See? It's okay to beat your children.

It was "You will need ... a complete lack of conscience" that got me to favourite this.

Although that was an awfully dodgy looking glass of "water" the child brought back. Maybe the lack of conscience thing is genetic.

This is SO going top 15. Maybe even #1.

Reminds me of the Christmas that Soul Calibur 2 came out. We bought it for the kids that year. (no flames please )
For two weeks before Christmas, after they went to bed we would get it out of the closet and play it for an hour or so.

We slaughtered our kids the first week after Christmas, but they soon surpassed us...of course

Clearly Swampy's children will be psychologically deranged psychopaths and she is not fit to be a parent at all.

According to Jack Thompson.

haha, my kids will shake in fear as i deliver a solid smiting on ANY video game they own. As it is i play my cousins in games that they have and my sheer amount of experience always lets me clean up. There are only so many kinds of video games, FPS, RTS, MMORPG, Fighter, and classic obstacle course games. If you have played 5 out of any of these genres you have played them all. I look forward to ruining not just my childs, but their friends egos as well.

Ahhh, here we go. Thanks hon, I haven't had a good rant all day.

I disagree w/ him. I understand the concern, but you can't legislate parenting.
Oddly enough some think it's weird that I'll let my kids play SC 2, StarWars Battlefront, or Halo,but I will not let them watch preteen Disney and Nick shows. I personally hate Disney's material shallow message that it offers kids.
They (speaking of my kids) are not socially impressed or desensitized to real life violence in any way from videogames, because to them they're not real. They never resort to violence to settle disputes.
Instead my kids are easily influenced by the lying and scheming ways of say "Drake and Josh" and other shows of the like and they aren't allow to watch popular "pre-teen" shows.

It's only when you understand your child's temperment, where they are strong and where they can be influenced is where and when you censure. A responsible parent does this.

It's the irresponsible parents out there that stay so busy that they have no time with their children... No time to really know and influence them morally. When their children have a problem or gets into trouble, entertainment media is "to blame". Bullshit.

No, folks like Jack Thompson although well-meaning, just can't think he can have a law passed to change that. [Ok, off soapbox.]

Oh, and Farhad.... I would love to watch my son slay you at Halo

Unfortunately for him FPS games are my stable repertoire. Specifically Halo and Halo 2. Teh sniper rifle pwnage with twh energy sword would be too much for him to handle. And may cause traumatic childhood experiences costing into the thousands of dollars in terms of psychological treatment.

In regards to the whole Jack Thompson thing, I agree with you about seeking something to blame. It's easier to say that Columbine was caused by violent media then really explore what would push two individuals into a killing spree.

To me I believe it's also indicative of societies constant struggle against anything new and youthful that slowly replaces the indulgences of the past.

The same criticism was leveled at music during the 20th century, from soulful gospel music being too sexy and raunchy with people like Ray Charles. Or that Rock Music is turning all young people into devil worshiping Satanists who for some odd reason would buy perfectly normal records and play them backwards.

I mean look at Dag, he seemed to turn out okay right? and he used to do the whole parking lot scene.

Bad daddy! Bad daddy!

bravo swampgirl!!! *cheers* BRAVO!!!!

we feel the same in our household ... my son & daughter are relatively close in age (only being 18mo apart ... can you say bunny?), but there are VAST differences between what we let our son do and watch to what we let our daughter do and watch.

*off topic* my husband and son play COD bi-weekly and it took us a long time to reach that decision ... but you hit the nail on the head ... they are not real to him, it's fantasy and they have a great time playing together (as he's not allowed to play it alone).

can't we have a community of parents like us!?!?!

*pushes swampgirl back on the soapbox*

yea, my parents dont mind me playing games, in fact they now incurage it since i won 100 bucks at the regional CS turney.

but only on weekends...

I think the child was smarter than even the narrator credited him; just look at the brownish color of the "water" he brought back!

Come on, number 1! You can do it!

I've done my part to send this to #1; have you?

I believe this is instantly a candidate for all time classic!

I don't worry so much about convincing other people that kids gaming is ok. By the time this generation of kids reaches adulthood, it won't even be an issue anymore. Like Farhad said, the theme of the younger generation's entertainment threatening the sensibilities of the older generation is not a new one, and as history has shown, not one that has generally ever resulted in the destruction of said generation.

When I have kids, I'm going to do the same thing I read somewhere (I think on Penny Arcade, so you KNOW it's a good idea). I'm going to ban all video games in my house, never let my kids buy them or see them, much less play them on a regular basis. And then when they become teenagers and get all rebellious and go, "Screw your authority, Dad, I've been playing video games behind your back for months, whether you like it or not", I'm going to just grin and then lead them to my bedroom, go to the closet that my wife and I have always kept locked for all those years, and then open it up to reveal a 120" plasma TV with a multi-console setup, along with my gaming computer. When they have recovered, I will then allow them to play whatever games they want, but only after they've finished their homework.

everything in moderation ... personally, i think it's the parents that don't monitor their children's activities that end up having the most problems. i'm like a 'hawk mama' with my children, the rules have been set and they are well aware of them ... there are serious consequences when rules have been broken.

i would say that my husband and i are on the stricter side in our parenting, but that being said ... we reap the benefits of having happy, stable children who are aware of their boundaries.

anyway ... i'm rambling ...

Bravo, Ladybug!

*videogames

Adding video to channels (Videogames) - requested by firefly.