am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

just curious how many moms out there do NOT let their DC play video games at home?

the only thing my kids play with is a leapster occasionally or games on the computer. we do not have xbox or a wii or a ps3. DD is 6 1/2 and DS is 4 1/2...i feel like we are the only ones who do not have video games in the house...

i have let them play at friends houses since almost all have some type of video games but i guess IMO why have them in our house if they arent asking....they would both rather use their imagination, and play outdoors and be kids...

at what age did you think is appropriate for video games?

(i am not bashing those who let their DC play...not my intention for posting)

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

We aren't dealing with this yet, as our boys are only 2.5 and 6 months. However, I hate video games. Hate them. And I have already told my husband I do not want our kids playing video games. We do have a Wii, and I don't expect that it will never be used by our kids, but I really want it to be VERY sparingly and not until they are at least school-age.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

My dd is 5 and has a leapster that she plays with in the car but thats it. She does ask for a IPad because she sees her older cousins mesmorized for hours bu it, but I have held her off so far. I perfer her outdoors playing....

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

I have a 2 yo and almost 4 yo, they love my iPad and sometimes play with the leappad. We have a wii and I won't let them touch it (no one plays with it)

The games on iPad are educational , I guess that's why I'm ok with that. Regular video games are not good for little ones

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

I am not a fan of game systems. NOt at all. Granted i played them when i was a kid, but i was about 10 when i was doing it. Not 4!!!!

We finally gave in and got my son a leappad for his birthday. But we are sticking to only educational games and are limiting the time he spends with it. My MIL lets him play with her kindle all the time so he's become obsessed with ipads or iphones. I hate it because she should be interacting with him and not having her kindle babysit him. I'm hoping that by getting him this... he'll chill out a bit and not ask everyone he sees if he can use their iphone.

But i am NOT a fan at all. I'd much prefer him to be outside, reading books or us doing something together.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

My nephews, 7 and 4, do not own any gaming systems, no iPads or iTouch, no TVs in their room, zip nada nothing.

As a treat, DH and I let them play Angry Birds, Temple Run or Fruit Ninja on our phones for a few minutes.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

I let my kids play, but honestly, they don't play that much. They would prefer to play outside, but the games do serve a function. We will play Mickey Mouse videos or my little one when we go out to dinner, so that DH and I can enjoy our meal (he doesn't eat much, and when he's done, he wants to get up.) My older son will play his DS on road trips. It's not even a daily thing, but for us, I don't see the problem.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

my son is 2 and i have no intentions of bringing in video games in the near future.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

My olders is amost 5 and has a mobigo. She doesn't use it often, but I'm okay with video games in moderation.

We will probably get a wii soon, we will limit the kinds of games the kids can play but I don't have an issue with video games in general as long as it is in moderation.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

My son is Six and a half and he does play games on the computer and he does have a DS. I was so scared of letting him play video games and watch videos on youtube, but I am so happy that I have done. His reading has improved in leaps and bounds since starting playing games, he thinks about things more before he does them and he makes up the most amazing stories and writes books about the characters in his games. Do not be afraid of technology and letting your kids use them. I do limit his time on the computer and we do not have any games consoles in the house, but we might get him a wii for the holidays.

Its not a bad thing video games and computer games, they are brilliant for learning, just be aware of what your kids are doing.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

We have a PS3. I love my PS3. I am the main gamer in the house.

She will watch me play or ask me to play and she will ‘help’. She holds a dead controller and we tell her to ‘jump’, I jump the character and we applaud her. LOL I don’t care.

She’ll be 4 in August. She rarely plays with her leappad (yeah I wanna puke about that considering the price/effort/etc). She’d rather play Connect 4 (badly – just plays with the coins), Dominos, Candy Land or painting.

I do let her watch her ‘shows’ So we end up watching Tangled or Little Einstein’s a lot.

As much as I HATE Dora the Explorer, we found a PS2 game for $1 at our grocery store’s bin. So we bought it. I have a reverse compatible PS3 so we can play PS2 games just fine.

We started the ‘game’ one night. She got to play for about 10mins. Its just basically move left and press X here and there. I help her play it. Its sooooooooooooooo boring. So she will play about 10mins then if she doesn’t quit, I’ll make her stop at a save point. She did sort of beg me to play once and the answer was no. She needs to learn, games are ok, but when I say no, its no. She was great about it. This is her first ‘game’.

I, however, play games. Assassins Creed Series, Uncharted Series, Dead Nation, Resident Evil Series, God of War Series, etc. Some Sid Meyers’ Civilization Revolution (Civ Rev) as well. I never ‘hide’ my video games from her. She says ‘ew’ when monsters come out and like all good stories she will tell me “NO, don’t go that way mama” we have a great time.

Games don’t make children fat
Games don’t make children violent
Games don’t make children ADD

There’s a time and place for everything in moderation. I will not exclude her from this (ironic, isn’t it? Considering my view on candies and sweets vs the norm). But no, I don’t let her ‘Game’ often or for long. I see no reason you ‘have’ to or that you ‘shouldn’t’. I do disagree that the game is the babysitter at such a young age. I try to keep them educational but I don’t care if they are teaching her calculus, I keep them short lived.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

My kids are too young for those games but DS (almost 4) has a LeapPad, which is kind of the same thing, but I do not plan on getting my kids any kind of x-box/playstation type game until he's a teen maybe. They can use the Wii we have already

I'm not opposed to them in principle but to be totally honest I'd prefer if they got those items as gifts because they can get so expensive!

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

It makes me feel better reading that there are other moms that feel the way I do. Many that I know in real life are very gung ho on the whole video game/electronic thing and I just don't think it's appropriate for a 5 yo.

DD has a leap pad and that's it. We limit the time she plays on it and it is only loaded with educational games. There is a Wii in our house, but it is DH's. He has bought DD a princess game (which I wasn't happy about) and I think she played twice. I would rather that she play outside or read or pretend.

There is a time for all of these things. I think that the kids should be able to save for them or get them as gifts. JMO.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

mine only play educational games on a tablet or my phone. puzzles, counting games, coloring books, certain animal games...stuff like that. they dont play very often. i'm not a fan of "real" video games. but...that was the one rule my dad had when i was growing up. i was not allowed any video games. (my dad's a teacher and thought they were horrible and a waste.) i could play at a friend's house, but not at home. i think that did make me want it more, but it wasn't a big deal. when i got older and tried playing some games, i never got into it. i play a few card games on my phone, and backgammon or scrabble, etc. I love board games and family game night, but can do without real video games. if we want video games, i like the idea of going to an arcade and playing those games.

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

Mine are still too young - 1 and 3 ...
DH has an xbox 360, the 3 year old loves to play Guitar Hero ......I don't mind

I think it's fine in moderation - the same way I think TV is fine - as long as they're not zoned out in front of the thing all day, I don't (won't) have a problem .......

What I WILL NOT allow, is kids that sit at the table w/ games or IPads or whatever completely unable to engage in the conversation around them .......that infuriates me

Re: am i the only mom who doesnt let DD and DS play video games?

I let them play video games. I don't mind them at all. I don't let it be their ONLY form of entertainment and I certainly give them time limits.. but I am possibly the only Mom who doesn't see the big deal about allowing electronic entertainment as a privilege for good behavior, good grades, hard work and overall helpfulness.

I'm a slacker mom!