So almost every Saturday morning I get up and take care of Levi so Kendra can get some more sleep. Usually I hang out with him and if he’s acting mellow, which he usually is in the morning, I’ll play video games. As he gets older I look forward to playing the games with him. Its good hand eye coordination, and it should be a fun time to hang out with him. When the weather is cooler we’ll hopefully also get to play games outside too.
The problem is, I’m sure some people out there would be horrified. Video games seem to have been vilified by some people out there. While there are games out there, such as Grand Theft Auto, that are incredibly violent, there are others, like Mario Kart that are lots of fun with only goofy violence like throwing turtle shells at your opponent. The thing is, even Grand Theft Auto wouldn’t be a problem if people did their job. No, I don’t mean the retailers, I mean parents. There are a lot of people out there trying to get legislation passed to limit video games through various means. Some want retailers fined for selling certain games to minors, others want the games banned. I really think this is focusing on the wrong problem. Sure, you can treat video games the way we do movies and have an “R” rating to prohibit kids, but you end up with the same problem movies have. Bad parents take their kids into movies, and bad parents will buy violent games for their kids.
Jack Thompson and others like him blame everything on video games. When the shooting at Virginia Tech occurred he blamed this on video games, even though there was no proof, and we later found out the murderer in this case rarely played any games, and nothing like Grand Theft Auto. Dr. Phil, also known as the beast from The Book of Revelation, is another one of these people pointing fingers. It just shows the whole problem with our society pointing fingers in the wrong direction. Parents need to take responsibility for their kids. We have a society of “not me” and that’s a problem. If you don’t know what your kid is doing then get involved. Do your best. If you’re buying them video games, take a look at what the game is. Heck, they have ratings right on the box. If it has an M for mature, maybe you should re-think the purchase!
If we’re going to look at legislating something maybe it should be parenting. If you don’t want to spend the time to be a parent then don’t become one. We know what causes babies, they figured that out, and you can prevent it from happening. Parenting is a huge commitment. I know I’ve only got a three month old, but I can’t imagine not wanting to be involved in his life and keep him out of trouble. As a parent you are raising the next generation of leaders of our world. Do you really want to let them grow up on auto pilot? I know I don’t.
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