I'm not a huge fan of video games. I'm kind of old-fashioned and would rather have my boys playing outside or building Lego towers than shooting zombies. I know, crazy.
So you can imagine my feelings the other night when I found out my 14yo's friend had brought a M-rated game to our house and the older boys had played it while the younger boys watched.
We had a big talk about how M-rated games are just like R-rated movies and neither are allowed into our house.
The boys were pretty good about it, but we did get the argument, "We're the only ones who can't play M-rated games." I know that's not true, but I understand why they feel that way.
Any advice on how to curb the video game desire, especially for violent games?
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We're a family of video game lovers. We have every console that's been made starting with the Atari and Nintendo.We also have tons of games for each. The games we bought weren't very violent... the Mario's, TMNT, Legend of Zelda, Shadowgate.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were sometimes worse than the kids when it came to how much time spent playing. We would spend hours playing (especially TMNT), until we learned how to get extra lives.
Now the kids are grown and buy their own games, and I do know that my oldest son and his family play violent games. Nothing we can do though.
As far as someone bringing violent games into your home, my suggestion would be to tell them that they have to show the game to you first so that you can determine if they are allowed to play it or not. There are so many fun games out there that are non violent. And some that are rated M are not really that bad. You just have to check them out first.
When my oldest son was about 13, we bought him a basketball net and pole and set it up by the driveway. He fell in love with it and the time he spent playing video games was cut to about 1/3 of what it was before because he spent most of his time outside playing basketball. My advice would be to find something else that your boys love more than playing video games.
Thanks, Vicki. That's awesome that you enjoyed the games with them. I'll play Just Dance and Wipeout, but anything with a controller is beyond me!
DeleteI really appreciate your advice. You're very right about finding something they enjoy more. I think when our valley thaws out and we can go outside it will help a lot!