I also highly recommend the Gamecube for this generation of consoles (and I’m wary of the Xbox 360). But it’s more important to get a system that your kids will like. If all their friends have Xboxes, then they’ll be much happier with the same system so they can borrow games and save states from each other.
And, now, a few amusing stories of video games from my childhood and today.
My mother bought me a Nintendo for my 6th birthday, and would play with me for a bit. I used to think that she was just trying to bolster my confidence in the game and make me laugh with her spectacularly bad play, but I found out years later that she was just exceptionally bad at the game. She was so shamed by her performance that she said she snuck into my room late at night when I was asleep to try to get some more practice.
My best friend from high school came to visit last weekend, and, although we had all manner of modern video games and computer games at hand, The only gaming we did was four or five hours beating a few original Nintendo games. We shared strategies and remembered times we played when we were kids, and I really felt like a little kid again. It’s a nice way to relive a few parts of my childhood.
This is a key thing to remember. If you are worried about your kids seeing something inappropriate then there are guidelines in place to help you make sure that they don’t.
Just as you wouldn’t let them watch an R rated movie, you shouldn’t let them play an M rated game. This is what is often glossed over whenever the standard “Oh My God! My Kid is Playing Grand Theft Auto!” stories start hitting the press. :rolleyes:
Video Games, like most things in life, should be done in moderation and can be beneficial when done so - teamworking, hand-eye co-ordination, lateral thinking etc. etc.
As you yourself pointed out, its good parenting that matters, not the machine itself.
I don’t think we had a video game console in the house until I was about 12 or so, when my brother started driving and picking up Nintendo stuff at the pawn shop. We don’t play a lot (the computer is much more popular) but we now have a GameCube. Usually we end up having month-long times where we can’t get enough of it, then completely stop for a few months. As far as the Xbox and things go - I’m usually out of loop with everyone else (who blabber on about Halo and GTA for days at a time, I have one friend that I assume does nothing but play Halo and drink root beer, but that’s another story) but being out of the loop doesn’t bother me.
I enjoy the simpler games. I’ll play MarioKart and Harry Potter and MarioParty but anything fastmoving or complicated (LOTR, most sports games other than Blitz) I shy away from.
I’ve also had a GameBoy (courtesy of my generous godparents) for a little longer…and they keep upgrading me! I played the Pokemon games and I still get calls from crazy former classmates wanting help (well, almost). Man, those games are fun. Now I just mostly play Tetris. I love Tetris.
Overall, I think video games are definitely not a bad thing, but I think the parent has to make good decisions in order to not make it take over the kid’s lives. There’s a fine line, I think. Just be smart about it. Personally, I’d want my kids to avoid any blood and guts games at all, but that’s me.
How will your child ever learn how to treat his bitches, wear his bling, and evade police chases if you don’t get him Grand Theft Auto now?
Just joking
I had a “no video games” rule - but then my son earned enough money by working hard and not buying candy and Magic Cards and the other junk pre-teens buy to purchase an Xbox. Then I was torn by the desire to teach the lesson that if one works hard and saves up one’s money they can reap a desired benefit vs. no video games. So I let him get one. It works quite nicely that he plays games he can afford on machines he can afford himself. I do excecise veto power and don’t let him get games that are too violent or rated Mature.
My nephews are growing up in a no video games, no cable house. They are nice kids who do well in school. They are pretty darn geeky according to my son.
I played video games as a kid, and I still play computer games now.
I think they helped me in at least one very important way. My parents were (and still are) technophobes, and we didn’t have a computer in the house until I got one when I went to college. The video games helped me think of computers as fun, rather than intimidating, in a way that using a computer for school projects wouldn’t have. I don’t think I would have the job I have now (computer support) if I hadn’t spent all that time playing video games.
I’m a web developer and owe a lot of my skills and ability to the fact that i’m very comfortable with computers.
That’s a skill i wouldn’t have had if it hadn’t been for exposure to computers and consoles (My family didn’t get their first “proper” computer until i was 17) from the age of about 10.
Sure, an hour a week of IT at school will teach you some basic skills, but it’ll never get you comfortable with them.
To be honest if i ever have kids, then i’d rather they play games than watch TV.
The first one, to my mind, isn’t wasted time. The second one is (unless daddy is watching the history channel :D)