Good Parenting or Mean?

Question

I am never going to let my children own a game system such as Nintendo ,Playstation ect. People say it's mean I say it makes kids lazy and is contributing to the obesity of our youth , I was never on a video game as a child but outside in the fresh air running around . Do you think Im being to harsh besides they never showed any interest in it.

Answer 1

nope i agree. my bf and his roomie are big gamers (they are early to mid 20s) and his friends lack social skills and spend most of their day in front of the games...i almost have my bf broken of this habit...if only the roomie would leave then there wouldnt be an enabler....

Answer 2

Video games acutally increase kids learning ability and intelligence because some of the games are mentally challenging- your kids will do better in school
video games also improve reflexes and hand eye coordination
you should encourage video games to some extent
a balance between fresh air and nintendo is best
just stay away from the violent games

Answer 3

If they don't show any interest in it then don't worry about it... how old are they anyways ... and do you have boys and girls ? cuz a boy is gonna want to play videogames at some point and even own a system. Nintendo already has the Wii which is a game system that lets you interact so your not just sitting on the couch. In the future games will be even more interactive.

Answer 4

You are a good parent, I wish that I have never grown up on video games. It seems like once you start and you can't stop or so it is with me. Also, the cost of those things now has helped me loose a lot of my interest now. When games are like $60 a piece and the average starting wage in Alberta is about $10 an hour that is over 6 hours worth of work. Yikes, does not seem like a wise choice to me. Not forgetting about the number of hours you will play.

Answer 5

May I applaud you? I wish more mums were like you. I work with children and I couldn't believe how many of them got XBOX 360's or Nintendo Wi's for Christmas and everyone of them, can't run more than a city block without gasping for air after walking half of the way. Computer knowledge is one thing but endless hours on end staring at a six inch character running around the TV screen is a terrible little bug that must be stopped.

Answer 6

Teaching them some self control is better and harder than censorship. It's easy to not buy video games, i know i have 2 older girls who were teens before we had a game system. If you can limit the time it is a good life lesson. And some skills learnt on video games do have value in our increasingly wired world. I have 2 boys who have had video's most of their life, I have more problems getting them to turn off the light and put the book down than getting them off the video games.

It's not a question of good or bad parenting it's a question of missing lessons. Self control. And chronic video game players become video game designers. BIG MONEY.

Answer 7

How are you being mean, if they have not showed any interest in it to begin with? The video games does not make the kids lazy, its the parents, who let the videos systems, basically ,babysit their child for them. I think fresh air and playing outdoors is recommended. Remind yourself, we don't live in the safest of times. So, if you want them to go outside, go out with them and become interactive. Start a game of tee ball, baseball, basketball etc.

Answer 8

Yes it's being harsh, I'm saying this because I am a kid and my parents have bought me many game systems and I LOVE THEM for that. And it's not true that it's contributing to obesity. Some kids have high metabolisms (like ME, I'm 114 lbs and I'm 15), we never get fat, and I STILL get A's in school.

BIG FAT MEANIE!!!!!!!!!

Just buy them at least one, but don't let them play video games for too long and make sure they do sports at school.

Answer 9

I grow up playing video games for hrs. and hrs. and I'm far from lazy or obese!! Watching TV is worst then playing video games, so you're not going to let them watch TV? Sitting around listening to the radio, may make them lazy and obese to, so no radio right? If you let them run around outside, they may get hit by a car, we can't have that!! so no playing outside!! You're starting to take the fun out of are childhood!!! We don't want you as are mom anymore, we're going to run away!! We'll find a new mom that'll let us play video games, eat pizza and drink Mountain Dew!!
I'm SORRY!!
I just don't want your kids to grow up to hate you for taking the fun out of their childhood. It's OK to let them play a little, just make sure they do their homework first!!! I know you're a good mom!!!

Answer 10

I think you are totally right and I commend you for doing so and not being the lazy parent that just plops their kids in front of the TV so you don't have to take care of them. I don't think thats harsh at all. I mean for an occasional outing you could take your kids to the arcade or putt putt as a treat.

Answer 11

Good for you. I think kids play the stupid things too much anyway. I think you can rent the systems at video stores, if you wanted to let them play as a reward for good grades one weekend when the weather was bad or something. My kids don't have them either. Mean is letting your kids get addicted to a video game instead of playing and getting exercise. People need to prioritize. I think people use video games and tv as a baby sitter. I don't particularly want Grand Theft Auto babysitting my kids.