When to introduce video games?

[Anonymous]

I’m actually a big fan of video games where kids or kids and parents can play together. The switch in particular has lots of very kid friendly games with limited violence. We also have a project onto the big screen setup, with no online access, and of all the screen use you could consider, kids playing MarioKart or designing something together in Minecraft is much better than watching YouTube or playing addictive iPad games. I also think video games can be a good background activity to facilitate conversation with tweens/teens - just like being in a car, you’re not making eye contact and it can help people open up.

I’m not saying it’s a free for all, but we’ve had a switch for 6 years and I have zero regrets (except one very annoying Lego game my son loves!). Kids are 7-14 now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did not allow them until my youngest could read long books. We picked Harry Potter as our test case. After younger kid could read Book 6, we got an iPad, followed by the Switch. Around 2nd grade.

It is a Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is a story of the bad things about humanity, tempered by the good thing mixed in (Hope).

Don't rush it. They pick it up quickly and go very deep.

Wut does humble brag reading have to do with video games

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did not allow them until my youngest could read long books. We picked Harry Potter as our test case. After younger kid could read Book 6, we got an iPad, followed by the Switch. Around 2nd grade.

It is a Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is a story of the bad things about humanity, tempered by the good thing mixed in (Hope).

Don't rush it. They pick it up quickly and go very deep.

Wut does humble brag reading have to do with video games

PP. Video games clearly replace the time that smart kids used to spend reading. You may think it's not the case because TV also crowds out reading. However, video games differ from reading and TV because the gaming person is more in control and the games are often designed to be very time-consuming. I think addictive is too strong but they are something that most kids will devote a lot of time to if not regulated.

Reading skills are necessary to be a good student and a good test-taker. That is why I linked reading goals and video game permissions. In order not to undermine reading skills development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS couldn't handle school giving him a chromebook. He's in 7 and in 1st grade now and no way would I introduce it. He's definitely addicted to the chromebook and gets upset when we try to do things as a family or play board games. I'm sick of constantly having to police the chromebook.

So middle school?

Maybe because he has so little opportunity to play video games? My kids love board games as much as video games, especially that age. That’s really unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did not allow them until my youngest could read long books. We picked Harry Potter as our test case. After younger kid could read Book 6, we got an iPad, followed by the Switch. Around 2nd grade.

It is a Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is a story of the bad things about humanity, tempered by the good thing mixed in (Hope).

Don't rush it. They pick it up quickly and go very deep.

Why does every parent who tries to brag think Harry Potter is impressive. It’s English garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did not allow them until my youngest could read long books. We picked Harry Potter as our test case. After younger kid could read Book 6, we got an iPad, followed by the Switch. Around 2nd grade.

It is a Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is a story of the bad things about humanity, tempered by the good thing mixed in (Hope).

Don't rush it. They pick it up quickly and go very deep.

Why does every parent who tries to brag think Harry Potter is impressive. It’s English garbage.

PP. I'm the parent who posted that. Harry Potter is a long book series that is widely familiar to parents and children and easily available. When I was that age (2nd grade-ish), the most "impressive" book I read was a -400 page biography of Anna Leonowens from the grownup side of the library. I managed to get through it. Although there were parts I didn't understand very well, not being a grownup. Knowing my own kids, I wanted a target/benchmark book that was hundreds of pages long and reasonably above grade level. Also, being part of a series guaranteed that a bunch of other books would get read along the way.

Actually my kid lost interest in Book 7 and DNF'ed it for a year or 2. But I was satisfied that after Book 6, he had completed enough reading for me to consider him well-prepared for elementary school reading.

Neither of my children come close to how much I read as a kid and I watched plenty of junk TV. I know the hours they've gamed for are pretty enormous, because many of the games have play time counters. As entertaining as video games can be, and as socially bonding, they teach different skills from reading and the loss of reading time is arguably a disadvantage for school. I remember discussing with my older son that one of his friends had spent a summer job worth of time on just one video game. I think that it was about 160 hours of game time on something like auto racing. It's not weird to put 20-50 hours into a game to beat all the levels. That's why I stopped playing video games in my teens. The time investment on a single topic/game was too large in my opinion.

I do believe that video games have some positive aspects but I think they can be physically unhealthy attention grabbers. I also think it's a sad commentary on school that video games can be more interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We never got a gaming system. 16 year old son and 13 year old daughter. They might play at friends.

Same.

[Anonymous]

Ahh...kids are older. DS is 19 and DD is 17. We purchased a Wii when they were in elementary school. Son was probably 7 or 8.

Played the usual sports games and son got into minecraft and some of the other battle type games. He's progressed through a couple different Xbox systems. He still plays regularly.

DD has had zero interest - she might have played FIFA on the Xbox once or twice and that's about it. She occupies her time outside of school and sports with the usual teen girl stuff.

[Anonymous]

My Dad was a pediatrician and never allowed them and we turned out fine. I learned in the dorms how to play MarioKart but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

You aren’t the “only ones” without video games at your house. We don’t have video games and host tons of elementary play dates. Kids play outside for most of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of fun with our family Nintendo Switch. We only use it for playing games together- we don't use it as a handheld but rather on the tv. We got it three years ago when our kids were 4, 9, and 11. Our older two are girls and don't really gravitate to it, but there are a few games we all enjoy here and there. Our younger has mild CP and we have been letting him play since he turned 5. He is very stereotypically boy - wants to just play sports and video games - and he is horrible at both, so we look at it as fine motor practice and social cred. There have been a handful of times where we've had to put it aside because of a meltdown about wanting to keep playing or being upset about losing, but for the most part it has not been difficult to manage. He does not have a tablet or any other device. We just play on weekends, if his sisters are babysitting, or on trips (where we have recently started letting him use it as a handheld).

Similar here in that we don't allow use of the switch as a handheld and it is primarily used by youngest DS, who has some SN, including coordination issues and a social skills delay. It is one of his favorite things to do when other kids come over, and to be honest, I am fine with it, because it is an age-appropriate interest, helps with fine motor, and has given him some social cred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of fun with our family Nintendo Switch. We only use it for playing games together- we don't use it as a handheld but rather on the tv. We got it three years ago when our kids were 4, 9, and 11. Our older two are girls and don't really gravitate to it, but there are a few games we all enjoy here and there. Our younger has mild CP and we have been letting him play since he turned 5. He is very stereotypically boy - wants to just play sports and video games - and he is horrible at both, so we look at it as fine motor practice and social cred. There have been a handful of times where we've had to put it aside because of a meltdown about wanting to keep playing or being upset about losing, but for the most part it has not been difficult to manage. He does not have a tablet or any other device. We just play on weekends, if his sisters are babysitting, or on trips (where we have recently started letting him use it as a handheld).

Similar here in that we don't allow use of the switch as a handheld and it is primarily used by youngest DS, who has some SN, including coordination issues and a social skills delay. It is one of his favorite things to do when other kids come over, and to be honest, I am fine with it, because it is an age-appropriate interest, helps with fine motor, and has given him some social cred.

Forgot to actually answer you - got it when kids were 8 and 6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of fun with our family Nintendo Switch. We only use it for playing games together- we don't use it as a handheld but rather on the tv. We got it three years ago when our kids were 4, 9, and 11. Our older two are girls and don't really gravitate to it, but there are a few games we all enjoy here and there. Our younger has mild CP and we have been letting him play since he turned 5. He is very stereotypically boy - wants to just play sports and video games - and he is horrible at both, so we look at it as fine motor practice and social cred. There have been a handful of times where we've had to put it aside because of a meltdown about wanting to keep playing or being upset about losing, but for the most part it has not been difficult to manage. He does not have a tablet or any other device. We just play on weekends, if his sisters are babysitting, or on trips (where we have recently started letting him use it as a handheld).

Similar here in that we don't allow use of the switch as a handheld and it is primarily used by youngest DS, who has some SN, including coordination issues and a social skills delay. It is one of his favorite things to do when other kids come over, and to be honest, I am fine with it, because it is an age-appropriate interest, helps with fine motor, and has given him some social cred.

this is sad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of fun with our family Nintendo Switch. We only use it for playing games together- we don't use it as a handheld but rather on the tv. We got it three years ago when our kids were 4, 9, and 11. Our older two are girls and don't really gravitate to it, but there are a few games we all enjoy here and there. Our younger has mild CP and we have been letting him play since he turned 5. He is very stereotypically boy - wants to just play sports and video games - and he is horrible at both, so we look at it as fine motor practice and social cred. There have been a handful of times where we've had to put it aside because of a meltdown about wanting to keep playing or being upset about losing, but for the most part it has not been difficult to manage. He does not have a tablet or any other device. We just play on weekends, if his sisters are babysitting, or on trips (where we have recently started letting him use it as a handheld).

Similar here in that we don't allow use of the switch as a handheld and it is primarily used by youngest DS, who has some SN, including coordination issues and a social skills delay. It is one of his favorite things to do when other kids come over, and to be honest, I am fine with it, because it is an age-appropriate interest, helps with fine motor, and has given him some social cred.

this is sad

What is sad? That my kid who didn't have the ability to connect with peers found something that gives him common ground with other kids? Do you get pleasure out of being a jerk to people?

[Anonymous]

Never, if you can help it.