Would You Buy Your Kid a Video Game Console!?!
Professor: Are Video Games Bad?
Class: Silence in thought
Here I am in class thinking YES, but only when it came to a console like Sega Genesis, XBox or Playstation. I am 23 years old and back when I was in 3rd or 4th grade my parents made the mistake of buying my brothers and myself the video game, Sega Genesis. The Sega then turned into a Playstation, then a Nintento 64, then a Playstation 2, and now a Playstation 3. I cannot tell you how many hours we spent playing something pointless. Just trying to get Sonic The Hedgehog all of the diamonds and to defeat Dr. Robotnik. I cannot tell you how pissed my parents are for introducing video games to us.
A few years ago new neighbors moved into the house next to us with four children. Even now we still invite them over to use our video games. I remember one time our neightbors were over and the topic of video games came up. They were unsure if they were going to treat their kids with a computer box of pointlessness. I immediately said “Don’t ever buy them or let them get a video game console”. WHY? Because after 14 years of playing video games I have learned NOTHING except for how to be a better video game player. If I could go back and erase any type of video game console from my life I honestly believe that I would become a smarter and more active person.
NOW I can’t say that I would erase all video games from my past. Some of them were significant in my life. Almost all of the games that I played on the computer was a learning experience. My parents would also buy computer games that were “educational” for my brothers and I. Games such as Sim City 2000, Mavis Beacon, and Where In The World Is Carmon San Diego. My parents did not mind when we played games on the computer because they believed the computer was a learning tool itself, which it is.
But as far as video game consoles, don’t ever let your children play those pointless games. If they want to play video games, start them out on the computer first!
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 am
[...] not resist this. I might be biting off more than I can chew but after reading the entry titled “Would You Buy Your Kid a Video Game Console!?!” I knew I had to write my own thoughts. Here is what the blogger had to say: I remember one time [...]
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:58 am
Wish you had said this in class :). I have my first kid on the way, and this is exactly what I will do. After a lot of pleading (and eating up time on my parents computer) I got them to buy be a Radio Shack Color Computer. This was nothing near as cool as the Apple 2, but it was pretty cool. And then, when I said I wanted a game, they told me to write my own.
At the time, I thought that was pretty lame. When I wrote my first game, and debugged it, and it worked, it was a great feeling. The graphics sucked–heck, the game sucked–but it was mine. Moreover, I learned to program because I wanted something to play.
So, I concur. Computer, yes, and a careful selection of games. But, as with everything else, gaming in moderation, only.