Do you think kids play games too much?

My kids play video games and play outside regularly. On the flip side, they don't really watch TV much - there's no time. But, these girls can kick my butt in a game of Garry's Mod or Minecraft minigames before they say 'okay, daddy, that was fun - can we go outside now?'.
 
I do think that kids nowadays play too many video games. I really think that this next generation is going to be some of the most socially inept children of all time. There are so many children that are completely reliant on a game system or a smart phone. It is really sad.
 
Atlanta, but that is´t necessarily games. I agree with you, but I think it is more about cell phones in general. One thing that really cracks me up and i take notice too. The next time you see pictures of like an adult birthday party, wedding or just a night out.. look at the people in the background and see how many of them have their heads down in their cell phone, not even enjoying the moment.

it is one of the funny things about social media. Everyone know has a voice, but nobody has anything worth saying.
 
I remember playing outside a ton when I was a kid. I just don't see it as much any more. I see so many kids playing video games. PC games, consoles, even on the phone while walking through a store. Of course, it's up to their parents to supervise it.

I know my kids could get carried away at times as well. I've had to make them do other stuff, so I'm not judging other parents. I just wonder if many kids can really unplug these days.
In my home county not many kids have access to game consoles so the best alternative they have is engaging in physical sports. It's no wonder that many excel in various sports events locally and internationally.
 
Children are just creatures wearing a skin suit. They're actually lazy trolls underneath the suit. So, anything that affords them the opportunity to lounge around & do nothing is right up their alley.
 
I am not saying it's bad too queen, I mean, my older kid learns a lot when he plays, at the same time he simply can't play for too long.
 
I have a rule in my house: if I see their grades slipping or see them falling asleep at the table or hear about them falling asleep in class, I make my children tone down on the games. They're not really hardcore gamers yet thank God and I play with them as well. We usually play for two hours, right after they do their homework and study.
 
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It's either video games or television. Either way, they stay indoors. Not that it's bad, but they could use some fresh air from time to time. At least you know for sure that when they grow up, they'll spend most of their time outside while walking to the next bar ;)
 
I love video games myself, so I'm not one to talk. I think it just needs to be balanced. Like I said, I remember playing outside a lot. I hardly see kids playing outside these days. I think they miss out. I remember having a lot of fun. Of course, video games can be SO much fun too, but outside is a different kind of fun.
 
I think some of these children nowadays play too much video games and do very little outdoor activities. This is also one of the reasons why overweight kids are on the rise in some of these first world countries.
 
I think so. Being outdoors and interacting with other humans should be a daily routine. Now a days its video games first, and home work is thrown to the side, and no human interaction what so ever.
 
My kids play video games and play outside regularly. On the flip side, they don't really watch TV much - there's no time. But, these girls can kick my butt in a game of Garry's Mod or Minecraft minigames before they say 'okay, daddy, that was fun - can we go outside now?'.
The kids in my family are the same way. They seem like they can play in front of the screen until eternity but in reality they do get sick of it if they do it for too long and often they will ask to do something physical afterwards. I think as long as parents are available to serve as guides and facilitators then there shouldn't be much of a problem.
 
I don't think kids playing games these days is a bad thing necessarily. There's been proven research that surgeons do better in surgery if they play video games for 15 minutes before going into the operating room. Games can help kids develop certain skill sets and even learn new languages. I actually know a couple of guys who managed to learn English purely through playing various online games

Yeah, video games can do a ton for improving hand eye coordination which is something we definitely should encourage in our children.

It's easy to say that kids today need to go outside more but a lot of kids today don't even really have that option. In some places it's way too dangerous. A lot of cities also don't do a great job keeping up their parks areas so why would kids want to go there if their only option is a couple of broken swings and a teeter totter than's all sticky and gross? Kids should be more active but part of that has to come down on the schools not really utilizing their PE programs and not doing enough to encourage kids to do extracurricular activities/sports. In a lot of places, the only things that get money are basketball and football which don't appeal to everyone.
 
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I use to play a lot of video games in my teenage years. Wasted a lot of hours on NBA Jam. But you know what, I had good grades in school, I was into sports, and when I was home resting I played a lot of video games. I did it to get my head right. I was a model student, but I need video games to relax and escape.

Kids can play video games as much as they want as long as they take care of business in school and chores.
 
I don't have kids of my own yet, but I don't see gaming as detrimental, unless it's taken to extremes. If a child keeps his grades up, and does his chores, and has friends offline that he sees at least every other weekend, then I think it's fine to spend a day inside playing games. Some children are introverted and don't like over stimulation from excessive social encounters. I was one such child myself. I was bullied a lot in school, and had very few friends. In grade and middle school when we had recess, I'd sit inside with the few friends I did have and we'd play checkers or other board games that were kept in the classroom. This was before handheld and mobile gaming. If I had those options available, I probably would have played that. I had a great best friend (and still do) for almost 30 years now, when she'd come over, which was EVERY SINGLE DAY in the summer, and almost every weekend during the schoolyear, we'd sometimes play games both board and video games. SOMETIMES we'd be playing videogames in seperate rooms, such as one in the computer room and one in the den or living room. And it was OKAY. We have that special bond where we don't need to speak or even be in the same room, to have a good time together. Other times, we'd take turns playing single player games together, socializing while doing so, swapping out who was playing after each level advancement or death. And sometimes, we'd play games together, like fighting or racing games. And sometimes we'd go outside, go camping, go swimming (I grew up on lake front property, so that was quite often in the summer), take a walk around the neighborhood, or play on my swingset. But there's no doubt that games of some kind were probably involved in each overnight visit at some point.

It's a myth that games make people more violent. You know what, before videogames, people said rock n roll music made kids violent, and after that it was TV makes kids violent. Media just wants a scape goat to pin problems on. When the next fad comes along it will say that makes kids violent as well.

I used to game nearly every day and have no criminal record, have never been in a fight, and am a very kind hearted person.

In fact, there's more evidence to the BENEFIT of gaming than the negatives such as:
Improves hand/eye coordination / motor skills
Improves logic/problem solving skills
Improves brain/memory/concentration

the list goes on.

And as for a comment above about games not having any "social" value, I think that's incorrect. I've made a Meetup group with 180 members and we meet and play games (both board and video varieties) together in real life. I am very very introverted and shy, and I built this group as a way to FORCE myself to be more social and work on my people skills. Since I am the hostess most of the time, I have to ensure everything is running smoothly and interact with large groups of different people from all different ages and socio-eco backgrounds.

There's also mmorpgs, and other online games that have strong social components. I've made "real" friends online. Some I've also later met face to face.

I do not think a child should be forced to be extroverted and all gungho about sports and social parties and whatnot. If that's not their style. There's room in life for the quiet geeky nerd who sits in the corner and keeps to herself. She's probably got higher grades and more imagination, and more interesting things to talk about than half her class.

Love your kids as they are. Don't try to make them something they aren't just because it's not how you grew up.
 
I played a lot of video games as a kid, but it was never the "cool" thing to do. When I actually look back and think about it, I never discussed playing video games at school. I'm not sure if it was because I was a girl and it wasn't a common hobby, or if because it was just something I did at home and didn't think it was something to talk about.

After being a GameStop employee for 3 years, I was able to see video games consume young kids. The same kids would come in every week, pick up the newest game by trading last week's new release. It was like their crack. As my brother was growing up, all he ever asked for was the latest and greatest video game. Luckily for him, his birthday is right around the time Call of Duty was released, so he always ended up with the Prestige Edition. Now he is 18 going on 19 and he still plays video games.

The problem with kids nowadays, is not really their fault, it is moreso their parent's fault. Parents are oblivious to what goes on when their children play online/multiplayer. There is so much swearing going on, parents more than likely have no idea what is being said in their 11 year old's headset.

Aside from the foul language, kids are more interested in what's going on on their xbox or ps4 instead of running around and enjoying the weather the way we used to when we were younger. But parents are to blame because they use video games as a means of keeping their children occupied without having to worry what danger they might be in when they are outside of the house. I guess society gives parents no choice but to continue to contribute to children's craze over video games.
 
I've been playing video games since I was a kid, so I might be a little biased here, but I do not think this is a bad thing. Back then, I had friends come over to play video games with me, or I would go at their house to play video games with them. Nowadays, we have Skype and many more means of oral communication. We still can be social, in a way.

MMORPG players are one of the most social types of persons, in my opinion, as they can talk to many more different people than we could IRL.

Of course, if they plainly skip homework and refuse to go out for dinner for example, it is a problem. But, if the kid wants to play all day instead of going outside, I don't see a problem with it as I did that myself, as long as it doesn't create health problems for them (aka they should at least walk/run every once in a while).
 
As a mother I agree with you on this one, I think that as a child I cant recall a time when I was just inside glued to an electronic. Now a days I do believe that children are spending quite a bit amount of time on gaming systems.As parents we need to limit there gaming times with technology on the rise and upcoming there are many apps available to utilize to help limit our children to gaming time but not totally revoke their gaming privileges. Its important for children to have balance, this includes leisure activities.
 
On a case-by-case basis, you have to ask if the amount of time and energy that the given child spends playing video games has reached the point where it detracts from his grades and/or socialization and hobbies beyond video games.

If not, then by no means is he or she spending too much playing video games.

However, if it is detracting from those other arguably more important aspects of life: then he or she should be encouraged to strike a better balance between gaming and the rest of life.