X-Box is ruining this country
Replies
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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!!!!*0
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Not a gaming issue but a parenting issue. I had a nintendo 64 and atari (yes old school) when I was younger but was only allowed an hour or so a day. My mom made sure I got my *kitten* outside and played with the other kids and didnt sit in front of the TV all day. You can have an Xbox or playstation or Wii and not be overweight or rude, those are both examples of neglectful parenting. Also I currently own an Xbox with Kinect which is awesome, you have to get off your *kitten* and move around to play the games which is better than kids just sitting on the couch with the controller.0
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We have an XBOX...but then I have daughters.. If I think they have been hanging around the TV too much..I do have them go outside..either play or jump on the trampoline.
My youngest does year round volleyball...so she is active..
BTW..my kids are 12 and 16..and yes..I am their parent and control their lives...there is no back talk when I say turn off the tv and go outside...0 -
I also believe that parenting is the main issue here. Just this February, I finally bought a gaming system for myself and my 8-year-old daughter. We have the XBOX 360 with Kinect. Honestly, we do not own any games that do not use the Kinect system. I didn't want my daughter to just sit in front of the game all day! I limit her screen time (TV and computer), but she can play the Kinect games all she wants (as long as her homework and chores are done!) because she is getting active - especially in the winter when it can be tough to get outside much!0
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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.0 -
My son had a Wii (until it died) now he has an xbox. He also has a 3DS, itouch, a laptop, and a TV in his room. He is not allowed to play video games on school nights (even if his homework is done) and has to turn over the laptop at 9:30 every night (no matter what night it is). I make sure that he gets outside to play as often as he can. He's 14 but I can't let him just run around as we live in a neighborhood that isn't the safest anymore. We had a few shootings and other gang related incidents. My point is that it is all about the parenting and not the systems. Too many parents use them as babysitters so they don't have to actually deal with their children. Just pay attention to the kids when you go out to a restaurant or any store. THere is bound to be at least one out of control obnoxious child and a parent that is just ignoring him/her.0
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I agree I really dont believe the console/games is the problem. We as parents are to teach them proper maners and how to priorities. My boys (15 and 12) have a xbox 360, my husband has a ps3 and in my living room there is a wii. The wii barely gets played and when it does it is an activity done together like bowling, boxing and such. The ps3 gets played everyday but that one is my husbands and yes he is stuck after work there for about 1hr while he unwinds and before he goes outside to do yard work. My boys are not allowed to use the xbox during school days and on the weekends all depends when they finish their chores and no its not only when their room is clean. They have to mow the lawn, wash their clothes, sometimes sweap the floors and clean the bathroom. They both play football in HS and Middle School and practice 4 days a week and have games on 2 days of the week so kept busy 6 out of 7 days for football they get plenty of exercise. If we have gatherings/cookouts they are to be off the game and outside with the rest of the crowd.
They learn school, chores and family comes first then play time.0 -
I would say you're seeing a parenting problem and not an xbox problem.
I agree! I also wonder about your neighborhood. Where I live, there are so many kids running around, playing hide-n-seek, riding bikes, shooting hoops. Are you sure you *have* kids in your neighborhood? :laugh:
ETA: We have an X-box, a Wii, and a PS2, plus a laptop and a gaming PC. But the kids also own bikes, a basketball, a soccer ball, a football, board games, card games, etc. They don't sit around playing games inside unless it's raining. And sometimes we play Wii Sports as a family. (We have had huge bowling tournaments on it that lasted several hours. :laugh: )0 -
I agree with everyone who says it is a parenting problem rather than a problem with the consoles.
We have a Wii. They are great. But there are plenty of other things to play with too! Right now my 10 year old and 8 year old are at hockey practice, when they have walked home from there the 10 year old will be straight back out for football practice. My 6 year old is outside cycling up and down our road with her friends.
Having a games console and playing actively outside are not mutually exclusive.0 -
I was never allowed to have a videogame system growing up. I used to think that I was missing something because I didn't. Now I am pregnant and I will not allow one on my home when I have my child. I tell my kid's dad this and some friends and they stare at me like I am crazy. Sorry... I don't want it. I also don't have a TV and don't want one of those either. This country is way too dependent on TV and videogames to pass time. I feel now as an adult that not having the gaming system forced me to be creative and independent. And not having a TV for 10 months has really pushed me now to find constructive things to do with my time rather than stare and zone out at a box. One of my biggest fears in life is to have an overweight child. I think without having TV and videogames will really help that not happen. I want my kid to play outside and get lots of fresh air and be physically active.0
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I have a 14-year old son that is: extremely polite, conscientious, sport-minded, plays 3 sports, along with golf and skiing. He gets good grades and you'd want your daughter to date him or your son to have him as your friend.....
BUT, the x-box is a huge, huge regret in my life.... He has x-box live which allows him to "socialize" with his good friends from our tv room.
He is not allowed to use it Sunday night through Friday am, but it is extremely disappointing at how long he will play on weekends. Yes, he plays basketball, runs with the dogs, he's thin, happy and easy to please, BUT this thing has me ready to pull my hair out!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!!!!*
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Am I a totally terrible parent for laughing out loud at this?0 -
TLDR
My brother is 15 years old, home educated, and has on certain occasions been ranked in the top 50 in the world on the leader boards for some of the x-box games he plays. He spends a MAX of two hours doing school work a day, but I don't even know how many hours he spends playing xbox at night. It's much, much more. That right there is enough for some people to form mountains of arguments to criticize my family and parents for allowing this. But allow me to elaborate.
In addition, my brother is part of a fencing club. According to his coach, he is the most athletic boy in the club. He's currently training for the junior Olympics which are to be held in Maryland this year, recently traveled cross country via driving route 66 with my father and then taking a train home, will start college next year at age 16, and, frankly, has a faint 6 pack with biceps that allow me to catch many, many young girls staring at him. He is kind and compassionate. He typically gets up and walks out of the room when we watch the second Sherlock Holmes movie because he HATES the scene where Sherlock is sitting at dinner waiting for his date who never shows. He loves his dog and cat, and he has about 5 or 6 boys over almost every weekend to have "all-night" parties in which they steal my TV, his friends bring over their xboxes, and they all hang out and play COD, Halo, and other games all night long. He typically goes to bed around 9AM after such events, then gets up and (after some probing on our part, yes) gets his chores done.
You see, my brother COULD have turned into a boy who sat in front of the TV eating junk, gained weight, and became anti-social. But instead, my parents found a sport he loved, encouraged him in it, and he's turned out to be the most amazing little brother I could have asked for. They just didn't allow it, simple as that.
P.S. Yesterday I spent 8 hours playing Zelda: The Twilight Princess on my wii. Tomorrow I'm going to go get my horse out, then run 3 miles, then go to organic chemistry before coming home and sleeping so I can get up for work Wed. morning. You can't blame it on the gaming systems: it's the environment.0 -
My parents thought the same when I got an Atari 2600.0
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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.0 -
It sounds more like ****ty parenting. It sounds also like they did exactly what you're trying hard not to do: plopped their kids in front of the video game system while they took care of things like housework.0
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We have a Wii, PC, Kindle Fire, cell with games and some other small handheld cheap games from walmart.... my children do not sit in front of them and veg out. When they are asked to save & log off, they do so. They have a limited amount of time on video games/gaming systems and it is strictly enforced. They don't complain because they know that it makes them lazy if they just hang out and do nothing all day. Also, my children aren't allowed to play games without my express permission - i dont care who else says they can, if i don't say 'yes', then the answer is 'no'. They are not allowed to play games when they are getting ready for school or until after homework is done and chores are done. Even on the weekends, we all do chores together or go to the park or go outside and play. Playing games has never been glorified or seen as a major part of our daily lives. Often, I will either play games with them or if i want to play, i'll wait until my chores/day is finished and only play then as a good example of time management. It sounds hella strict, but i let them know when they can or can't play, what they can or can't play and how expecations and responsibilities always come first.0
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:ohwell:
Xbox is fine--it's the parents who don't know how to regulate their kids' times on Xbox (or PS3, or iPad, whatever).
Naturally, if I had all these luxuries when I was younger (my parents forbade video game systems except for Gameboys, lmao) I'd probably forgo going outside, too!
Moderation.
Also, you can have all the tons of kids playing around in my neighborhood.
Come get them.
NOW.
lmao.0 -
My 4 1/2 yr old daughter and I love playing the XBox together. We will play Just Dance, or any of the sports games, not only because they are super fun, but because those games keep us moving. I also make sure we go outside to play everyday, even if it's for a half hour. I usually have the tv on all of the time for background noise when we are home, but I limit the amount of time her cartoons are on. I don't want her to be a couch potato. I do notice that when I have her cartoons on and I ask her a question, she ignores me or will not look away from her cartoon, so that's one reason why I limit her tv time.
The issue you mention has nothing to do with gaming systems. It has to do with the kids parents. If the parents aren't willing to turn the tv off and take their kids outside to play, they are just fueling their child for laziness as well as not encouraging socialization skills. I remember growing up as a kid and riding bikes with other kids in the neighborhood, playing in each others yards, saying "hi" to people you pass by in the street, and just overall politeness towards others. Now where I live, people don't say "thank you" when you hold the door open for them, they don't wave back, and nobody plays outside anymore. My family is one of the only ones on our block that are always outside. My daughter pushes me to take her and our dog for a walk, or to chase her outside. She makes me move and I will continue to raise her that way and encourage her to remain active and to say "hi" to almost everyone she sees. That is what parenting is about.0 -
This is the whole "guns don't kill people, people kill people" conversation. It's not the Xbox, or play station or computer or TV or whatever else... it's the parents that use those things so they don't have to parent.
I've got 2 kids. I bought a Wii as a family Christmas present a couple of years ago. The rule is that you don't get to play unless your playing (and as such, interacting) with someone else - my kids playing together, one of them playing with me, all of us playing, whatever)... and we don't buy games that aren't geared to multiple players and the interactive component that comes with it.
My son likes the wii and plays it from time to time, but would much rather be outside if at all possible. He often times follows me down the driveway on his bike as I plow snow in the winter - yep... THAT'S MY BOY!!!
My daughter is FAR less active. She's not as athletic, and generally speaking not as interested in those types of activities. She likes the wii too, but is more than happy to draw, read, or do word puzzles (soduku, word finds, code breaks, etc). Is it active? No, but it's still stimulating... it's not rotting away on the couch doing something mindless, so I don't worry as much.
Just my 2 cents - don't blame the method (the video game), blame the cause (****ty parenting).0 -
FYI to any parents out there battling with their kids to "GET OFF THE XBOX!"
You'll be happy to know that the Xbox 360 has a "family timer". You can set how much gaming time the kids get per day. Using that really helped me be able to better monitor my kids gaming time. No more fights, no more yelling GET OFF THAT THING!
When the time is used up, it just lets them know (with a few warnings before hand so they can save progress etc.) and goes to the pause screen. They can't play any longer. It's a GREAT feature.
http://support.xbox.com/en-US/billing-and-subscriptions/parental-controls/xbox-live-parental-control0 -
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.
No offense to you but even in this day and age it IS possible to teach children to use their electronics in moderation.
I was raised with electronics, as was my sister. And she has taught her children not put the electronics aside. Her kids are 11 and 9 and they are outside biking, playing, swimming, etc. etc. etc. They spend an hour a day on electronics and that's it because those are the household rules.
My sister is a HUGE gamer. She loves electronics! But she refuses to let her kids miss out on the childhood she had so yeah...
I'm not saying you did anything wrong but I'm saying even if you've been raised around these things it's possible to teach your children to use them moderately.0 -
I would say you're seeing a parenting problem and not an xbox problem.
^ I enjoy gaming and enjoy gaming with my kids but as a parent you gotta step up tell 'em enough is enough now go out and play or read to whatever. As parents we have to watch what we do too as they model us. When they come in do we have our nose planted in a social network site for hours on end rather than sitting on the deck with neighbors? Anyway...sorry for the soap box but more often than not the kids are either reflecting what they see or the parents aren't stepping in being parents to the snowflakes... confessedly I'm as guilty as the next dad.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.0 -
Getting a PS3 in 2 weeks!! FTW!!!0
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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 not the xbox or the tv that makes a child obese, it's their whole lifestyle. Calories in v calories out.
I game with my son and he will also game on his own. In moderation. We do loads of other stuff too from the active to inactive.
Consoles are a part of most kids lives and it's what he and his friends talk about a lot. Cheats, achievements, fails, etc. Why would I want to deprive him of his xbox and deprive him of that interaction at school. We didn't get one on that basis alone but it was a consideration.
As for your son's friend and parents, sorry but he would be a friend we would work to avoid, that lack of manners, respect and control won't set your son a good example and who knows what would happen when you are not there.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!!!!*
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Am I a totally terrible parent for laughing out loud at this?
I laughed as well!
ok good I dont feel so bad anymore0 -
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. .0 -
We definitely have to limit the video game playing at our house or it's what they would choose to do 24-7. I do believe it is addicting for the kids. I also notice if they are not constantly being stimulated by some electronics, they are complaining they are bored. We limit it and it's the first thing we take away as a discipline tool.0
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