Gaming addictions & others

[shootingstar]

Was at a dinner party recently where met a software developer for a gaming software company.

She mentioned one of the employees became addicted to gaming, that the company did have to request a counsellor for intervention. The guy/addict just couldn't tear himself away from a game and started to talk about the present daily life in terms of game's characters.

And well, it shouldn't be odd in the 21st century, but twice in last few weeks, I saw a parent wheeling their child around (big enough to walk, around 4-6 yrs. old) outside. Child had a minature like laptop tucked in front while inside the stroller and manoeuvring the buttons. Probably it was a game? Ok, I'm not a parent but it is strange to see this with the child's fascination but totally disinterested in his/her outside immediate surroundings. Maybe it's the new way of keeping a kid from howling in public..

[Tuckervill]

It's hard to make a judgment about a family's proclivities based on one moment in time. Perhaps it was a compromise for the mom to get to the market that he could take his computer. Perhaps he had just received it as a gift. I don't really know what's different between the computer and a little toy car that he might carry along and interact with, instead.

Karen

[Mr. Bloom]

Both of our kids had their share of all the gaming devices available. They're now in their teens and show no proclivity to over indulgence. We were VERY selective about the games they had.

Frankly, I simply view video games as a replacement for what the TV was when I was a kid.

On a funny side note regarding addiction: A co-worker's wife, a very genteel southern baptist woman, recognized that she had an addiction to soap operas when she started praying for the characters in her daily prayers! She stopped cold turkey and never went back

[Tuckervill]

That's so funny!

The question with attractions like video games (soap operas) is always "what in your life is so bad that you choose the video game (soap opera) instead?" Parents who worry about their kids watching too much tv should ask themselves why tv is the most exciting thing in their lives, and then do something about that.

Karen

[Veronica]

What I see is parents not interacting with their children. I teach in the 'burbs. My school is 1.6 miles from where I live. I have seen a decrease in basic manners in children. Things that should be learned from the parents. Even my "good" kids are not as good as they use to be. When I first started riding my bike to work my classes would look at it and ask questions about things. With this class I have to cover my bell because my students, even the "good" ones can't resist ringing it. They apparently never learned that if it's not yours, you don't touch it without permission.

Veronica

[Mr. Bloom]

You're right V.

On the bell ringers, is it possible that they're simply very comfortable with you rather than being rude?

[shootingstar]

Parents who worry about their kids watching too much tv should ask themselves why tv is the most exciting thing in their lives, and then do something about that.

It does take a certain amount of energy and patience by parents to limit tv watching. One sister and her husband did actively limit the amount of tv viewing by their kids. They did have other activities --the children loved (and still do, as adults) board and card games, puzzles, musical instrument playing and making things, plus reading and sports. They also did limit purchase of video games and computer games. And how are these children like now: one of them is an engineer and the other is thinking about doing his master's in biochemistry. Their lives have moved well beyond but exposure to video games at their friends' homes probably makes it easier for them to play the odd game here and there.

I grew up in a household where my parents' greatest excuse to limit our tv watching...was not to fix the broken down tv for months. When it did work, we never got much cable station choice nor great quality pics. At least we weren't totally clueless about popular culture at that time --Batman, Flintstones, Avengers, etc. We could not demand our parents to buy a new tv,....even as youngsters, we knew how poor we were. Due to lack of money our activities were more on reading, making things and playing outside. New tv didn't occur until I was around 13 yrs. old. or so. ..before we later could afford the first car for family when I was 15.

Impact of all this delayed "technology" exposure on self: might explain before I lived with my partner, I lived outside of parent's home for over 20 years without tv. (Even now my tv watching seems to be limited to less than 8-10 hrs. / week. or even less during cycling warmer seasons.)

But then got my computer so I wouldn't descend into being an anarchronism. Actually online games have never interested me. But then, board games don't interest me either.

With the video game software developer, we did also discuss about gender preferences in types of video games.

[RoadRaven]

And well, it shouldn't be odd in the 21st century, but twice in last few weeks, I saw a parent wheeling their child around (big enough to walk, around 4-6 yrs. old) outside. Child had a minature like laptop tucked in front while inside the stroller and manoeuvring the buttons. Probably it was a game? Ok, I'm not a parent but it is strange to see this with the child's fascination but totally disinterested in his/her outside immediate surroundings. Maybe it's the new way of keeping a kid from howling in public..

I find this very alarming. I teach a child development paper, and also a paper which focuses on the holistic development of infants and toddlers.

Children have plenty of time to access computer technology as they grow older and while there are many things a PC can offer, it can happen later on. There used to be alot of discussion about how "evil/bad" PCs were for children, and much of that has proven to be alarmist nonsense...

HOWEVER...
At this age, children need to be doing lots of looking around to ensure their eyes get practice in long distance focusing... because a laptop is always "busy" visually, children will stay focused on it longer
..... (as opposed to the toy car Tuckville wonders about which the child might fiddle with but look about also).

Also, children learn about the world by interacting with it... by looking, watching, listening... children don't reach 5 and start learning "stuff" then, they are learning from the momnent they are born (and I would argue before they are born as their senses begin to mature - unborn infants can see and hear and their sense of touch is well developed by birth.

[Veronica]

You're right V.

On the bell ringers, is it possible that they're simply very comfortable with you rather than being rude?

No - the first time I made it clear that it was MY bike and not a community toy. This class will also just take things off my desk or read things on my desk.


Veronica

[Veronica]

Also, children learn about the world by interacting with it... by looking, watching, listening... children don't reach 5 and start learning "stuff" then, they are learning from the moment they are born (and I would argue before they are born as their senses begin to mature - unborn infants can see and hear and their sense of touch is well developed by birth.

Our Kindergarten teachers are having a huge issue with their classes this year. One teacher actually had a parent say something like, "I send my kid to school. That's where they are suppose to learn. It's your job to teach them, not mine."

Maybe this is just happening in my little corner of the world. But it does scare me to think about what our future is going to be like.

Veronica

[Mr. Bloom]

No - the first time I made it clear that it was MY bike and not a community toy. This class will also just take things off my desk or read things on my desk.


Veronica

I know you've shared some of your student challenges before. That's unfortunate.

[ClockworkOrange]

Moderation in everything I suppose.

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

My nearly 7 year old grandson plays the PS3 and these days, I just cannot win any car games...........grrrrrr. Thankfully he is a good all-rounder, has started reading paperbacks for Ages 10+ years.

Is learning to play the electric guitar and his favourite artists are all the classics Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple etc.

It is apparently common these days with some young children when putting them to bed, they have to have a DVD playing!!!

Clock............or maybe old Crock

[RoadRaven]

Our Kindergarten teachers are having a huge issue with their classes this year. One teacher actually had a parent say something like, "I send my kid to school. That's where they are suppose to learn. It's your job to teach them, not mine."

Maybe this is just happening in my little corner of the world. But it does scare me to think about what our future is going to be like.

Veronica

Kindergarten over here is preschool (3-4 yr olds).
And the new entrant/junior school is the equivilent of American kindergarten classes.

And its not happening only in your corner of the wolrd, V. Its about what people value as "real" learning and unfortunately that tends to be measured in literacy and numeracy tests...


Have you seen the work being done in the Italian municipality of Reggio Emilia? That approach to teaching and learning with /working alongside pre-schoolers has been adapted big-time in New Zealand (the Reggio Emilia approach) with particulalr focus on the project appraoch where preschoolers follow their own interests and agendas and teachers support them in their research and understandings. I wish parents could see how much of this they already do themselves...

And also the work of Emmi Pikler (the Loczi Orphanage in Budapest) whose ideas Magda Gerber adapted and has taken back to Ammerican parents, and now the "Pikler Approach" is making huge impacts on how teachers work with infants in early childhood centres...

If only we could get out of the social paralyisis which seems to dictate what you have seen " that real learning happens at school " and are alarmed about. I'll join you and say 'bah humbug' to that idea!

[RoadRaven]

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

This is a discussion I have with every second-year group I teach (Teaching Degree).
I believe it is important to allow this play, because as you say, it will happen regardless.
Therefore, gun-play should be seen as opportunity.

We can teach children about safety (never point guns/rifles at people, is the rifle cocked, have you broken open your shotgun)
Also, in New Zealand, this is about conservation... we have a high number of introduced species here, so the hunting of deer, possums and rabbits is vital to preserving our native bird-life and our forests. Humans are the only natural predators here.

[lph]

I heartily dislike being pointed at with any toy that looks like or pretends to be a gun. I never forbade my son to play with toy guns, but I didn't give them to him myself, and he was not allowed to point them at me. But that was just expressing my opinions about guns and expecting him to respect it.
Re games - some children do get more easily hooked than others. Like me he has the ability to block the entire world out and concentrate for a long time on one thing, whether it's reading, watching tv or playing a game, and has trouble breaking out of it. So we have to limit his computer use every now and then - but that also applies to reading. Sometimes we have to argue for ages to get him to join us for something outdoors, even though he's been out camping, fishing, skiing, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, you name it, since he was tiny. And he loves it! It's just changing whatever he's doing at the moment he hates...