Video Games - Keeping it in Perspective

I'll admit it, our family spends an amazing amount of time on computers, video games, cell phones, iPods, playing with the GPS and other technology. We are tech-junkies. All five of us - ages 39, 38, 10, 8 and almost 5.

Maybe we spend too much time toying with these things, but are we being damaged in the process? I don't think so. I'd like to think we are able to balance our technology time with other activities such as sports, school and friends effectively. We have all the computers in common areas of the house - two in my office and three in the kids playroom which is visible from my office. And, we know what our kids are playing. We take the time to find out what their favorite sites and games are, and we check them out with them.

I just read an article at Games Industry Wire called What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games. The author does a great job of putting video games and their ratings in perspective. It is a recommended read.

I say let the kids play - you'd be surprised what they can learn from their games if guided properly and given some room to make mistakes.

Okay, do you agree with me? Sound off by leaving a comment.

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VMK Moderators Do Their Job

Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom has definitely been a hit with the 8-12, afterall they have created 1.4 million avatars and there are somewhere between 3 and 4 million "rooms". The VMK staff has done a great job of keeping this area of cyberspace reasonably safe by limiting the hours that the game is open, setting specific guidelines of use, blocking the use of many words that kids could use to give out personal information, and moderating the site.

Now, most saavy kids will get around most of the word blocking - according to my kids, there is a whole VMK language. Am I surprised? No. But the moderators do their job! We know this first hand.

About three weeks ago my daughter was on VMK and her best friend that we see weekly was on too. Let's just say she had a blonde moment! She asked her friend to call her and her friend attempted to ask for my daughter's phone number. Why, we don't know. It's on her speed dial for crying out loud. Anyhow, let's just say that the Disney moderators banned my daughter, her friend and both of their brothers (because they siblings are tied to each other based on my email) for one month.

The tears began to roll, we explained why what they did was wrong, and my friend and I applauded the VMK staff for doing their job. We didn't try to explain what went wrong or that it was an innocent mistake. The kids have all learned a valuable life lesson - whether they wanted to or not.

So, just a few more days and VMK will let them back in and I hope they will not make the same mistake again.

Thank you Disney moderators!