only we could all get together before hand and agree that none of us will go in on the video game thing until their “older,” there might be a chance. Of course, some of them have older siblings, so that approach gets shot to hell in a hurry. Basically, everything is stacked against a parent where video games are concerned.

We all get assimilated eventually. But I’d make “eventually” a lot further out on the timeline if I could.