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In my family, the rule was no video games at all Sunday night through Thursday night. A little draconian perhaps, but it solved this problem.

apu 16y ago
When was this? Attitudes and customs about video games are rapidly changing. As 'tptacek mentioned, it's now also a huge social disadvantage for a kid to not be playing video games (or be severely limited in their access to them).
- ryanwaggoner 16y ago
  it's now also a huge social disadvantage for a kid to not be playing video games Excuse my language, but give me a fucking break. I was a teenager not that long ago, my siblings are in their teens, and I know other teens who have zero interest in video games. Aside from the fact that I think the claim of impending ostracization for non-gamers is bullshit, if your friends shun you because you don't play 20 hours of video games a week, get some new friends. You could easily make the same arguments for drugs and promiscuous sex, which I understand are popular among some groups of teenagers. I'm sure there's a lot of people that would argue that it's a "huge social disadvantage" to not being into sports, but I've lived in many places were sports seemed to be all most people cared about and I managed to maintain plenty of rich friendships, despite not giving two shits about any professional sports. Be who you want to be and who you should be, and if your "friends" give you grief, get some new ones. EDIT: I'm not arguing that video games are negative either, just that this is the dumbest reason ever to let your kids do something.
  - apu 16y ago
    I agree to a large part with what you wrote, and I certainly didn't mean to imply that kids would be completely ostracized for not playing games. And of course, I also see the problem with letting kids do whatever they want simply because their friends do it. But a few things: * I was actually thinking about much younger kids -- elementary school, not teens in middle or high school. They often don't really have the option of getting new friends, since they're in the same class all day with the same (small) group of kids. * The line has to be drawn somewhere (and understandably at different points by different people). What if you never let your kids watch any tv or movies or listen to any music? At what point does not allowing such experiences fall into the category of "cultural deprivation" (or whatever vaguely evil term people like to use)?
    - ryanwaggoner 16y ago
      What if you never let your kids watch any tv or movies or listen to any music? My access to TV and movies was severely limited as a child, and as an adult, I kind of wish I had grown up in a house without a TV at all. I don't remember getting anything good out of it at all, but I remember reading books, writing, and creating things on the computer that made me who I am today. I'm not optimistic that what's on TV and movies for kids today is any more enriching than it was 20 years ago.
- houseabsolute 16y ago
  I grew up in the '90s and early '00s. I really doubt that it is or ever will be a significant social disadvantage to only be allowed access to video games on the weekend.

apu 16y ago

When was this? Attitudes and customs about video games are rapidly changing. As 'tptacek mentioned, it's now also a huge social disadvantage for a kid to not be playing video games (or be severely limited in their access to them).

ryanwaggoner 16y ago
it's now also a huge social disadvantage for a kid to not be playing video games Excuse my language, but give me a fucking break. I was a teenager not that long ago, my siblings are in their teens, and I know other teens who have zero interest in video games. Aside from the fact that I think the claim of impending ostracization for non-gamers is bullshit, if your friends shun you because you don't play 20 hours of video games a week, get some new friends. You could easily make the same arguments for drugs and promiscuous sex, which I understand are popular among some groups of teenagers. I'm sure there's a lot of people that would argue that it's a "huge social disadvantage" to not being into sports, but I've lived in many places were sports seemed to be all most people cared about and I managed to maintain plenty of rich friendships, despite not giving two shits about any professional sports. Be who you want to be and who you should be, and if your "friends" give you grief, get some new ones. EDIT: I'm not arguing that video games are negative either, just that this is the dumbest reason ever to let your kids do something.
- apu 16y ago
  I agree to a large part with what you wrote, and I certainly didn't mean to imply that kids would be completely ostracized for not playing games. And of course, I also see the problem with letting kids do whatever they want simply because their friends do it. But a few things: * I was actually thinking about much younger kids -- elementary school, not teens in middle or high school. They often don't really have the option of getting new friends, since they're in the same class all day with the same (small) group of kids. * The line has to be drawn somewhere (and understandably at different points by different people). What if you never let your kids watch any tv or movies or listen to any music? At what point does not allowing such experiences fall into the category of "cultural deprivation" (or whatever vaguely evil term people like to use)?
  - ryanwaggoner 16y ago
    What if you never let your kids watch any tv or movies or listen to any music? My access to TV and movies was severely limited as a child, and as an adult, I kind of wish I had grown up in a house without a TV at all. I don't remember getting anything good out of it at all, but I remember reading books, writing, and creating things on the computer that made me who I am today. I'm not optimistic that what's on TV and movies for kids today is any more enriching than it was 20 years ago.
houseabsolute 16y ago
I grew up in the '90s and early '00s. I really doubt that it is or ever will be a significant social disadvantage to only be allowed access to video games on the weekend.