I’ve created a Nintendo monster!
After 3 years of begging, we finally gave in and bought our daughter a Nintendo DS. I don’t have anything against video games in general; I just think a 4 year-old has better ways to occupy his/her time. Now that she’s 7 and going into the 3rd grade, I figured we could introduce her to the pastime. Of course she was ecstatic about her new toy and was on her best behavior to earn play time.
The first few times that she was playing Super Mario Bros., my two year-old stood by looking at this strange little contraption that Sissy kept thumbing. Pretty soon he realized that all those thumb movements made the little guy walk, run and jump. In no time, he began saying “Kawol toon” – translation “Kharl’s turn”. I eventually gave into him and let him take a jab. Of course, he didn’t quite grasp how to maneuver like Sissy and basically jumped up and down until his time ran out. I thought it was a small price to pay so that he didn’t feel left out and I told my daughter to let him have a turn periodically.
Fast-forward two months and little bugger has figured out how to play the game – not well – but if you let him at it for a while he can actually make it through some levels. The worst is, the minute he wakes up or I walk in the door I get “Mommy, peez geme” – translation “Mommy, please game”. My mother has declared him an addict, but I’m still in denial. How could a two year-old like this inanimate object so much? I get that it’s pretty neat to have control over this little man on the screen, especially at an age where running in a straight line is impossible, but doesn’t it get old?
Now that I’ve paved my road to hell, I don’t know what to do rectify the problem. If I don’t bring out the game at all (I’ve done that for a week), my daughter is inadvertently punished. I’ve tried to have her play in her room with the door shut, but it doesn’t take long for Sherlock, Jr. to track her down. I’m not giving up though. We may have lost this battle, but…
Tags: Children and Video games, Expat Families, Expectations for Children, Immigrant Families, Nintendo DS, Parenting, Venezuela
You know, who said games are that bad for children? I mean, here we are, we have an unlimited educational tool that, if the right games are chosen, can help kids learn real world stuff, and they love to play them!! Sure, they need outside time and they need time that their thoughts are not constantly held hostage by a screen, but the people who nay-say on video games for kids are uneducated fools. I can personally say that while my children spend less than an hour a day doing video game/tv stuff, they’re going to be light years ahead when it comes to interacting with computers than the stupid parents who bought into the lie that video games are bad for kids. Just think of the opportunities to learn and to forge neural connections (kids who play games associate words and actions more easily), work on hand/eye coordination (Surgeons play video games for this very purpose) and to keep the mind stimulated (there have been studies that show that adults who play video games are at much lower risk for degenerative mental illness)
So let your kids play, as long as it’s age appropriate…then when your kid is a math/science/logic whiz you can laugh at all the other parents whose children can barely spell.
Fantastic point of view! I can just feel my guilt slipping away
Seriously, it's nice to see the other side of the coin and your points are valid. I just have to find a balance and make sure that's not ALL that they do (would NEVER happen in my house, anyway). The time that they are playing I will think of preparation for future surgeon/math/ science/logic whizzes; therefore, the battle is WON! 