X-Box is ruining this country
Replies
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I had loads of consoles (pretty much everything since the mega drive, yeah I was kinda brought up to be a gamer... :P) when I was little, my brother and I weren't to play them on a school night (we were allowed to play outside with the other kids, which we did almost every night) but weekends we could use them as much as we wanted... When we weren't out of the house walking or playing some kind of sport/bike riding with my family and my friend's families. We weren't limited to how long we could play them, we just never got enough time to do it! :P
So I have to agree, it's a parenting thing, they have to make the effort to do more things with their kids instead of just buying them a games console and treating it as a babysitter.0 -
It was the Atari 26000
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I agree that it's mostly a parenting problem, and I admire all of you parents who have the consoles, and have come up with ways of limiting the time spent using them. It seems very simple.
I suppose the reason I won't OWN those systems it because I am a bit afraid that I would succumb to the temptation to let him play too much, so that I can get stuff done. I'm a single dad and the custodial parent. I work an hour from home. I have only the tiniest sliver of time to get housework done. I don't have cable either btw! Yeah. . I know. . weird. .
But another thing I've observed, being an gamer myself, is that it can, at times, consume your thoughts. It becomes all you want to do and everything else is a chore in comparison. I don't want my boy grudgingly playing outside because I won't let him play his favorite x-box game. .
I'm not sure if you saw my earlier comment, but I really think trying to get him involved in some recreational sports program or activity with other kids would be a big help here. It'll help him meet other kids his age who are doing things outdoors and being very active. All 6 of us growing up had video games, and we all played sports. Most of my teammates when I was young also came over the play games at my place or I went to theirs on the days when we didn't have practice or something else to do. I was a runner and tennis player until my senior year of high school. My brothers all played baseball, basketball, and football, and my sister played soccer.0 -
Have you considered getting him into some sports programs? Most of the kids who are involved in youth sports are very active and, while they enjoy video games too, they also enjoy being outdoors and having fun. It's a great way to meet other local kids with similar interests as your son with parents with similar parenting styles (more outdoor engagement and less indoor entertainment).
Just a thought.
He's in gymnastics. He's extremely athletic. I'm not so much worried about him, as the difficulty we've had finding other kids who want to be outside like he does.0 -
Have you considered getting him into some sports programs? Most of the kids who are involved in youth sports are very active and, while they enjoy video games too, they also enjoy being outdoors and having fun. It's a great way to meet other local kids with similar interests as your son with parents with similar parenting styles (more outdoor engagement and less indoor entertainment).
Just a thought.
He's in gymnastics. He's extremely athletic. I'm not so much worried about him, as the difficulty we've had finding other kids who want to be outside like he does.
Are there other kids in his gymnastic program that he could hang out with in his free time?0 -
As everyone has said, it's a parenting problem. We have an X-Box and a Wii, and my 10 year old son plays quite often (interestingly, my 11 year old daughter almost never). But he also plays hockey, is on the ice each day, has a non-ice training each day, as well for an hour, plus school gym class. So getting exercise is not an issue. Getting calories in him is the issue... I use the gaming as a reward. He can only play after his homework is complete, and he's done his chores.
Another issue: many parents are afraid to have their kids go outside and play. I saw this when I moved back to the US for a few years. People are so scared, irrationally so, that they prefer to have their kids inside at all times, even if glued to a TV. Few kids nowadays even know how to amuse themselves with others outside.
--P0 -
if you are looking to dump your XBox, i'll buy it from you.0
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.... if you messed up my kill streak because of this, you'd be next... :indifferent: ... :devil:If i was a parent, i'd sneak up behind my kid playing Halo.....silently.........patiently closing in on him..... THEN SLAP HIM ACROSS HIS FACE!! *BRRAPPPPP!!!!*
[/quote
Am I a totally terrible parent for laughing out loud at this?
I laughed as well!0 -
It's definitely not "X-box" it's parent's not limiting their time playing it. My son loves playing his Wii but he only gets 1hr a day and he can earn an extra 15min for certain activities he does (such as cleaning his room, doing homework) to up to an addition hour of time. All things in moderation.. doesn't only apply to food.0
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x box sucks! ps3 is where its at!
^^^^^^^^
Agreed!0 -
I gotta say that maybe the people who are calling this a parenting problem, and not a console/electronics problem, are too young to remember what life was like before computer gaming.
Me? I remember black and white TV.
We were so much more active. Bike riding from one kid's house to the next looking for something exciting. Pick-up-football and basketball and kill-the-pill for hours. All day baseball in the summer. Swimming and tennis on the off days.
I have two teenage sons. They turn on an electronic game before they eat breakfast, and from what I can tell, their friends and other age-mates are no different.
The games are too addictive. And, I am not so worried about the lack of activity they cause as I am the lack of imagination and socialization that occurs because the kids always have their nose on a screen.
I do not think I am perfect because i did not have computers in my life, and I don't think people who have grown up with them are necessarily deeply flawed. But I have noticed my kids missing out. I have definitely seen that my older son became very isolated because he could sit with the games and tune out his troubles.
amen brother. I would disappear into the woods with my friends after school and not show back up until dark. That was good fun.0 -
Add me to the bad parenting band wagon. The parents are allowing that behavior. Though I will say that I think adults allowing themselves to be sucked in to the exclusion of their families and friends is just as bad.
We have a PS:3 and a Wii and the kids really only get to play on Saturday after all their chores are done. Plus they would much rather swim, ride bikes, play with their friends, or go to the beach than sit on their duffs and play a video game.0 -
If i was a parent, i'd sneak up behind my kid playing Halo.....silently.........patiently closing in on him..... THEN SLAP HIM ACROSS HIS FACE!! *BRRAPPPPP!!!!*
[/quote
Am I a totally terrible parent for laughing out loud at this?
I laughed as well!
ok good I dont feel so bad anymore
I just say what parents are scared to say xD
Good thing im only 21 =p0 -
One more reason I don't want one, is I don't want the daily battle to limit gaming time. . It seems that it would be just one more thing to add to my list of stressors and I REALLY don't need any more of those. .
(and then there's the real danger that I would get addicted myself!).0 -
I would agree that its a parenting problem.
And did you say you fight the urge to let him on the computer while you do Housework?
Hey are you single?
Anyway in my neighborhood... I have a different problem... my kid doesn't want to play outside cause the kids are always out there and there's one in particular who is really mean and runs the street... she won't let anyone out there to play unless she's in the middle of it.... even if you're in your own yard minding your own business she'll yell through the street to talk to you.
She's abusive to my daughter and I've gotten into it with the mother and so she's been told to fck off but ain't to business anyone's got that ain't hers. She's in the third grade.
So I take my daughter to parks and such but she doesn't play on the street.
I'd kinda like to have your problem of no one on the street...,
Grass isn't always greener but you sound like a great parent.
I would def try a local park or something to that effect---there you will find like minded parents such as yourself who will have similar kids... you'll have social issues to overcome there as well but typically parents might be more proactive to say something.0 -
I gotta say that maybe the people who are calling this a parenting problem, and not a console/electronics problem, are too young to remember what life was like before computer gaming.
Me? I remember black and white TV.
We were so much more active. Bike riding from one kid's house to the next looking for something exciting. Pick-up-football and basketball and kill-the-pill for hours. All day baseball in the summer. Swimming and tennis on the off days.
I have two teenage sons. They turn on an electronic game before they eat breakfast, and from what I can tell, their friends and other age-mates are no different.
The games are too addictive. And, I am not so worried about the lack of activity they cause as I am the lack of imagination and socialization that occurs because the kids always have their nose on a screen.
I do not think I am perfect because i did not have computers in my life, and I don't think people who have grown up with them are necessarily deeply flawed. But I have noticed my kids missing out. I have definitely seen that my older son became very isolated because he could sit with the games and tune out his troubles.
I remember B&W TV. I remember when there was no such thing as cable. I remember when a computer was a huge machine that took up space in the whole room. I also remember getting an Atari for Christmas one year. I played Final Fantasy for several hours each week, but I also played soccer for hours, and basketball, and football. I still found time for hide-n-seek. They are NOT mutually exclusive. One can play outside until its dark, but then comes gaming time.
Claiming that a video game is "too addictive" to play is an excuse. And let's not pretend that video games *can't* be a social activity. Like I posted above, our family plays Wii Sports as a family. If your kids are "missing out" on something, then provide it for them. Present them with opportunities. Don't make excuses and blame electronics.0 -
http://www.damnrofl.com/2204/mom-said-go-play-outside.html
Saw this thread and thought of a posting I saw on Facebook this morning - it seems appropriate here,0 -
I wish the x-box was never invented.0
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I agree that it's mostly a parenting problem, and I admire all of you parents who have the consoles, and have come up with ways of limiting the time spent using them. It seems very simple.
I suppose the reason I won't OWN those systems it because I am a bit afraid that I would succumb to the temptation to let him play too much, so that I can get stuff done. I'm a single dad and the custodial parent. I work an hour from home. I have only the tiniest sliver of time to get housework done. I don't have cable either btw! Yeah. . I know. . weird. .
But another thing I've observed, being an gamer myself, is that it can, at times, consume your thoughts. It becomes all you want to do and everything else is a chore in comparison. I don't want my boy grudgingly playing outside because I won't let him play his favorite x-box game. .
I suggest having your son help you with chores. It teaches much more than you can imagine... and if you're OCD/anal about how things are done give him a job that you don't care so much about how its done... like finding stuff in the couch cushions... if he totally botches that job it'll be alright... have him take off the cushions put the stuff away that he finds and then let him vaccum out the bottoms and then show him how to put the cushions back right.
Totally something you probably wouldn't have had time to get done and if he does it wrong, no harm no foul cause for real who looks in the cushions?
And he will feel that he contribute something to the household and helped his dad, especially when his dad is all I couldn't have done it without you, you did awesome.
My kid loves wiping off the table and wasting spray on stuff. Makes me crazy but hey what's she hurting? Nada. Especially since I get empty spray bottles from the dollar store and I can fill them with 98% water.
Don't want your kid spending life cleaning? Have him work half the time as you.
And we don't have cable either. We have netflix and a xbox and wii.... and sometimes Im just like shut that **** off!! And two days ago our vision went out on the living room tv and she's not so caring as to get a smaller TV from one of her rooms to hook up.
She did get bugged when I told her I'd have to wait until like March to buy a new one though... she said a month or two will be fine...0 -
One more reason I don't want one, is I don't want the daily battle to limit gaming time. . It seems that it would be just one more thing to add to my list of stressors and I REALLY don't need any more of those. .
(and then there's the real danger that I would get addicted myself!).
You don't HAVE to buy one or have it in your home if you don't want to. Your house. Your rules. Nothing wrong with just saying, "no" to purchasing one. They are expensive also. We have PC games in our home now (no consoles either).0 -
Xbox and Playstation both suck.
PC gaming is where it's at.
Also, you control your kids not the other way around.0 -
Part of the problem with getting kids outside is that we are so paranoid now its just easier for the kids to sit inside.
-Our news is full of warnings of child kidnapping and molestation.
-Our news is full of warnings about sun exposure and people proudly proclaim that they "just don't go out in the sun".
-Our news is full of nonsense like bear sightings where they pull kids inside within a 50 mile radius.
Our kids are simply getting the message that they are much safer inside.
In addition, school sports for the lower grades is TOO F'ING serious and FAR TOO STRUCTURED. Let a kid miss a practice and not be kicked off the team.
In addition, everything kids do today is too structured. I don't think they know how to play outside. Video games are so advanced now that they represent "free play" more than anything else.
In summary, if we relax, the kids will too and they just might enjoy themselves.
My advice is to stop watching the news! :smokin:
Kids know how to play when we stop being paranoid, kick them outside, and LET THEM play!~0 -
I would agree that its a parenting problem.
And did you say you fight the urge to let him on the computer while you do Housework?
Hey are you single?
Anyway in my neighborhood... I have a different problem... my kid doesn't want to play outside cause the kids are always out there and there's one in particular who is really mean and runs the street... she won't let anyone out there to play unless she's in the middle of it.... even if you're in your own yard minding your own business she'll yell through the street to talk to you.
She's abusive to my daughter and I've gotten into it with the mother and so she's been told to fck off but ain't to business anyone's got that ain't hers. She's in the third grade.
So I take my daughter to parks and such but she doesn't play on the street.
I'd kinda like to have your problem of no one on the street...,
Grass isn't always greener but you sound like a great parent.
I would def try a local park or something to that effect---there you will find like minded parents such as yourself who will have similar kids... you'll have social issues to overcome there as well but typically parents might be more proactive to say something.
This is why I keep my kids in oxygen chambers covered in bubble wrap. We only take them out for feedings.0 -
I don't think it's the fault of the games console, I have a Wii with Wii Fit and plenty dancing and sports style games, I got it for my birthday this year from my other half, I hardly sit down now, ok, so it's indoors but it's better than not moving.0
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I don't have any video games in our house- I won't even allow cable.
It's on the parents to control what their kids are doing whether its tv, video games or activities.... it's also on the parents to keep an eye on their kids regardless of where you live. This is the world we live in- instead of hiding we need to teach our kids how to respond to strangers and bad situations and give them confidence.0 -
... you can have all the tons of kids playing around in my neighborhood.
Come get them.
NOW.
lmao.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
This is my neighborhood too. (And every neighborhood I have *ever* lived in, my whole life) It gets *VERY* loud on the weekends with "NOT IT!" and "GOT YOU!" and laughter and basketballs bouncing on concrete and hitting the rim.... either the people in my city don't watch the news or they've learned that the media is trying to manipulate us through fear and so ignore the fear-mongering and let their kids be kids anyway.0 -
My son is addicted to the stupid xbox as well. I kind of want to run it over with my car. He will be 10 in two weeks. I shut it off and force him to go outside and play but if he had a choice, I think he would sit there all day with that headset on. He always says "Everyone else gets to go on it whenever they want or have _____ game!" Guess what, I am not raising "everyone else." I am scared he's going to be one of those obsessed grown men sitting around with the headset.
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
He does great in school and he does play outside daily (he's thin and he eats healthy) but I still think that thing needs to go. (My husband bought it for him. He's a sucker for begging. I am not. LOL)0 -
My son is addicted to the stupid xbox as well. I kind of want to run it over with my car. He will be 10 in two weeks. I shut it off and force him to go outside and play but if he had a choice, I think he would sit there all day with that headset on. He always says "Everyone else gets to go on it whenever they want or have _____ game!" Guess what, I am not raising "everyone else." I am scared he's going to be one of those obsessed grown men sitting around with the headset.
He does great in school and he does play outside (he's thin and he eats healthy) but I still think that thing needs to go.
Do it! Run it over and make him watch. . Then explain that you did it out of love. . Then lock your bedroom door at night for a few weeks.0 -
im 26....my generation grew up with nintendo and super nintendo and saga....i logged maaaaaany hours on those glorious machines....for some reason when i was a kid we were outside killin squirrels and havin dunk contests then after we ran ourselves to death all day we went in and played video games at night.....i dont hardly remember watching tv ever until i was a teenager....except for TGIF and browns games0
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My boyfriend and I own a PS3, but we limit the kids' TV time and game time and make a point of going outside, riding bikes, going to the park, throwing the football, and don't let the kids (or ourselves) zone out in front of a TV, computer, phone, game, or any other electronic device.
I also remember being outside almost the entire day growing up, climbing trees, running around. I didn't have a favorite TV show as a kid because I wasn't sitting still long enough to watch one. The overload of electronic entertainment available now seems to be doing more harm than good because people are typically not willing to set boundaries.0
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