There has been alot of discussion lately about how video games effect our children's behaviour.  Our friends, our siblings, and even our parents (their grandparents) all say that kids will be kids and how can we deny them when all their cousins and friends get to play video games.

I admit that we definitely enjoy the occasional game of Lego Star Wars, Mario Sunshine, Mario Cart, and especially Wii Bowling that comes with the Wii Sports package.  But there has to be limits, doesn't there?

There is no doubt in my mind that when my son comes home from a day at his grandparents' after playing video games for hours on end with his cousins that there is a noticable difference in his behaviour.  It usually results in an extrememly short temper, maybe even tantrums or outbursts, and definitely has trouble getting to sleep. 

But here's where I think the addiction part comes in …

All my son wants to talk about is what happened in the video game.  We literally get bombarded with stories about how Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader in the end and how he finally defeated the level where Yoda fights Count Dooku. 

The first couple of times, I humored him because I do believe in showing a geniune interest in what he is doing.  But it has gone way beyond that. He has trouble telling me what he did at school but he can give us a perfect play by play of what exactly happened in the game.

Are we wrong to want to limit the video game playing?

For the past 2 weeks we have had no video games in our house.  The first couple of days did not go really well and my son just did not understand why.  Much to our surprise, the idea was met with much resistance by his grandparents'.

Despite them thinking we are crazy, we have seen some amazing behaviour changes in our son.  He has been very helpful around the house, especially at mealtime setting the table and cleaning up afterwards.  As we speak he is cleaning up his room without a fight.

Amazing.

Last night, with the T.V. off, we spent some time on the carpet making things out of Lego. And then, after a really fun time, he was off to bed without the usual chaos and drama.

Coincidence? 

It's really difficult for us not to site the reduction in video game playing to the recent improvement in behavior. 

What do you think?

We want to know what your opinions, challenges, and questions are about how video games affect your childrens' behavior.

Please feel free to comment below …

All the best for your family,

The Blissful Parent Team