Moms Talk: The Video Game Debate

If you have children in the current age of technology, you may or may not have the ambivalent feelings I possess towards video games. On the one hand, there are many educational games that expand children's minds and reach them in a way that no human can. On the other hand, the extreme violence in other video games paired with absolute addiction can drive any parent crazy. 

The worst part about my hate toward the violent video games is that my husband (along with many other adults) are the prime suspect and influence with these games. I see posts on social media sites daily with mostly wives complaining about the gun shots coming from their living room, or their husbands staying up all hours of the night to play these games. My husband is no exception. But, now our 3-year-old is catching on to the addiction. He loves to watch these war games and re-enact them in our basement. 

My husband is a veteran, so I feel he is partly using the games for therapy or nostalgia. But, we are both concerned about our son's interest in the games. On the other hand, my son has had an iPod touch since before his second birthday and has gone above and beyond the learning curve in his cognitive development. So, kudos to Apple! But, I curse PlayStation 3. 

My original thought was to heck with all of these war video games, but then I had an interesting lesson on the Revolutionary War with a fourth-grade class. In honor of Veteran's Day, I brought my husband into school to compare the life of a Revolutionary War soldier to the present day soldier. To my surprise, many of the male students in my class were aware of different types of weapons and military equipment.

I asked my students how they were so knowledgable on the various elements of the military. One boy raised his hand with a sheepish look on his face and said, "Call of Duty: Black Ops." I wanted to scream in frustration thinking that a fourth-grader was playing these games too, but at the same time, if they are playing these games at least they are learning something. Right? 

This is where I am reaching out to the Collingswood Patch readers.

What is your take on the video game debate? Yay or nay?

Do you budget your child's time with the video games?

Do they have to earn video game time based on good behavior or grades? 

Do you find video games educational? If so, which ones? 

We want to hear from you! Comment below and start the talk.