Non BPI-video games

[Marnie]

Peyton turns 5 Sept 8th and he wants a nintendo. He already has a game boy and he hardly plays with it and he has his own computer with lots of computer games. I am just wondering if 5 is too young yet for a video game? I am afraid that I will not be able to pull him away from it. Does anyone have any input, does your child have a video game, what age are they, what age were they when they got it, how do you control their time on the video game, and which video system do they have, nintendo, sony playstation, x-box, game cube, etc?

[jody o.]

Marnie,

My kids are 6 and 4. We don't have any video games yet. We only have "learning computer programs"...Franklin learns math, etc. and some art programs (kidpix, etc.). I was even hesitant to get these, but both of my kids were early talkers, readers, and very creative, so I felt I was safe. I do believe that if the kids are late starters on the learning track, computer & t.v. can stunt their minds a little. I've read some articles on this and it has something to do with the fact that when they're young they're brains are "getting wired" to learn, and for some reasons the (electromagnetic waves or something like that), the computer & t.v. can interfere with this process, leading to learning problems down the line. I think you have to judge your own child. (Are they good readers, creative, doing well in school?) and then decide if the games are okay. You do have to be careful though, that they don't get carried away (i.e. maybe monitor time with them ....1 hour per day or something like that).

Just my opinion - hope it helps.

Good luck - Jody O.

[Tessie258]

O.K. I'm a terrible parent because my kids play way too much video games!!! I don't know how to stop them either...I know I've heard all the advice but I have 5 teenagers in my house and I'd prefer they play video games to doing some of the stuff their peers are doing!!! At least with so many kids and one system it has taught them to share the time. There is no way they can get more than an hour during the week but on the weekends.... yep they're there. Plus I have a son who loves to play Tekken at the Mall...He uses his own money. I think it's a waste but we have gone as a family and watched him play in tournaments and like I said there are worse things he could be doing.

We've never had games at 5 though(as a matter of fact I've never bought them a game, they use their own money)...hmmm...I'd probably put it off as long as possible just because you can...He's probably not going to take off to a friends house at this age and start smoking dope to rebel against the video rules...but....when their 16 and 17 they may!!!! Teenagers are way crazy!! I think an alien space ship comes down at age 12 and sucks their brains out and doesn't give them back until they're 21....and believe it or not I have really good kids!!!
Good Luck!!!
T.

[Connie&Andrew]

My children are 19, 16, 13, 11 & 2 1/2. I also did not buy them video games. I really resisted when they were younger. But when my second son earned enough money,(He had to save for a long time)he bought himself a Nintendo. He was about 13 years old. He is still very involved in video games. I try to limit the time spent playing, but sometimes I let it go. Like Tessie said I am glad he is involved in that and not other things. He's a really good kid.
When we got the Nintendo my younger son was 8 years old, so he has been playing since he was about 8. He also really loves the games. He saves his money to buy new games.
It's kind of interesting. My 13 year old is my only daughter. All of the boys are really into the games, but she isn't as interested. She plays sometimes, but not nearly as much as the boys, and she doesn't spend her own money on the games.
My 2 year old, who thinks he's as big as all the others, thinks he should play now. Sometimes the kids give him an extra controller that's not plugged in and let him "play" while they are playing. I suppose it's going to be a struggle to limit the time he plays as he gets older.
I guess my advice would be if you decide to get one that you have definite guidelines while they are still young. For example: Only an hour on weekdays; only can play if their room is clean, chores are done, etc.
By the way, my 16 year old claims that Nintendo has the best games. He just bought the new Nintendo gamecube. He did a lot of research and he decided that would be the best one. I'm sure there are others with different opinions.
Good luck on your decision.
Connie

[KarenHillyer]

Hi
Gavin has had a playstation and a dreamcast for 3 years
he was 8 when we bought them. Our children we amongst the last of their peer group to get the systems.
Gavin does play a lot on them, BUT they have helped with Bi manual exercises as he does use both hands to play the games, and he also has made new friends who come to the house to play tournaments with him and so it has helped to "normalize" him with other kids in the area, especially as we have only recently moved here and they had never met another kid woith a bpi.
We don't get a lot of summer over here in the UK so we insist he plays outside in good weather so that he isn't using them constantly.
Hope this information helps!
Karen

[marymom]

I agree with someone who posted about the games and tv and computers having a much larger impact, albeit subtlely, on us/humans, children, parents whatever -My kids limit me on the computer(why Im posting at 6 am???!!!) and I limit them on games, My son 10 displays a more addictive quality in respect to video games than his 16 year old brother did and I limit him alot- he gets very angry when I ask him to stop and then later when he has had time away from the game he is able to look back and recognize that his behavior was really influenced by the game and in order to be responsible for his behavior he must pick and choose carefully when he plays the games and for how long- mind you he does NOT pick and choose responsibly for himself(unless I enforce it) very often. We are not a fantasy family.
The baby (3 1/2)Ezekiel also plays with the unplugged controller but he used his affected hand and fingers!!!(to a degree)
I do N O T allow certain types of violent games.
When we watch tv, play a game, post messages with the computer, it affects our blood pressure, sweat, hamones are released, eye pupils dialate all measureable reactions, and I prefer that when my children are setting real psychological and neurological patterns by watching tv or playing games, using the computer whatEVER, that they do it according to consistent moralities and values - like no killing people for fun- people do not kill people, no war or westerns, I DO allow them to do the hard core sports games and those are violent- I do allow natural violence, say like dinosaur stuff- or a nature segment about wolves,
well that was fun thanks for letting me share
ps, tereasa, you are a good mom and you know it!

[CW1992]

I've never thought too much about the physical aspects of video/computer games - but I do feel that they are bound to help with hand/eye coordination and the ability to think fast - help reflexes. The kids have a nindendo and play station and don't really play either one too much unless their Dad challenges them or friends want to play - or Grandma comes to visit. My kids are pretty addicted to their gameboys though. I have to ask them to quit playing them alot. I don't like the way they zone out when I'm talking to them if they are playing - but they have no problem turning it off when I ask them to. My youngest got really in to it last year at age five. Actually though I think the gameboys are great for those times where you are sitting and waiting - like appts. My husband also has his own gameboy (Father's day present) and he hooks his up to theirs (connector link) so the three of them race eachother. He takes his on business trips even. The kids' Grandma loves nintendo (more than playstation) and the kids and Grandma have lots of fun when she visits. As far as how do I control the amount of time spent - - they have to ask before they play. If their homework/jobs are done and they've already played outside for a while or whatever - they can play for a while. Personally I do not think that age five is too young for video games - as long as there's still time for board games, playing outside, and the normal kid stuff. Christy

[admin]

We did not buy our 9 year old a playstation, it was purchased for his dad. LOL! My rule in the house is our son only gets 30 minutes total of play time within a 5 hour span. If he goes over his 30 minutes, he looses his video time for the rest of the day. At first he thought this was really mean. But now, after a year. I see him turning it off before his half hour and finding something else to do. Oh yeah, I have this same rule for the television. It works great and there is no more whine in my house!

[Brenda]

sorry, that last post was from me, I forgot to log in!

[TNT1999]

We haven't gotten to this point yet being that we have one child who's 3 y.o. I don't know what's the right age to start, but I do know that I would definitely keep the time spent limited. I would also recommend that you personally try out any games that your child is interested in -- before you let the child buy it. I think you can rent any of the games at video stores. That'd be a good way to test them. From what I've read, there are a lot of games that promote violence, inappropriate behavior, men mistreating women, etc. Even though a child might be at home "just playing a game," and not out on the street getting into things, it could be the beginning of what influences him to want to go out and behave inappropriately. Just like TV, radio, movies, computers, etc., video games certainly do have a major influence on children. I would also keep any video games / computers in a public place in the home, not in my child's room. These are suggestions I've read in Bible-based literature and I think they're wise. One test is when viewing something on TV (games, music, etc.), is what's going on something that you would want to have take place in your home? Well, hope this helps. -Tina