X-Box is ruining this country

Turtlehurdle

Xbox and Playstation both suck.

PC gaming is where it's at.

Also, you control your kids not the other way around.

WendyTerry420

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!~

homerjspartan

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.

tubbyelmo

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.

2012asv

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.

WendyTerry420

... 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.

DesireeLovesOrganic

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 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)

Cameron_1969

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.

ILoveTheBrowns

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 games

Becoming_A_Butterfly

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.

iancranerocks

I use the X-Box Kinect to exercise. I started with Dance Central 2, but then discovered that I could get an upper-body workout by boxing with weights in my hands and it's so fun that it's hard to stop. That's what I want - exercise that is so FUN that I look forward to it and hat to stop.

Computers and consoles are both addicting and it's the job of the parents to socialize their children instead of letting the computer / TV / Game babysit and raise their kids for them. Obviously, it doesn't work very well.

Cameron_1969

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. (My husband bought it for him. He's a sucker for begging. I am not. LOL)

There's been a lot of commentary on here about limiting what your kids DO. . But not about what they WANT to do. I don't want the game sitting in the house beckoning to him when he's at school and outside and at gymnastics and everywhere else.

I've seen real addictions and I know what they can do. They take over a person's mind so that the person becomes single minded of focus and will do ANYTHING to get that next fix. . I think this particular aspect of addiction is the same for gaming (for some people, not all). I don't see the benefit in bringing what I consider an addictive drug into my home. I expect that will inflame a lot of readers, but that's my take on it.

loumaag

There's been a lot of commentary on here about limiting what your kids DO. . But not about what they WANT to do. I don't want the game sitting in the house beckoning to him when he's at school and outside and at gymnastics and everywhere else.

You need to use the Tom Sawyer effect. Then your kid needs to use it with the neighbor kids. For those illiterate folks, white washing a fence is no fun, but if you can make it fun, everyone wants to do it.

Get your kid out doing something to attract attention of the couch potatoes, you can start with him, throwing a ball is a start, then let things just happen.

cmcollins001

We have an X-Box, my wife, my son (18), and myself all have laptops, all have smartphones (Android rules BTW), there are 2 tablets in the house, my son has a DS, etc., etc., etc.

While my son is now 18, this has been the usual tech scene in my house for the past 6-10 years for the most part. Tech changes as time changes of course.

My son loves football (playing in real life on a team, X-Box football, and watching it on TV), loves spending time outside fishing, camping, hanging out with friends, but he can also live for 3 days straight on a new video game and little food and water while either holed up in his room or over at a friends house. We also spend time together playing some sort of football game on a rainy day or after our two teams just finished playing live on TV...we'll replay the game on Xbox for fun.

X-box has been a way to spend time as a family, and although I'm not much of a "gamer" myself, my wife and son (my wife is my son's step-mom) have spent hours upon hours upon hours playing games together bonding over their love for certain games.

X-Box has nothing to do with being rude or inconsiderate...parenting does. X-Box can be a way to blow off some steam, enjoy some time together as a family or it can be a baby sitter if that's the way you want to use it. That's not always a bad thing. It can be if you let it get out of hand and that's all your children do, but when I needed some "me" time to get some things done, I didn't mind if my son spent a couple of hours trying to level up or complete some "mission"...it worked for him and it worked for me. However, tv or computers or video games do not replace me as a parent nor does he ever pick a weekend of video games over a weekend of bowling, or fishing, or camping, or hunting with his dad or even his uncle, even at 18 years old, my son wants to spend time with me just hanging out...and I find that pretty cool.

BruhManFif

Interesting topic...

I grew up with all the game consoles, but I still went outside and played basketball and kickball. Sometimes my parents had to force me outside to get some activity. Other times they had to force me in.

But if you're the parent, the responsibility for your kids and their activity level/health falls on you, regardless of what objects you have or don't have in your home.

angryguy77

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. (My husband bought it for him. He's a sucker for begging. I am not. LOL)

There's been a lot of commentary on here about limiting what your kids DO. . But not about what they WANT to do. I don't want the game sitting in the house beckoning to him when he's at school and outside and at gymnastics and everywhere else.

I've seen real addictions and I know what they can do. They take over a person's mind so that the person becomes single minded of focus and will do ANYTHING to get that next fix. . I think this particular aspect of addiction is the same for gaming (for some people, not all). I don't see the benefit in bringing what I consider an addictive drug into my home. I expect that will inflame a lot of readers, but that's my take on it.

What if your kid starts to love basketball or other sports as much as he loves video games? To be good and make the team, a lot of time and practice is needed.

You think gaming is a distraction, just wait until he starts to notice women. Are you going to ban them from your home as well?
Anything can become addictive if you let it, I think you are overreacting a bit. Set guidelines and stick to them.
Kids want to have fun, good luck on changing that behavior.

penrbrown

There's been a lot of commentary on here about limiting what your kids DO. . But not about what they WANT to do. I don't want the game sitting in the house beckoning to him when he's at school and outside and at gymnastics and everywhere else.

You need to use the Tom Sawyer effect. Then your kid needs to use it with the neighbor kids. For those illiterate folks, white washing a fence is no fun, but if you can make it fun, everyone wants to do it.

Get your kid out doing something to attract attention of the couch potatoes, you can start with him, throwing a ball is a start, then let things just happen.

When I was a kid I would spend HOURS reading. I would stay up until 4AM reading. I could not and would not put books down.

Should my parents have removed books from the house because they were potentially 'addictive'?

Zangpakto

Nah GO TES series!

Daggerfall and Morrowind were epic, then the downhill started with Oblivion... but yea, the series is just epic.

You do not like xbox? Tough... I think gaming is awesome, I program in obj-c, c++ and c# for fun, work as apple technician and play games for fun when not programming...

Much better life than most people I think play games, develop own programs and know how to repair anything IT related which.. is basically everything now today really...

So I say let the kid enjoy xbox... you only are a kid once, then work starts and then other obligations etc, I am lucky but still...

I say let kids be kids... If he is suffering health issues from it however, then that is another story..

kayemme

it started with the television and worked its way up.

CyberEd312

I am an original Atari generation kid (Xbox now) and No I don't have a problem with consoles at all.. This comes down to a parenting thing as far as I am concerned and feel it is up to us to dictate how much time they get to use it... Best of Luck