Tanya’s review of Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men > Likes and Comments
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Great review! I also enjoyed the book, but I am not as sold on no video games. It may be easier to just never give in, but it does seem like they are every place! My son used to tell me how much he as learned from video games, and I do think there is some validity to some learning. It depends on the games--take a look at Portal 1 and 2! There are a lot of problem solving skills at work. On his own my 18 year old son has limited his time with video games to vacations from school. I have 2 nephews, both Princeton guys, that love video games. I think teaching kids about moderation and self discipline is a bigger factor.
Yes, I think self-discipline and limits are very good. We can't completely escape being part of the world we live in. And there is not doubt that learning applications are part of gaming (even things like learning to type and do math are fun when they are part of a game). Certainly moderation and self-discipline are most important... there are just so many people who develop addictive behavior. I used to play online games a lot. I would say, "I'm just going to play one game" and I would stay up for hours playing... so glad that's not a problem for me any more... if only I could trade those hours spent gaming for reading good books!
Video games can be highly addictive--good point! I do not want to influence others to allow their kids use video games; parents have to take that responsibility. I did, however, analyze the situation and allow my son to play video games.
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Lisa
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Sep 16, 2011 02:47PM
Great review! I also enjoyed the book, but I am not as sold on no video games. It may be easier to just never give in, but it does seem like they are every place! My son used to tell me how much he as learned from video games, and I do think there is some validity to some learning. It depends on the games--take a look at Portal 1 and 2! There are a lot of problem solving skills at work. On his own my 18 year old son has limited his time with video games to vacations from school. I have 2 nephews, both Princeton guys, that love video games. I think teaching kids about moderation and self discipline is a bigger factor.
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Yes, I think self-discipline and limits are very good. We can't completely escape being part of the world we live in. And there is not doubt that learning applications are part of gaming (even things like learning to type and do math are fun when they are part of a game). Certainly moderation and self-discipline are most important... there are just so many people who develop addictive behavior. I used to play online games a lot. I would say, "I'm just going to play one game" and I would stay up for hours playing... so glad that's not a problem for me any more... if only I could trade those hours spent gaming for reading good books!
Video games can be highly addictive--good point! I do not want to influence others to allow their kids use video games; parents have to take that responsibility. I did, however, analyze the situation and allow my son to play video games.
