Post by Clipper on Jan 16, 2013 15:27:17 GMT -5
We played army and we played cowboys and Indians when I was a kid. We had cap guns and popguns and we had hats, boots, and spurs. We rode stick horses and ran through the house or around the yard. I think the biggest difference is that we didn't spend hours and hours in front of a glowing screen, frantically pounding on the buttons of a game controller. When supper time or bedtime came, we hung up our hats and spurs and tossed the guns and holsters back in the toy box and moved on. I don't remember ever staying up half the night to put he final "bang bang I gotcha" on my little brother or one of my playmates.
As with many things in life, this violence in TV and video games has simply grown with technical advances in electronic games. I remember my kids playing "duck hunt" and "frogger" on Atari and being happy. They were absolutely thrilled when we bought the latest console with Mario Bros on it. I never allowed them to spend their every waking hour in front of the TV playing the games. On sunny days I shoved them out the door to play outside. Video games were for evenings after homework, or for rainy days. Heck, MY kids were always chomping at the bit to be outside in the fresh air, actively moving about and getting some excercise. They also had chores such as piling firewood and mowing the lawn. When my boys got to be about 14, THEY mowed the lawn and raked the leaves. I might have assisted them, but I didn't do the yard work while they sat in front of the TV or game console. They simply were not allowed to, nor did they desire to sit in front of a video game for hours on end.
As with many things in life, this violence in TV and video games has simply grown with technical advances in electronic games. I remember my kids playing "duck hunt" and "frogger" on Atari and being happy. They were absolutely thrilled when we bought the latest console with Mario Bros on it. I never allowed them to spend their every waking hour in front of the TV playing the games. On sunny days I shoved them out the door to play outside. Video games were for evenings after homework, or for rainy days. Heck, MY kids were always chomping at the bit to be outside in the fresh air, actively moving about and getting some excercise. They also had chores such as piling firewood and mowing the lawn. When my boys got to be about 14, THEY mowed the lawn and raked the leaves. I might have assisted them, but I didn't do the yard work while they sat in front of the TV or game console. They simply were not allowed to, nor did they desire to sit in front of a video game for hours on end.