9/13/10

Video Game Overkill

I was one of those moms with good intentions.  I was going to breastfeed for a year then feed my kids only the healthiest food, limit their television watching to 30 minutes a day, make sure they get 60 minutes of physical activity daily and not allow them to sit idly on their behinds playing video games. 

And then I had kids…

I am embarrassed to say that many of my good intentions were just that…intentions.  Especially the video game situation.  We seem to have every video system known to man.  And I have the nerve to get upset that my boys are obsessed with playing video games.   I won’t even confess how many hours a day much time my boys spend with remote controls of some sort in their hand.

Here are  a few of the toys you will find at our house.

clickstartFirst it was ClickStart…My First Computer. We bought this for it’s educational benefits.  All kids need to learn how to navigate a keyboard and mouse right?  And all of the games are of the educational sort so we thought we were getting two for one: education and fun.  We’re awesome right?

smartcycle Next came the Smart Cycle.  This was purchased because it offered education combined with a smidge of exercise.  Once again…best intentions.

leapsterThen came the Leapster 2.  This little diddy was purchased so that my kid could have the benefits of an educational gaming system…on the go! This turned out to be great for long road trips to Grandma’s house.

wii

What can we say, the Wii became the next logical purchase.  Evan seemed to be outgrowing all of the other gaming systems.  He mastered all of the levels on the Clickstart and the SmartCycle.  I liked that the Wii had games that are kid appropriate and that the goal was for you to be active while playing video games…once again, the best of both worlds, right? The Wii is a family favorite!

nintendods

The Nintendo DS is our version of the upgrade from the Leapster 2. Evan was growing up so we thought his video gaming system should to. This one hasn’t been a favorite with Ev.  I think it’s because the discount games that we’ve purchased are lame. He barely even opens it, and this bad boy wasn’t cheap.

iphone Can’t forget the iPhone.  Our phones have dozens of game apps that we downloaded to entertain the boys in a pinch.  They play with our phones more than any of the other gaming system (other than the Wii).  Maybe because it’s always around.

playstationThe latest additions to our ridiculous collection are the Playstation and the PSP.  Terrance inherited them both from our nephew during our last visit to Kansas City.  psp They were collecting dust in his room unused and we couldn’t have that! The boys haven’t taken to them yet.  Maybe because the Playstation is in our bedroom and only played by Terrance late at night before bedtime…romantic huh, and we don’t have any games for the PSP…yet! 

Do you see how ridiculous we’ve become.  We are enablers.  Our kids are obsessed with video games and instead of redirecting their obsession, we feed into it.  Buying them bigger, better, newer trinkets.   I like that they are so passionate (for lack of a better word) about their games.  I just wish the passion was directed elsewhere.  Like music or art or finding the meaning to life. 

What to do? What to do? One day we’ll get this whole parenting thing right!

3 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean! But I have to say, I absolutely love, love, love the leapfrog games. Their educational, fun, and good distractions. I have my 10yr old daughter on a 1 hour of computer time, 1 hour of gaming time, and 1 hour of TV during the week days (after homework, of course)...the rest she must fill with reading or playing of some sort.

    And, well, my 20 month old is addicted to Nick, Jr. Loves his Wonder Pets and his Yo, Gabba, Gabba!

    At least we can say we tried!!

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  2. It's funny that we have most of those gaming systems are our house for my husband! LOL...

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  3. @ Chocolate Mom: I do like the leapster games. Evan was bored with them pretty quickly, though. They are very educational. I like how you limit the time for your daughter. My problem is that it's too easy for me to send them away to play video games when I need a few minutes to myself to shower, cook or pay bills! Don't even get me started on how I need to make them turn off the television. I try to send them outside but they come back in after a few minutes with their cheeks flushed begging for water becuase it's 106 degrees in Texas...in the shade!

    @Katie: I feel ya sister, my hubs plays his fair share of video games as well.

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