Worst. Present. Ever.
- Author: Tam
- Filed under: Off Topic
Jan 5,2008
Yup. You are viewing the worst mistake Santa ever made. The Nintendo DS Lite. You know all those people who say that playing video games or watching violent media has nothing to do with the rise of teen violence? Well, after personally experiencing the drastic behavioral changes of my child after she has access to this thing, I think they are all full of shit.
The games are all rated E for everyone, but I swear the interaction between the game and her brain causes behavioral changes when she is done playing.
This is what I have noticed:
- Surly to everyone
- Disrespectful
- Can’t follow simple instruction
- Needs things repeated several times
- Cannot interact nicely with her sister
- Grouchy Grouchy Grouchy
- Actually pushed her sister(!) This NEVER happens in my family. NEVER.
- Did I mention Grouchy and Disrespectful?
She has even noticed that she gets “grouchy” after she plays the game, and we have come up with a plan–she cannot play the game until late afternoon, when ALL of her schoolwork is done/violin practice is done/she has spent time interacting with her sister. She can play during the hour in the late afternoon her sister watches TV, when I am getting dinner ready. When school starts again, she needs to finish her 1st semester math workbook(which has patiently been calling to her for the month of break but she has been ignoring) before she gets ANY nintendo time.
Ugh. If I had known it would cause so many behavioral issues, I wouldn’t have let Santa in the house with it.
Anyone out there noticed these kind of behavioral differences after their kids are exposed to video games?
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2 Responses for "Worst. Present. Ever."
ooooh, yes! My kids each have their own DS lite, plus we got a Wii for Christmas. They pretty much had free reign with the video games during Christmas break. When we tried to go back to our old routine, which has video only on weekends, there wasn’t as much the grouchiness, but lethargy. I have never heard so many complaints of “I’m bored!” and “There is nothing to do!’ (something that is NEVER heard here normally). I said, “So, it has come to this has it?….looks like we require a video game detox program”. It is really like weaning the kids off a drug. Now that we have finished our first “back-to-school” week (with no video games), things are *almost* back to normal.
We have a son, Simon who was really pestering us to allow him to use the computer. We told him that when he was able to read and write he could learn about the computer and play some educational games. So at 3yrs old, he taught himself to read and write. When we followed through and allowed game play, and I mean Really tame “learning games”, his behavior throughout that whole day, and sometimes the next, was awful. We still allow very small doses, very occasionally. He is 5 now and we don’t watch TV. The only TV Simon has ever seen has been PBS at my mom’s. He is not well “versed” in the pace and style of modern movies, and when we have taken him to a movie in the theater the same surly behavior that he exhibits after computer game play comes out. We have not had the same response after video rentals, but this is probably due to the fact that they are movies primarily from the 80’s or older, and the content is much more tame and less in-your-face. I have talked to other parents who have had similar experiences. Makes one wonder what a steady dose of the stuff does…
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