We don’t like it when boys do this
so they do this
This makes us nervous
So they do this
We tell boys, Be Careful! and Get Down!
So they do this
We say No More! and Too Dangerous!
So they do this
We wring our hands and wonder
Why won’t our boys go outside?
Why won’t they play?
And our boys do this
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5 Responses
Brilliant. Reminds me of the adage, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”
I partially agree. As a professional gamer, i spent my youth constantly outside, playing with friends, hurting myself, getting dirty, picking fights, climbing tree’s, using my imagination….
Why do i game?
Because it makes impossibilities possible… My imagination can become real…
I can be a warrior, riding a dragon, rescuing a damsel in distress from a tower in the middle of an infernal forest fire….
So again… i partially agree. Let your kid be a kid, but don’t hamstring your child’s imagination….
Hi Josh,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you. There are a lot of reasons for gaming; it really isn’t as simple as this post makes it out to be. What we hoped to do with this post was to inspire some soul-searching and thought among adults who wring their hands over kids’ game playing. Thanks for bringing forward the other side!
Mine go outside to play all the time except they play video games as live action imaginative games! The danger of something like this is it “assumes” a position from an adult agenda (yet again), from an outsider… that has no idea what they really gain from BOTH activities. We end up wrecking something else that actually aids their development! Balance, they are wired from birth, they need the fast paced challenge of a virtual reality and the expansion of creative tools that respond at a touch and yes they also need to climb trees, run, play and go on their bike etc (which most do). One does not negate the other. What is the point of creating yet more fear around something they adore? We are not going to connect with a whole generation if we go around with this “we know best” attitiude. I am absolutely sure that this agenda is biased and even…wrong. We need to help children expand this digital love into a wider creative one, rather than narrow it further with disapproval. It is my passion and my work and I see validation for my position every day.
I believe both are valuable experiences. The key here, as Shauna said, is balance. I do believe that some parents misuse electronics, though. When kids are playing video games (or on the computer, tv, etc), there is no need for parental involvement. No need for supervision, no need to wonder where they are, or worry about them getting hurt/kidnapped/in trouble. The kids are right there in one spot. I see toddlers at the supermarket, in the cart, eyes glued to a screen, oblivious of their surroundings, and parents shopping in peace and quiet as if the child *isn’t even there*. I often wonder about “screen addiction”, and if it’s not the kids who are addicted, but rather the parents who are addicted to the quiet and unobtrusive child the screen gives them..,