Parents Angry over Educational Video Game.

[mystictiger]

Were I a parent, I'd rather my kid was taught in an interactive, face-to-face manner with a teacher or some other educator that promoted interaction and socialisation.

Given that this is an internet forum, we are all going to have a pro-computer bias.

[Oniya]

Face-to-face is usually best for learning.  Next would be live-chat, or some other situation where questions can be asked and answered.  Video games would be used for studying and review.

[Caela]

Were I a parent, I'd rather my kid was taught in an interactive, face-to-face manner with a teacher or some other educator that promoted interaction and socialisation.

Given that this is an internet forum, we are all going to have a pro-computer bias.

The face-to-face is what they get in school. The video game would be review and to re-enforce what was learned in school, in a fun manner, at home.

[Leo]

Hmmm... I don't understand the problem some people have with video games. I've been playing video games for like 20 years now and I've never been obese or stupid. Games do not make you any worse than books do, if you know what I mean. A neglected kid will turn into a retarded and obese reflection of parental failure whether he/she plays video games or not.

My brother is 10 years younger than me and since my father was always away for work, I had to be his father most of the time. In fact, I still have to be more often than not. I've taught him what my father taught me. I've disciplined him like my father disciplined me. I've also shared my entertainment with him : Video games. He plays them even more than I do and it sometimes makes me want to smack the back of his head and tell him to take a break. The thing is, he's kinda smarter than me now and he's more successful than I was at his age.

If playing video games were really so horrible that we must all avoid it like the plague, shouldn't they have made us (my brother and me) obese and retarded? Shouldn't we have been turned into delusional individuals who can't tell reality from games, as  games are often claimed to cause?

Seriously, being a well advised and good parent is the only issue here. It's not like my brother and I are the only ones I can show you as examples. I have about 7 friends who play video games since as long as they can remember and they are quite normal people. A child turning into anything unpleasant is entirely about the lack of good parentage. Games or TV or whatever can not harm your child if you are being a proper parent.

Parents who do not agree with me, please do not take offense. I wouldn't dare judge anyone's parentage here, I'm just talking about what I know, from personal observation, to be facts.

[Gracie]

These parents are overreacting, imo. "Feeding an addiction"? Ha! If the kids have an addiction to anything it is most likely the parents fault. It also looks like its only a few parents. I bet most parents don't have a problem with this game. I remember in elementary school we would play games on the computer. Math games, spelling games, typing games, etc. They were all educational, and I think the games really helped with learning, especially with learning how to type.

Allow me to submit this evidence, if I may.

This is the full episode of Penn & Teller: BS concerning this topic, segmented into three parts. Copy and paste it into your browser then draw your own conclusion once you watched all three segments.

youtube.com/watch?v=LWr4htYp9dM <--- Part one.
youtube.com/watch?v=MZ7comwLPFY <--- Part two.
youtube.com/watch?v=GLBx9XOhsm8 <--- Part three.

Oh, yes. That is a good episode of BS.

[Oniya]

I confess to an addiction.  I can't get enough of this one activity.  Sure, it introduces me to new concepts and broadens my horizons, but it's gotten to the point that I spend as many waking hours as possible engaged in it.  I can't pass by a store display without at least looking at the new arrivals, and heaven help me if I actually have some spare cash.  I've even stayed up well past when I should have been in bed engaging in this activity - hell, sometimes I even take it to bed with me.  Even the bathroom isn't immune to being used as a place to indulge my addiction.



I was talking about reading.  What did you think I meant?   

[BlisteredBlood]

I confess to an addiction.  I can't get enough of this one activity.  Sure, it introduces me to new concepts and broadens my horizons, but it's gotten to the point that I spend as many waking hours as possible engaged in it.  I can't pass by a store display without at least looking at the new arrivals, and heaven help me if I actually have some spare cash.  I've even stayed up well past when I should have been in bed engaging in this activity - hell, sometimes I even take it to bed with me.  Even the bathroom isn't immune to being used as a place to indulge my addiction.



I was talking about reading.  What did you think I meant?   

O_O


I see what you did there. =_=

[Trieste]

I was talking about reading.  What did you think I meant?   

Math.

[Oniya]

Very few store displays for that, Trie 

[Trieste]

Calculators!

[Leo]

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