Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
I don’t like video games… Wait. Let’s be accurate. I hate them most of the time. Don’t worry – I’m not going to get on a soap box about the evils of video games or how they expose kids to violence at too young of an age.

One of the things I really don’t like about them is how kids (and this includes BIG KIDS like Hubby) get totally wrapped up in them. You could be talking to them, and they hardly acknowledge you because their head is so far into the game. They play with them at the table during dinner, which really should be a time for family interaction rather than electronics. (Ironically, my mother has to confiscate my cell phone during holiday meals – but still…)

The first time Hubby handed Andrew an iPad and let him play games on it while we were at dinner, I went a little nuts. I don’t want Andrew to think that’s an appropriate place for video games. However, it did do the trick, and he was able to sit through an entire meal without whining, complaining, or attempting to leave the table.

I’m still not thrilled with it, but I have accepted that it’s a very useful tool when we go out to eat. I decided the video games weren’t all bad when he started to get into games that actually had some redeeming educational value. At first, it was stuff like Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, which teaches kids colors and shapes. Then he got into Monkey Month. (Hey, I’m terrible at math and ANYTHING that will get my kid to be good at it, or at least not hate it, I am ALL in favor of).

These days, he still plays those games sometimes, but has also gotten into puzzle and memory games, reading apps, and games that involve spelling, sight recognition of words and basic additional and subtraction.

And I have to say, it’s really hard to say no to Andrew when he asks to play something that will help him to be better at math or spelling. I guess like most things, video games aren’t all good or all bad – but in all likelihood a necessary evil…