Reply to Video Game Culture- any way to avoid it

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I say lighten up about “video game culture.” It used to be that the moral panic was about novels, then comic books, then movies, then TV. Now it’s video games. Video games can be a perfectly healthy and normal way for kids to socialize and have fun. Just be reasonable about it, like anything else. [/quote]

The problem is that I disagree with other families about what is reasonable.  I think an hour or two a day is reasonable.  I sent my kid for an 8-hour playdate the other weekend (the parents invited my DD over "for the day"), and the girls played video games the entire day, only taking a break for lunch.   I think that's not reasonable.  It was a beautiful day out.  The parent told me, "I wanted to take them for a walk on all the paths near our house, but they didn't want to stop playing."  Duh.  That's when you step in and parent and turn the screen off.  AAP gives guidelines on this kind of thing as well, as remaining sedentary all day is just blatantly unhealthy.

The problem is that kids need to spend time socializing with other kids, and when majority of parents think kids being screen zombies is fine (let's face it, it keeps the kids out of trouble and out of your hair), it's hard to be a dissenter.  We live in a neighborhood full of children, but on a beautiful day, they are hardly seen, despite the many playgrounds, ball fields, etc in our planned community.  If we all turned off the screens and sent them out, everyone would be happier, especially ME as I go insane trying to keep my elementary aged children entertained all weekend while also trying to manage the home and relax myself.[/quote]

So what happens if you invite the friends to your house?

I have a kid who's prone to screen addiction, and he has one friend who seems to get an awful lot of screen time. We invite him over (admittedly less than some other friends who are good with doing other things), but they know that they're only allowed to play video games together for the last 30 minutes or so of the playdate. My son and I talk beforehand to brainstorm other things they might like to do.[/quote]

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