Of Gaming Consoles
The Christmas season has just ended and I just realized how BIG gaming consoles are for children. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my extended family and I was really surprised to see that most of the kids had a gaming console with them – the portable ones!
Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against gaming consoles. In fact, I kind of like the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which my husband got for himself when it first came out. Aside from the price, I think that this gadget is quite nifty – you can do more than play games.
The dilemma I have been having is how old should a child be before he or she could get a gaming console? More so, what kind of console is right for a certain age? Take my nephew, he is only 5 and his parents bought him a PSP. I think it’s too expensive a toy for his age.
My other nephew got a Gameboy Advance and he’s 7. I think that’s a better match. Then again, he felt so envious of the PSP, which a younger cousin already has!
As a parent, it could be quite hard to make the right decisions – should you get your child a gaming console? If so, which one? More than that, how do you handle their use of the console?
I believe that it boils down to more than the game or toy itself. It is part of disciplining your children and giving them what they want at the same time. Good parenting includes treats and teaching children control at the same time.
January 31, 2008 at 12:37 am
If you do purchase a video game system for your child you shoud consider The Time Machine. Your child earns tokens that they can redeem for 30 minutes of video game or television time. That way you can control how much time your child is actually spending playing these games.
January 31, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hey there,
I came across your blog and I wanted to drop you a quick email to introduce you to PopCap.com a leading provider of casual games. I don’t want to scare you with the term “casual games” - but currently 5,000,000 users visit our site and play our games per month. A massive 78% of those are women and the average player is a married woman who has at least one child.
One of the main reasons for PopCap’s success is that the games appeal to the human brain at a fundamental level which appeals to just about everyone!! PopCap make fun games such as Peggle, Chuzzle and Bejewelled that users can play online before they buy so they know what they want. In fact, they actually have a “mom test” to determine if a game will work…that is, the founders sit their mothers down to play and to assess a game’s potential success!
As well providing great entertainment value there are many health benefits associated with playing these games. Many people play the games as a form of ‘mental break’ – playing on the bus en route to work or for 15 minutes during lunch. In fact, studies have show shown that playing a casual game helps lower stress levels by reducing blood pressure, slowing breathing and heart rate and tests prove that just five minutes a day on http://www.popcap.com has considerable stress reducing benefits.
They worked with the Stress Management Society and ex-Atomic Kitten and young mum Natasha Hamilton to communicate these stress relieving properties. Check it out on own Natasha’s blog …..
http://www.liverpool.com/bloggers/natasha-hamilton:-popstar-and-restauranteur.html
Rumor even has it that the Queen herself is a PopCap fan!!!!!
Anyways, just wanted to give you some information because I thought it might interest you. If you do hear any more about their games or interesting studies just let me know.
Take Care,
Aimee
January 31, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Hey there,
I came across your blog and I wanted to drop you a quick email to introduce you to PopCap.com a leading provider of casual games. I don’t want to scare you with the term “casual games” - but currently 5,000,000 users visit our site and play our games per month. A massive 78% of those are women and the average player is a married woman who has at least one child.
One of the main reasons for PopCap’s success is that the games appeal to the human brain at a fundamental level which appeals to just about everyone!! PopCap make fun games such as Peggle, Chuzzle and Bejewelled that users can play online before they buy so they know what they want. In fact, they actually have a “mom test” to determine if a game will work…that is, the founders sit their mothers down to play and to assess a game’s potential success!
As well providing great entertainment value there are many health benefits associated with playing these games. Many people play the games as a form of ‘mental break’ – playing on the bus en route to work or for 15 minutes during lunch. In fact, studies have show shown that playing a casual game helps lower stress levels by reducing blood pressure, slowing breathing and heart rate and tests prove that just five minutes a day on http://www.popcap.com has considerable stress reducing benefits.
They worked with the Stress Management Society and ex-Atomic Kitten and young mum Natasha Hamilton to communicate these stress relieving properties. Check it out on own Natasha’s blog …..
http://www.liverpool.com/bloggers/natasha-hamilton:-popstar-and-restauranteur.html
Rumor even has it that the Queen herself is a PopCap fan!!!!!
Anyways, just wanted to give you some information because I thought it might interest you. If you do hear any more about their games or interesting studies just let me know.
Take Care,
Aimee
February 2, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Hi there Aimee,
Would you believe that I have played a fair share of Popcap Games myself? I particularly like Zuma and Insaniquarium. Yes, they do provide a good alternative to other video games. Definitely alright for my kids. However, I still am concerned about the time spent on video games - thanks for the suggestion, though, Debbie. I’ll look into that.
February 6, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hi again,
It is true that time spent playing computer games needs to be montiored. Interestingly though, our research has found that 92% of casual gaming parents and grandparents have found that games provide an opportunity for them to bond with their children/granchildren.
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this…
So, everything in moderation i guess!
If you want any more information on the most “family bonding games” just let me know.
Thanks girls!
Aimee
April 27, 2008 at 7:29 pm
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