At 10-12 years old, I witnessed the first wave of video games: Space Invaders, PacMan, Donkey Kong, Defender, etc. \u00a0Most parents had no taste for them, but lots of kids loved them. \u00a0With video games came a new meeting place – the video arcade – and a new subculture.<\/p>\n
From my late teens I lost touch with video games. \u00a0I heard about the Nintendo home system in the early ’90s, but never played one. \u00a0I was a student who had no time or money for it anyway.<\/p>\n
Today, the market serves video games possibly better than anything. \u00a0While there are many great ones for free, the consumer who wants to pay can enter a totally different world – often for under $100.<\/p>\n
When I was a kid, parents worried about the cost of playing video games. \u00a0It was 25\u00a2 to play, but if the player lacked skill, the game could easily be over in less than five minutes.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, playing video games at home can range from cheap to free. \u00a0Therefore, many people no longer worry. However, as a parent, I worry more about the unreplaceable resource: time. \u00a0Home video games being as cheap as they are, kids can play them for as much as 24 hours per week (or even much more than that), if left unchecked.<\/p>\n
Video games are designed to be stimulating and appealing. \u00a0Creative acitivites like drawing or reading demand more effort, so aren’t as easy to do for endless hours. However, even if a child can do them endlessly, they likely promote the kind of brain development that will help with future academic pursuits.<\/p>\n
From my experience, high school and university projects aren’t usually alluring to tackle. Rather, they demand reading and concentration without giving back the sensory stimulation a video game offers.<\/p>\n
My children definitely have video game systems (yes, more than one, even, though the second wasn’t my idea); obviously they play video games at home. \u00a0However, they are generally not allowed to do so Monday through Thursday during the school year. Moreover, their video game time is limited (as is their TV time), while we don’t generally put limits on their non-electronic pursuits.<\/p>\n
I’ll revisit this topic:)<\/p>\n