Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth… 2 Timothy 2:25
When I was a kid, a neighbor boy had an Atari video game system. We would huddle around his little TV screen, taking turns with the joystick to play Donkey Kong or Jungle Hunt. We had a lot of fun, and I thought it would be even better to have those games at my house. However, my mom was not in favor of owning a video game system.
Now that I am the mom, I understand why I didn’t have video games. My kids don’t have them either. Maybe it is because the cold weather has kids cooped up indoors, but I have recently had a number of conversations with other moms struggling to get their kids to unplug. What strikes me about this issue is how few of the moms I’ve spoken with are willing to set or enforce limits when it comes to gaming. One mom said she sets a time limit, but her son repeatedly asks to play “just one more level.” Before she knows it, he has played for hours. Another mom said her child cries when she says it is time to turn off the games, so she just lets him keep going.
What I find amazing about this is that these same moms have no trouble enforcing limits when it comes to other issues, such as what time to leave the park or how many bites of broccoli must make it off the plate. Why would video games be different?
While my kids do not have a Playstation or Wii, my oldest daughter does have a Webkinz and enjoys playing in Webkinz World online. Shortly after she received it as a birthday gift, I read an article about a mom who was so fed up with her child’s gaming addiction that she unplugged the system, gathered up all of the games, and dropped everything off the side of her second-story deck. That’s one way to make an impression on your kids! I figured I didn’t want to do that with my computer, so I decided to set some clear limits before we got to that point. When my daughter wants to play, I set the kitchen timer for twenty minutes. She knows that when she hears the buzzer ding it is time to log off or else I will simply push the off button on the computer and she won’t play again until she shows me she can follow the rules.
Another video-ish game I let my kids play is Dance Dance Revolution. If kids are going to be electronically engaged, they might as well be getting some exercise. However, this game needs to be limited too. My kids usually turn it off themselves after five or six songs because they get tired, but on occasion I have to step in and tell them it is time to find something to play with that doesn’t require batteries or an outlet.
Do your kids play video games? How do you handle the amount of time they play? What ideas can you offer other moms for conquering video game addictions?
2 comments:
I suggest using the games as a reward for getting chores done and good grades etc. I would rather them play video games than watch TV. But, they games should be age appropriate, limited and monitored.
We allowed my nephew to give my son his old Nintendo Gamecube system last year and Noah has fallen in love with it. We allow him 30 minutes a day and an hour on Saturdays or holidays. We are pretty strict about the time limit and so far, it seems balanced. But I totally see how it could be out of control if we didn't enforce time limits. He knows, too, that video games are after homework or chores. The problem I have is that my husband, nephew and brother are not against a totally non violent stand in video games. So he plays some games that have shooting in them, even though they are toys or aliens and not blood. I still worry about that, but my husband thinks if he is fighting for good, there is nothing wrong with it. I want to raise a warrior for God so I am not fighting my husband on this.
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