#IHateVideogames
It was a post I saw by a friend of my best friend on Facebook. It was a picture of a disassembled Nintendo Switch and a smartphone and a broken Xbox 360 saying she wanted her son back and with that hashtag.
Now this friend of my best friend was known for teasing him (and me by extension) about being nerds with no life who can't get meaningful relationships and never leave their room.
I honestly feel that it's a cover-up for bad parenting. What's the kid going to think if he doesn't have a healthy way to spend his spare time? It's important to go outside. It's important to learn about the outside world, and gaming should be kept to reasonable standards. (No more than a couple of hours a night at worst, but only after doing homework and getting some time in the sun.)
The kid spends 7-8 hours a day at school doing physical education and learning, and it's important to balance that out with something fun. If they like it, don't use negative reinforcement to take away games and punish them, foster it with positive reinforcement. Teach programming and algebra and do some research on scripting languages so they can make their own games. Channel that interest in tech to something that will help their grades and their future.
Note, I'm saying this as someone who isn't a parent. Please take my advice with a grain of salt.
And FWIW - I do go outside and make sure to go on road trips and travel, even with being a nerd. I'll probably get to that in a future post.
Until next time.
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