Ben-DutkaNow, before any of you freak out, bear two things in mind: we are talking about a woman who simply wishes to be a good mother and is concerned about what she hears in the press (and if you know nothing about the subject at hand, this is always a bad position to be in), and secondly, let's not give the impression that she might be right by getting all caustic and aggressive.
In a blog entry that's bound to rile many a gamer around the country, staff writer Marla Jo Fisher of The Orange County Register believes that video games can only have a negative impact on children. In her article, she complains that after playing video games at a friend's house, her son will come home "with a sickly pallor" and remains "testy" all day. This is after saying she thinks video games were created by Satan "to turn otherwise normal children into his drooling, glassy-eyed stooges." Then she cites the unfortunate news story of a kid who couldn't stop playing Grand Theft Auto IV ; the obsession was to the point where two Boston cops had to step in. Now, considering what she has seen, I will freely sympathize with her and recall a simpler, gentler time…okay, a time before I was born, but I've heard about it, at the very least.
The point is this, and you will forgive me for creating an article that is part news and part editorial: as difficult as this will be for her to accept, this is simply passing the buck. This is seeking out a culprit when the only culprit that ever can exist is – get ready for it – the parenting. I grew up with video games. Everyone I know grew up with video games and still play them to this day. We're all over 30 now and we all have respectable jobs (I know everyone from teachers to programmers to former police officers and salesman), many of us are starting families, and oh yes, not a one of us have a criminal record. Lastly, we were always some of the smartest kids in class, although adulthood has a way of marginalizing those accomplishments to some degree. In the end, when you see a kid walking out of a library with his face buried in a Nintendo DS (as she cites in her article), that really isn't the DS's fault. And it sure isn't Satan's.
My parents were relatively strict about how and when I played my games. Other parents were as well. If my grades dropped (they didn't, but we're doin' a hypothetical, here), I can absolutely guarantee that my play time would've dropped considerably. Now, I have always been a proponent of the ESRB and I wholeheartedly believe that children of a certain age should never be playing something like GTAIV, for the same reasons they should never be attending a rated "R" movie. She's right in wondering why kids "don't think" anymore; they don't because they really are too glued to electronics. But while the pull of these electronics is indeed strong, what is stopping the parents from instituting and maintaining some discipline in the household? What's stopping them from opening the young eyes and minds of their children by introducing them to other aspects of life? Take them to the theater, take them on hikes, take them to the zoo and the carnival and the museum and the town green for a community get-together. Be a parent .
I know, I know. Not being a parent myself, I'm not allowed to lecture. But am I not allowed to use the example of my own parents, or parents I grew up knowing? Am I not allowed to look around me and see intelligent, well-adjusted, respectable individuals who once may have had a "sickly pallor" from playing a game a little too long? The point is, video games can be dangerous for a child, just as most all forms of entertainment can be. But keeping them away from it entirely is typically a bad idea; the curiosity of a child is second-to-none, so if you keep him away from junk food forever, the instant he goes off to college, he may live on junk food. So my advice to the mother here is this: get that Wii and just keep an eye on its use. When the kid goes to a friend's house, maybe he won't be so apt to dive headfirst into the "forbidden" leisure activity, 'cuz he has already experienced it in his own house.
Oh, and the museum and the hikes. Don't forget that. Please, help the child expand his horizons. Put a book into his or her hands before the kid even leaves first grade .
P.S. Read the comments below that blog entry. A bunch of really intellingent gamers have stepped UP.
I dont have any kids, but I used to be one. My parents were always great about letting us know what is real, and what is not. When we would see something new on TV or a movie, they would make sure we understood the meaning of fiction.
By the time GTA 3 came out, they didnt have to worry about what I saw in video games, they knew that I wasnt some kind of school shooter or something likt that.
If you are so dissconnected with your kids that you are worried about them becoming evil or stupid vecause of video games, then you should probably take the weekend off and just spend some time with them.
If my mother didn't buy me video games I would have been in the arcades and she would have had an abducted child.
I dont have any kids, but I used to be one. My parents were always great about letting us know what is real, and what is not. When we would see something new on TV or a movie, they would make sure we understood the meaning of fiction.
By the time GTA 3 came out, they didnt have to worry about what I saw in video games, they knew that I wasnt some kind of school shooter or something likt that.
If you are so disconnected with your kids that you are worried about them becoming evil or stupid because of video games, then you should probably take the weekend off and just spend some time with them.
Last!
Just kidding. So I took a look at the blog and read most of the comments and I got a few good lols. Although not as good as the Black Looks blog post about RE5 in Africa!
Everyone gets a last.
yea RE5 is really racist because all the zombies are black.
HELLO!!!! IT IS SET IN AFRICA!
last time i checked theres not many white people in Africa, well in comparison to black people.
its like creating yakuza and saying its racist because 99% of the characters are Japanese.
ill second those hikes.
i remember when i was young me and my father every Sunday would take a hike to a national park, or take a drive to the blue mountains and take a walk through the Forrest.
i remember one day going to burning palms, the most beautiful place i have ever been.
a really REALLY steep walk down a cliff almost but once your down there crystal clear water and pure white sand greet you.
O and you can go rock climbing and theres rock pools, nice and warm and crystal clear.
good to keep you fit, really relaxing and well the funnest thing ive ever done.
shame we dont do them anymore.
all ill say is this.
if a parent is too lazy to watch what her kids do to entertain themselves its her fault.
there is more than adequate warnings on lables of games saying if there suitable for kids or not.
why are games always the scapegoat?
i mean seriously i have seen some seriously sick stuff in movies and no one says boo, someone takes half of it and puts it in a game and the sh*t hits the fan!
people like here are the ones i have to thank for half our games getting banned.
THANK YOU!
Last edited by ___________ on 1/7/2010 12:53:09 AM
People always try to find something bad about anything fun.
Everyone who knows me here, already knows my take on this from prior articles that blamed video games for every kid with a serious misbehavior problem.
Video games are not the problem….but bad parents are!!!!!
It's most usually the very same kid's parents who complain all the time, who are the real blame…
yup, those same parents who "throw" their kids outside for 15 hours a day with little to no supervision at all.
Or those very same parents who think nothing of turning on the TV & VCR & giving their kid the remote & controller from the moment they awaken, till it's they go to bed at midnight.
WAKE UP, A PIECE OF ELECTRONICS IS NOT YOUR PERSONAL SUPER-NANNY!!!!
Or parents who don't have, or even care, enough child-rearing skills(or no backbone, or even just plain laziness) to not give in every single time their kid starts complaining about something they're told to do, like I see every time I'm going down the supermarket candy & Ice Cream aisles.
I'll bet that the mom who had to call the police on her kid playing GTA, had bought her kid that game the very moment he first whined about wanting it.
Another bad side-affect about neglectful parenting is that a lot of their own kids are going out & having kids themselves at a super young age.
So now we have more kids that are forced at 14 to suddenly grow up as single-parents and without parenting skills too, or even any kind of supervision or guidance either.
And if these new new children can't get the skills from their own teenage parents, then just how, & where are they supposed to learn them????
A few quick thoughts on the writer of this gaaarrrr-bage….
1. Why didn't she go meet the other parents & explain that her child isn't allowed watch movies or games that weren't rated for his age.
2. Where is the father in this whole story?
It's odd that there's no mention of a dad or any male figure at all, so maybe could that also add to at the very least, part of her overall problem too????
3.She needs to set logical rules & responsibilities for her child so he'll make it in the real world, and not brainwash him so he winds up fearing life later on.
4. I'll bet she's so overbearing that she's actually stunting any real growth potential & creativity her child may have had.
5. I'll also make bet that Ms. Frumpty actually believes she a real live journalist.
6. Satan needs to brand her in the a** with a nice red hot flaming pitchfork!!!
@BikerSaint
"A PIECE OF ELECTRONICS IS NOT YOUR PERSONAL SUPER-NANNY!!!! "
Excellent advice.
BikerSaint FTW!
I do believe that it's the parent responsibility to parent the child on anything.
With me I have a 5 year old with Autism which is difficult in it's own ways especially since hes 5 but acts like he 10 his brain processes things differently. For some reason games are his outlet they get him out of his world and into ours with playing certain games with me and my husband since autistic children don't like to socialize this way playing tetris or Peter rabbit JK-SK or even racing games like GT he's at least socializing with us.
Honestly if parents just be there for their kids, teach them right from wrong and distill self control and only let them play games that are for their Rating group then their would be no problem playing games, but unfortantly their are some parents that want to be a friend not a parent and I have met alot of those parents.
Ben I agree with you 100% and highlander same goes for you! Reading is the best thing for a child I love reading and love reading books to my kids to get their imaginations going it's amazing what a book can do once you sit and read it and how many place you can go without leaving you're couch!
@Robochic
My son is autistic also, and has significant challenges due to very, very severe ADD. Games have allowed him to participate in activities that are age appropriate and that give him a common context with his peers.
Playing games has helped in so many ways, the hand eye coordination improvements have been awesome. Games like Ratchet and Clank have improved his spatial awareness and hand eye coordination out of all recognition. Of course my wife and I play games, so it also gives him a common frame of reference with us. That gives us something to talk about with him.
It's not just the games of course, we are very active with interventions of all kinds from physical and occupational therapy to home schooling and working constantly to improve his ability to handle social skills and interaction.
I could probably write 20,000 words on this topic but I won't. PM me on the forum if you want to discuss further. All I will say is that with active and loving intervention by parents, doctors and therapists, Autism can be coped with and to an extent overcome. There's no cure, you can't magically rewire the brain, but you can help the brain help itself.
Robochic & Highlander,
Amen to both of you, well spoken & well thought out.
BTW, my grandson is mildly Autistic too, and playing games with, and reading books to him has helped his social skills along too.
These parents who are blaming video games for affecting their child should be ashamed of themselves.
I have a cousin who was 7 years old when he was exposed to GTA and I taught him how to play.
Guess what, he is now naughty but not crazy and violent, I didn't even said things like you shouldn't do this and that. It was his parents that disciplined him well(maybe not good enough but it's enough for him to stay naughty rather than violent).
It's the parents fault for not teaching their children properly.
Last edited by Snaaaake on 1/7/2010 6:32:56 AM
Stupid mom is stupid. *sigh*
How can it be Satan's fault if he doesn't exist? 😛
She has a new article up, where she blames video games on Voldemort, and continues to spout the same bull she has been. She even tries to get Einstein into it, but fails when she says he finished his Unified Field Theory.
Parents like her are the reason there is evil in the world today.
She is an attention seeker trying to generate hype, hits and micro-fame.
Don't give her what she wants by visiting her site.
I guess educational games were the spawn of satan as well. Who would have known that playing Reader Rabbit and other The Learning Company games when I was a kid were bad for me. Lets just hope this mom decided on getting some Leap Frog gear for her kids… oh wait those are games too. Satan is everywhere I guess.
@kaufdaddy21,
I bought my daughter a "Speak & spell" when they first came out.
And I swear, Satan never came out and said a word to us, even once.
Video Games are the Devil!!!
Well said Ben! I agree 100%.
ok, i'm a gamer and a much older brother/stand-in parent, which IMO sets me on both sides of the line, what i have to say is this: the sickly pallor, that's just from lack of sunlight, most gamers play at night or use artifial light (lightbulbs, for the stupids out there).
also, let me reiterate what Ben said, pay attention to the ratings, but don't always write it off as preverbial porn if its higher than Teen, it may be mature for the use of drugs and alcohol, turn the box around and see why its rated T or M or what have you.
and if your kid is playing a game for TOO long, if they are on a 360, set the family settings, if its any other console, put in the living room, the kid will have to leave there sometime.
also, don't go writing off games as the work of Satan, i mean, look at what they sed about Heavy Metal, and look at it now, stronger and livelier than ever, don't be a bible thumper, you'll just be written off as crazy
Books were created by Satan, the printer was created by Satan, the Paintbrush was created by Satan, the Radio was created by Satan, the T.V. was created by Satan.
Now video games are created by Satan.
Now kids, what have we learned here today?
Answer: Technology evolves, yet human perception has not.
Last edited by Ricochet on 1/8/2010 1:39:23 AM