Do your kids play video games? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Dubbelboer]

I remember not too long ago there was a father on here that was having problems with a child playing video games too much and he was contemplating creating a lock box of some sort to limit his child's time.
I hate to ruin the lives of many many kids who may now have to do homework
http://www.gamerfeed.com/index.php?story=3621
what do you think? too much power for the parents? or finally a device that lets parents properly monitor their kids?

 

[Ryan Wright]

There can never be too much power for the parents. It's the parent's job to keep their children in line. If they use a "powerful" device to help them, that's fine with me.

 

[Malcolm R]

This is just another crutch for parents who want to avoid being parents.

You want your child to stop playing? Ask them to stop. If they don't? Demand that they stop. If they still don't? Pull the plug and lock the system away for a week. End of story.

EDIT:

BTW, that was Buzz, whose son is a special-needs child if I recall. In cases where there are developmental issues, such devices may be of help. But in most cases, I still don't think such devices should take the place of good, old-fashioned parenting.

 

[Jed M]

Then you're facing arguments and negotiations that make you the bad guy," Hansen says. "With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box."

And I doubt you could argue with the parent standing right next to you either? Why would this work over the parent saying no? The kid would just force the parent to give them more time, just like the original argument that this "invention" was supposed to solve. And whats going to stop the kid from plugging the console straight into the wall? That may be the dumbest invention of all time. At least the Octodog served some type of purpose.

 

[Frederick]

Interesting. My 9 year-old son plays games. He has a Gamecube and a Nintendo 64 in his room. He plays after he asks if he can, and stops when he's told. We don't have the "Just a little bit longer" conversations because he realizes that games are a treat, not a given. School nights are about homework and study. Weekends are about extracurricular activities and games. If he had a good day or no homework and is caught up, he can play during the week for an hour or so. The key here is that he understands that having video games and having play time is something that has to be earned and not abused. Bad grades, behavior letters or misbehaving results in them being taken away. Some children don't appreciate how good they have it ...


Freddy C.

 

[Malcolm R]

Huge to Frederick. Sounds like you've raised him well.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

My father raised me on the same premise. I've come to the point where I love learning and will do my homework before I play videogames automatically. Luckily, the summer is here now and the only thing I have to do is go to my kickass movie theater job.