Is my 5yr old to young to be playing video games?

Genevieve - posted on 11/25/2011

This is a question I posted in another thread that got shut down about young kids playing violent games and games rated M of Mature. Just thought I would put it up here and see what people think.
"I I do find that there is one thing that I have read here more than a few times that I just cant shake. For the parents here who do choose to let thier kids play more mature games why do I keep reading this over and over "I watch for signs of aggression, I watch for signs that they arent coping well, I keep an eye on how this is affecting my child...". Now I am not trying to start an arguement. But I will just plainly state that I have never had to check for signs of aggression in my daughter if she is playing with toys that are made for her age. I have never had to talk to her about if she is doing ok playing with her My Little Ponies and if they are causing her to think about things that bother her. I have also never had to have talks about death that involved guns. I will say I have never played these games. And that is not because I am opposed to them. I have just never been a gamer. So Im at a loss. But I do know that my hubby who likes video games doesnt have these games in the house. But that is just us. We have many friends that do. So I guess I just wonder that if you find yourself having to have these conversations with your kids does that bother you? Or are you using these opportunities to talk about things that need to be talked about anyway? In our house we do talk about death. And we watch a lot of nature programming. And also veterinary shows. So we see blood and we see death. But my daughter is used to this because I have worked in the veterinary industry until I had her and I have many friends that own clinics. So we get the royal tours. Some people would not let thier kids go see things like that. And some parents fast forward through the death scenes in the Disney movies. We never did that. Kids understand more than we give them credit for. But what are the games teaching the kids? Because I cant see that there is much worth in these conversations about what they have seen. In these games no one is helping anyone. No one is saving lives. And there is no love and compassion. I will take a line from a friend who is an avid gamer. He plays Flight Sim games. And when he lands the plane after the 5hours he has spent pretending that he has flown a plane he says "I just saved 86 peoples lives by landing the plane without crashing it!". I have to say Im short on praise for him. And I am crossing my fingers that when I fly the pilots arent giving each other high fives cause they saved our lives. But this is a grown man who likes to think he is doing a great job while having fun. Of course he is not stupid. He knows he did not actually save any lives. BUT. What do the kids walk away talking about after they play these games? Did they save any lives? "

Paige - posted on 11/21/2011

My husband recently got a PS3, and instead of getting rid of his PS2 he decided to give it to our 3yr old son. I was kind of skeptical at first, but he wants to be just like his Daddy, so whenever my husband turns on one of his games, which include Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption which are both violent, my son will go play his Toy Story game on his PS2 and he thinks he is so cool like his Daddy! He never plays for more than an hour and I feel like it's a much better alternative than him being exposed to the more violent games that my husband plays. He also loves the Wii, either Mario Kart, Just Dance, or Wii Fit, which we normally play as a family and IMO are perfectly acceptable since you have to be up and moving for them :)

Jae - posted on 11/16/2011

my daughter gets about and hour of game time a day (if she choose). She's 7 ad between homework, chores, and bedtime thats all I can allow. That being said, she plays them maybe once a week due to her choice. Set the limits that feel right to you. In the end this is your child, no one else's. No one knows your child like you and you should raise him as you see fit.

Crystal - posted on 01/10/2010

If they are learning games i don't see the problem..but other video games i would not allow that. Hes only 5. and thoes games can be so addictive.

Ashley - posted on 01/10/2010

My son has been playing his v-tech since around the age of 2/3 and then when he was about 4ish he started playing games on the computer. They actually encourage this at school! He is 6 now and just loves loves loves his leapster 2. Keep them educational, fun and set a time limit per day. Computers are their future so they are learning to use them younger and younger.

NaTasha - posted on 01/10/2010

I think that it is ok for your 5yr old son to play video games...but u as the mother has to let him know it will not be a all day thing...give him a time that he can play and a time that he has to turn it off.....mommy and me time is good with him but u can get educational games as will so it want spoil his brain.... i have a 6 yr old girl and she like to play video games and she is doing very will in school and she is an A student...so it how u let your child play the games

Shanna - posted on 01/10/2010

My daughter has been playing games on her V-smile since she was 2. She has a keyboard game which teaches her typing words/spelling. An art studio. As well as a dozen games that teach her basic math, problem solving, letter recognition & writing the letters on the draw pad, grouping, etc.

All the games for that system are educational so I can guarantee it hasn't rotted her brain.

Now they even have a system called the V-motion, which has wireless controllers and games that require the kids to get up and move around to make it through the levels.



As for other games, they made games like Dora or Diego for the PS2 or Gamecube which you can find used for a decent price. Also if you are sitting with them and regulating how much time they spend playing, even if the are playing games like "We Love Katamari" it is just a toy for relaxation and they benefit from learning better hand/eye coordination.