Oh, I'm keeping internet

your ditching video games? or just making your kids ditch em?

Just curiouse.

Readily available technology is important for kids, it pushed me into white collar crime instead of a blue collar job.

You're slowly snuffing their small fragile minds...

*sinner!

Video games, too? Why? What have they done to you!?!

That, and those don't cost you monthly.

P.S. - I think you announced the ditching of videogames to the wrong community.

Heheh.. Well the summers are wonderful here. Nicest summer weather we've ever experienced.

When they keep coming in the house saying they have nothing to do. It's occurring to me that they're not pretending. Ever. I tell them to GO OUTSIDE, RUN, PLAY BALL, GET IN THE SPRINKLER, RIDE BIKES, MAKE UP GAMES, PRETEND, PLAY!!!!!

I've even bought them various balls, bats and the biggest water gun cannons I've ever seen. Really, I strapped one on and walked around the yard like Ripley approaching the Alien Queen. I just hope the kids doesn't repeat what I was saying. You know.. the "Get away from her you bitch" line. My hubby enjoyed it though

They all hang around wanting to come in play video games. They'll even mope about after I kick them back outside. I can't tell you how many times I've had to 'prime' their imaginations with a make believe scenario.

As long as they'll pick a videogame console instead of a game or a book, then I know I'm doing the right thing.

Winter will come and time for tv, videogames and warm snuggle blankets will return.

No, my husband will not give up the xbox. I guess we'll all get together for movies and/or guitar hero or something. But that's ok as a group I think. Not like the kids do when they're plugged in and zoned out alone in their rooms.

> I strapped one on and walked around the yard

There is no hope for my wandering mind.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

No TV is a good move and it does promote the imagination and creativity. I probably don't watch less video - but at least I'm doing it interactively, engaging a few brain cells.

We still have video games in our house - and I'll admit they're a bit of a crutch for long car trips and rainy days. But my kids still make up a lot of games - lego is central to my 7 year old.

deathcow, you dirty boy...

Good going on the TV, swampgirl. Your braincells will thank you.

<choggie>
TV out back with the shotgun, blammo!
</choggie>

having a distinction between what is ok summer/winter etc sounds nice.

I do a lot of on-the-spot banning of games right now with my kids. Like it's real sunny out I'll give them 2 or 3 "YOU'RE SUMMER IS TICKING AWAY..." "THIS IS ALASKA... LOOK OUT ThE WINDOW.... TICK TOCK TICK TOCK".... and then usually I have to turn it off and kick them out.

Summer is what there? Like about a week and a half?

Got me to thinking about what I did in my younger days.

Lincoln Logs
Tinker Toys
Legos
Mouse Trap
Operation
Chinese Checkers
Tonka Trucks
Built Models
Building Forts with lots of wood and nails
Making rubber band guns
Pickle (baseball)
Horse (basketball)
Around the world (basketball)
Smear the queer
Hide and Seek
Door bell ditch

Those were the days.

Smear the queer?

^ Crazy name for a game (30 years ago).

From the Urban Dictionary
"Smear the Queer" is a childhood game of tag involving an object that is held by the "it" kid until he is tackled and forced to give it up.
"Smear the Queer" How it Works: The kid who has the ball (or stick, or balled up shirt, or whatever object is used) is "it" and therefore the "queer". The rest of the kids chase the "it" kid down until he is tackled (usually in a dog pile fashion). The caught kid then tosses the object away where the other kids gather around it and wait to see who has the guts to pick it up and start running. There is a big advantage to being quick on the pickup so as to get a better running start. There are no scores and no one "wins". It is a childhood game of bravado designed to blow off boyhood energy.

Note #1: I use the masculine to describe the participants because I have yet to meet a woman who's played this game.

Note #2: The use of the word "queer" is not homophobic in this game. It's used as catchy name to describe the game. The "queer" in this sense is just the kid who's it. Because it's completely voluntary to be the "queer", and being the "queer" requires a certain amount of bravery, it is not used in the derogatory in this this particular usage.

Your shout out goes to all the mothers (real mothers) of the planet , and around the globe-*quality

Phase one complete. Next stop: Video Games

....o_O... A WITCH, A WITCH, BURN HER!!!

Wow. That's a great move for your kids.

If/when we have kids I'd like to do the same, but I know I couldn't because the missus and I enjoy it too much.

Kudos to you, sg. So how much are you selling your plasma for and will you ship it cross country?

>> ^swampgirl:
Summer is what there? Like about a week and a half?


Close. It's hit 70 once so far this year. I think we're still waiting for summer to start. I'll get back to you when it does.

^ we have an LCD and nope, it's staying My husband swears he's ordering cable again for football season. I say it's a perfect excuse to go to a sports bar.

I'm sure by Christmas we'll get it back. We like The Tudors and BSG.

Do not eliminate video games. Rather control who video games they play.

I learnt more about Capitlism, Economics and Resource management in Capitalism Plus then I did in 4 years of University.

Video games especially strategy games teach kids alot about strategic thinking. Alot of my military history interests come from playing games.

>> ^lucky760:
So how much are you selling your plasma for and will you ship it cross country?

>> ^swampgirl:
^ we have an LCD and nope, it's staying


Oh, no, you misunderstand- I was asking for blood.

Yo fuck TV it's shit.

But Farhad is right about some computer games. We had neighbours who had twins, and they could fill the whole map of Sim City with a fully functioning, stable community, generating millions of dollars a day. When they were seven years old.

Whereas, another kid i know is 10 and all he can do is put cheat codes into Grand Theft Auto and fly around the screen stuck to a rocketpowered sex doll.

Lucky, BLOOD???! Whatever for? I tried that once back in the poor college days and had a seizure for my trouble. That plasma thing is a BAD idea kids.

Plasma? Ok.. I can only mean you are referring to an infusion of SG wisdom? heheh.
---
Mink, Farhad... I agree with the computer games. I gave my 9 year old boy my old desktop. He dug up my old games; Pharaoh, Age of Empires, Sim City etc.. and went to town with them. He especially enjoyed AOE. He's learned quite a bit from them.

smear the queer? in my day we always used a (american) football and called it "Fumble Rumble"