Nintendo Anyone?

[Calleigh]

I was just wondering how many of you out there allow your kids to play Nintendo/Playstation, etc.? Our kids watch no television, however they love Nintendo. It is one of their motivations for finishing their work. Anyone else find themselves wondering how much is too much? I hate almost everything that is on tv and at least take some comfort in the fact that I know what they are "watching."

Calleigh

[Theodore]

Have you looked at DDR or Wii? Still a waste of time, but at least you get some exercise in the process

[Calleigh]

Yes, wii is on their Christmas list... Yet some more money out the door. The creators of these games are very clever; invent new system upon new system. The Gamecube games will be able to be played on the wii but the wii games can't be played on the gamecube...Guess we'll have to buy an entire wii system so that they can play the new games!! Oh well, like you said, it is some exercise.. Hey, can I count that as gym??

[Morgan]

If your children have the Nintendo DS game system, then I recommend Brain Age or Brain Age 2 games. They are fun and educational at the same time, and it even give tips on how long one should play a video game. It also show a diagram of brain activity while each brain is doing something different.

-One should only play a video game for 1 hour or less, then take a 30 minute or more break before playing again

-If one begins to feel muscle cramping or stiffness, then one should take an hour or longer break before playing again

-The brain is nearly idle while watching television

-Brain Age and Brain Age 2 games support healthy brains and can help activate different sections of the brain, promoting concentration, focus, and faster learning

Also, a Nintendo DS is far less expensive (approx. $130) than a Wii, but a Wii promotes physical activity while a DS (only while using the Brain Age games, of course) supports brain activity daily.

[ncmom]

This may sound really bad but I will NOT pay $400.00 for a video game system and then pay $50.00 for a game. We do have an original Nintendo, sega genesis, and super Nintendo that we got from yard sales and flea markets. They all work and we have lots of games for them. I find that I feel better letting them play the older games anyway. Less blood and violence, more cartoonish. My kids really don't play them anyway and we only have basic cable just so we can see our local stations (rabbit ears don't cut it here) so most of the time they are outside. They say it is boring in the house and when my kids say they are bored I find housework for them to do.

My son does have a Nintendo DS but he saved up by doing yard work for other people and bought it with his money. He also buys his own games for it; however, all games before bought must be OK'd by myself or my husband. He does have a limit as to how long he may use it each day though.

If you are looking for something that is active for them I suggest the baseball plug 'n play game. We play this as a family when we visit the in-laws. It is a lot of fun and really feels like you are hitting/throwing a ball, our favorite is to do the home run derby and compete against everyone else for the most runs.

[Dolly-VA]

Have you looked at DDR or Wii? Still a waste of time, but at least you get some exercise in the process

I'll second DDR! It is great exercise and lots of fun. My three kids (9, 13 and 18 ) and I all use it. There's even a "fitness program" in it that will track time, calories burned and what the equivalent to jogging. A great side bonus to the exercise is that I'm feeling more coordinated than I was before starting.

[Theodore]

Just so long as you don't overuse it. One of my sisters messed up her knee by doing DDR for hours and hours every day. You probably want to limit use a bit, or only do it every other day. Too much of a good thing is bad

[Dolly-VA]

I'd have to get a whole lot better to do damage to myself with DDR. (Discounting getting hurt by being a klutz...) I can go for an hour before collapsing. Your sister must be very fit and very coordinated. (Sorry about her knee. My two sisters that jog both did the same thing, messed up their knees by overdoing. I don't think I have that kind of exercising drive in me. Though, I wish I did!)

[StellarStory]

I was just wondering how many of you out there allow your kids to play Nintendo/Playstation, etc.? Our kids watch no television, however they love Nintendo. It is one of their motivations for finishing their work. Anyone else find themselves wondering how much is too much? I hate almost everything that is on tv and at least take some comfort in the fact that I know what they are "watching."

Calleigh

I don't worry about this. I was no allowed to watch tv as a kid much due to our religion. Later in life it became my friend who kept me company and I was pretty addicted.

By contrast my husband was allowed to watch tv a great deal as a kid. Now he can take it or leave it.

Based on that, I've never made a big deal about games or tv with my kids.

I did make sure they only watched things or played things we thought appropriate when they were little.

I did make them get their work done first.

At these ages, (14 and 16) I trust them to use good judgment. They do love to game as do we. We all enjoy watching certain shows together and separately.

I think people worry about this too much.

[laurabeth]

I was just wondering how many of you out there allow your kids to play Nintendo/Playstation, etc.? Our kids watch no television, however they love Nintendo. It is one of their motivations for finishing their work. Anyone else find themselves wondering how much is too much? I hate almost everything that is on tv and at least take some comfort in the fact that I know what they are "watching."

Calleigh

I don't worry about this. I was no allowed to watch tv as a kid much due to our religion. Later in life it became my friend who kept me company and I was pretty addicted.

By contrast my husband was allowed to watch tv a great deal as a kid. Now he can take it or leave it.

Based on that, I've never made a big deal about games or tv with my kids.

I did make sure they only watched things or played things we thought appropriate when they were little.

I did make them get their work done first.

At these ages, (14 and 16) I trust them to use good judgment. They do love to game as do we. We all enjoy watching certain shows together and separately.

I think people worry about this too much.

I agree with you, I didn't have a lot of restriction on tv as a child and although there are shows I love and hate to miss we have had several points (like when we moved most recently) when we had no tv and I didn't go into shock or anything lol. I have a friend who was severely restricted who cant ever seem to watch enough. I think the same goes for a lot of things, although I wasn't restricted tv I wasn't allowed sweets and when I got to the point where I was babysitting and making my own money I was so sweet addicted it was horrible. I think a healthy balance is the key. My kids are young, 4 and 6 (7 in dec) but they are allowed tv (provided they don't have it taken away for not cleaning there room or something lol) and we have a ps2 that we got used with a lot of games (I cant stand the prices myself lol) and my daughter was given a v-smile last Christmas. They use the v-smile once in a while, but the ps2 only gets turned on when my friends son is over. My dd would rather play computer games and my ds(4) has no interest unless someone else is playing lol. We do have some time limitations and these privileges are some of the first to go in disciplining but they have them.

[StellarStory]

That makes sense to me! Balance in the key! I've got teens now. I'm looking toward them being able to restrict themselves now so they can actually live, not virtually live, their lives.

[Ramona]

We do not have any sort of full-size game system. (Right after we got married FIL got Nintendo for BIL, who was in high school then, and wanted to give us his old Intellivision. I refused politely.) FIL gave DD a Gameboy a few years ago, but she only has 2 or 3 games. All the kids like to play computer games, and they own a few little battery-op electronic games. Nothing violent.

I don't let them start with games/computer free time until after schoolwork is done in the mid-afternoon. It's also the privilege that gets taken away for a day or a week when they do something to be punished for.

We usually keep the TV off until after lessons, but then it tends to stay on the rest of the day except while we're eating supper. DH had the TV on every waking minute while he was growing up, including during all meals, whereas I only had TV in my house for about 6 years of my childhood. During the last 2 of those, we only got NBC year-round and ABC in the winters. Both of us can turn it off if we must, but both of us are kind of addicted to it.

Ramona

[home_maker97]

We allow our 7 year old lonely only to play video games due to the fact he is an only child.

[MrBill]

Take advantage of used games and video store rental clubs, you'll get your money's worth. Buying games for $40 to $60 is terrible since your kids may end up hating the thing in ten minutes, with a rental thats no big deal.

Video games can be educational, in fact all games are learning exercises and kids only become bored when they've mastered the pattern.

Personally I find the Wii as boring as counting sand, if my brother-in-law didn't send it to us I would have never touched it.

If your children are age appropriate, Reader Rabbit is an excellent learning tool for the computer. Age appropriate being younger than the recommended ages or having difficulty in the grade range provided.

My daughter mastered phonics, compound words, and spelling with Reader Rabbit by the time she was three. Yep, three!'

Now she's making her own game levels in Halo 3 at age six.

Video Games are currently a $15 Billion industry in the United States alone, and thats just counting console game sales. The industry has trumped Hollywood movie sales six years running.

Its a future career option that isn't going away anytime soon, with development times now stretching to five years per title and requiring hundreds of employees.

Encourage your kids to learn about games as more than play, but as an art and science.

I make game software and was told for my entire school career, all the way through college, that games were a waste of time by people who were just ignorant and intimidated by technology.

[Theodore]

One of my brothers is taking classes in game design, and he already does game reviews for one of the major Mac gaming web sites, so I hear you