Influences that Video Games Can Have On Our Children

The debate has been going on for years as to the effects that video games have on our children, and will probably continue for many years to come.  I know that many of us allow are children to use video games as a way of keeping them entertained.  There are many great games avilable and there is no doubt in my mind that many of them improve eye hand coordination, teach children to read, spell or do mathematics, and the lastest games actually help our children to stay active.  However, I think that it is important as parents to know the types of games our children are playing.  I believe that playing violent video games can increase the amount of violent behavior that a child engages in. The level of violence and realism associated with these games can desensitize our children to violent acts. 

In addition, a case can be made for video games teaching our children the skills that they need to fire a gun.  At a conference I attended several years ago, the speaker described a shooting that took place in a convenience store.  A boy who had never fired a gun before walked into the store, his face glazed over and he shot seven people right between the eyes.  This was a feat that sharp shooters could not successfully reenact.  It was reported that the only connection that this boy had to guns was video gaming. 

The rating system for video games provides parents with some means of regulating children's gaming.  In addition, I would like to suggest you preview the games that your child wants to play.  For younger children, introducing the game by playing it with them will ensure that your views on the activities engaged in during the game will be heard.  This would be great to do with older children as well, but getting them to agree to this may be more of a headache then the benefits obtained.

Do Classic Board Games Really Send the Wrong Message to Our Children?

Do classic board games like Monopoly, Clue, Guess Who and Candyland really send the wrong message to our children?  Some researchers are going after these classic games for sending the wrong message and are asking the question whether it is better to let your children play video games instead of these classic games.  Does Monopoly send the message that it is okay to stifle competition or squeeze rent from squaters?  Does Guess Who send the message that physical appearance is most important and that white men are more desirable?   Does Clue provide the sort of environment (six adults trapped in a mansion. a dead body, weapons, and murder investigation) that you want your child to play in?  Does Candyland really encourage our children to gorge themselves on candy and eat unhealthy foods?  I think these researchers were really stretching it with these findings.  Did they run out of important research topics or are they being paid by the video game manufacturers who have been taking a large hit from the violent nature of some of the most popular video games?  If these classic games fostered these beliefs in children, we would already be overrun with adults who held these beliefs.  I think the benefits of board games far exceed any negative message they may send.  The most noteable benefit of these classic board games in today's society has to be encouraging basic communication among the players.  Can violent video games say the same?

Video Games and Violent Behavior

Yesterday, the Supreme Court overturned California's ban on the sale of violent video games to children. I am concerned that yesterdays ruling by the Supreme Court sends the message to parents that their is nothing wrong with letting their children play these violent games. In 2005, California passed this law using studies that supported the opinion that children who played violent video games for many hours are desensitized to violence and become more aggressive. This law prevented children from going in and buying those games that were deemed too violent. The Supreme Court argued that this violated our children's first amendment rights. They also went on to state that books and T.V. shows also exhibit these violent behavior.

Several of the violent shootings of the past several decades have been directly linked to certain violent video games. One incident in particular involved a teenager who had never fired a real gun before shooting eight people, seven of them right between the eyes. How is this possible? He was addicted to a shooting video game. Whenviewing the video tape of the shooting, it was observed that his eyes glazed over as he began shooting.

Given the ruling by the Supreme Court, it is more important than ever to monitor the games that your children are playing and to ensure that they understand that it is only a game; real life has real life consequences. People don't just stand back up after being shot like they do on many video games. It is up to us, as parents, to protect our children!