Am I the only parent who won't allow an xbox, DS or playstation in the house?

[MINIBondGirl]

Am I being unrealistic in this issue as I only know a very few parents who feel the same? Having seen other children playing on them (sometimes looking like zombies and getting headaches) I am really put off. I know some parents restrict usage and don't allow unsuitable games but a lot don't.

As my boys are 4 & 7 I would rather they played outside, used their imaginations and concentrated on school for now.

Realistic or not?

As it so happens we still do not have any x-boxes, video games etc in the house (used to have DS's but they seem to have grown out of those): I just cannot see that this is turning my children into superior teenagers, certainly not better educated or more imaginative than their cousins or friends who do have those things. Consequently I have no very strong views either way.

Lovely post Pagwatch.

Surely only a moron would think that you buy a console / Wii whatever and then let your child spend every minute of the day on it. That's a bit like saying - now you've given them a sweet that's all they are eating.

agree with seeker and others..just because they have consoles doesnt mean they are stuck in glued to the games on the telly...and to be fair it gives a child excellent hand/eye co-ordination..have you seen the dextrity of a person who plays on guitar hero....as long as they are use it appropriately i dont see the harm...

ps my son has xbox, ps3 and he hasnt been on them all weekend..he has been out till the twilight hours building dens with his mates...the only time i have seen him is when he has been hungry

DS2 is on the PS3 as we speak!!
It is pouring so him and his mates have come home and they are watching Cloudy with a chance of meatballs that they have streamed through Lovefilm.

I heart the PS3!!
i wasn't so keen on the wii when it gave me ( or mii,my character)a muffin top because I put on a couple of pounds since the last time I had been on!!

daytoday - good job no one has said any such thing then - bit of a pointless comment really

If we are going to point out the pointless comments on this thread it could take some time

I do not think pointless post as a point just because we have biscuits in he cupboard does not make us obese. Just because we have a console we are not addicted "zombies" valid point.

But no one actually said that did they?

Poppy did seem to think that most of us with older children had just given up on any attempt to regulate, control or otherwise limit access to gaming 24/7.

Ahhhh must've missed that one. Surprised at the can of worms I've opened.....

Tbh, I'm not sure I really want to be excessively regulating my children's use of games... I don't think that's always healthy, and actually I prefer to have children who take responsibility for themselves and their own use of gaming equipment. I personally believe children who are able to self regulate themselves are more mature and responsible than those that don't.

I therefore allow my children free access to the gaming equipment (as I posted earlier), with the expectation that my DDs will self regulate. They know it is not good to spend hours on the computer, and all it ever takes is the occasional timely reminder. I have never had to confiscate any machines through over use. I trust my children to use them wisely and they do.

But this comes with provisos - obviously it only works with older children, and I think it is probably a lot easier with girls than boys. amongst my children's friends, the DSs seem much more popular with the boys.

Anyway, I'm just saying that as children get older, they're much more able to self regulate (and some mature children are more than capable of doing this) which I actually consider more preferable to strict regulation. But it is most definitely not giving up, it's a different parenting philosophy, that's all.

MrsLetch, I think you hit the nail on the head - it does seem easier with girls - most don't seem very interested in gaming. And some boys seem to become addicted much more easily than others.

Ideally, it would be great if children self-regulated. But some need a little helping hand with that

I think it quite sweet that parents of younger DCs think that games consoles will be a major problem- unfortunately there are far worse things to worry about!

I'm playing Fifa 12 with my daughter at the moment, we just lost as Man Utd.

I'm rubbish apparently, and it was all my fault.

coconutty - thanks! Makes the visual more obvious then - creme egg in relation to 3-4yo is much more shocking than creme egg in relation to 7yo! He's lucky he didn't choke, poor child. Glad his mum saw sense at that point...

It's my fault when we lose as well.
Apparently I drive like Mr Bean on the car race games!!

A total ban makes it impossible to model the sensible use of this type of gadget too, surely? What about the, "We've had fun doing this but look, it's finally stopped raining so let's get outside now" or "That's 30 minutes, let's do something else now" type stuff?
I said up-thread that we just have a Wii, which goes weeks without use in the summer - but my DC will self-regulate their use of it.

Haven't read all the replies but yanbu! I won't have any on the house either, now or ever (dd is 6yo) think they are a waste of money/ time and would much rather dd was doing something else.

I'm not totally precious she watches telly (within limits) and sometimes plays cbeebies games on the laptop. If she wants any of the other crap she will have to wait til she can buy it herself!

Talking of pointless, anyone remember the Pac Man arcade game?
.
I loved that game, therein lies the sum experience of me and gaming.

I worry dd will be seen as the bumpkin girl at school ( I fear she has inherited my Ludditeism).

When I was at school, computer Tech came in, you could either choose
A)Metal work
B)Computer Technology as an option. I remember saying "computers?,like thats ever gonna catch on".
I did make a nice clothes hook though .

Just got beaten at Fight Night.

I was a middle-weight against Muhammad Ali though.