Did you enjoy the snow? Are you ready for it to be gone yet? For most folks, both answers seem to be a “yes.” It is almost gone, but it sure was fun while it was here. For most school age children, this has been the biggest snow in memory and it has been interesting to see the effect it has had.
I know in my own home it has turned my son into the snowball assassin. In his world, when it snows, everyone has a bull’s eye on their back, and head, and rear, etc. To make matters worse, a few years ago he received a snowball maker which has enabled him to manufacture large quantities of perfectly shaped snowballs…..just what every snowball junky needs.
The snow also brought out the skis and snowboards, the sleds and fort building, and possibly my all time favorite snowman giant on Brandon, that I now refer to as the melting man. If you haven’t seen it, you are missing out. While I am sure many of us have fun stories about the snow, I have also noticed some troubling trends.
The weeks following the big snow I asked many of my clients about their fun. I myself am a big kid and I love the snow. While I did get many great sledding stories and tales of snow forts and epic snowball battles, I also was inundated with what I would call gaming overload. Over half of the several hundred kids I have seen since the snow responded to the question about what they did, with “I played video games all day”, or something very similar. I even had one child say that the snow caused a real problem for him because he couldn’t get to the mall to get a new video game that he wanted to play.
What, a kid complaining about snow? What happened to the days of playing outside all day until you were soaked to the bone (before Gore-tex) and all the neighborhood kids coming in to enjoy hot chocolate while their wet clothes were in the dryer? What happened to walking a mile in too small snow boots just to get to the perfect sledding hill? Something is wrong here. The biggest snow in their life to date and half of these kids spent their time playing video games. What are we doing wrong? Now, just so no one says “Oh, I am sure they played in the snow some.” I asked them. They really didn’t. Shocking isn’t it?
No, it is not news to me that kids are too hooked on video games. This sad reality has been clear for years. I am still trying to come up with even one socially redeeming quality that is either developed, taught, or in some way internalized by the playing of video games and……I’m still looking.
Yes, many will say it is entertainment. It is, but I would argue that I can always give a better option. If you are starting to think that I am railing against video games, I am a little bit. If your child plays video games, take this quiz.
1. Which does my child have more of, video games or books?
2. What does my child do most often for entertainment?
3. How does my child handle it when I remove his video games?
4. Am I afraid to remove my child’s video games?
5. Would my child rather play outside with friends or video games alone?
6. Does my child get overly emotional when he does not do well on a video game? (Yells at the game, throws controllers, etc.)
7. Can your child name more video game titles or book titles?
8. How easy is it to get you child away from the video games?
9. Would your child value friends or video games more?
Now for some of you, this quiz doesn’t relate, but for many it does. So, do you see a pattern? If alcohol or pot was substituted for video games, we might say there is an addiction, depending on your answers. It is no wonder that some studies have demonstrated chemical changes in the brain mimicking those of drug addiction while game playing. Nothing should have that much control over our children’s lives!
If this concerns you, here are a few suggestions. If your children don’t have video games, resist the urge. When grandma wants to get Johnny a game system, tell her to get him a chemistry set instead. If your child has games, manage them. Restrict their use to weekends and for only certain amounts of time. Never allow unrestricted use for undetermined amounts of time.
If you choose to do these things, it will create a problem…..time. Your child will now have lots of it. Fill it up with activities, sports, chores, board games. Give your child experiences in real life instead of fantasy experiences that don’t even relate to life. Take your kids to Wal-mart and let them each pick a board game or give them a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for a new book series. Regardless of how you do it, our children have to be unplugged. The biggest snow of a kid’s lifetime should never be wasted again!
By Keith McCurdy [email protected]