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We're parents, we're kids, and we have strong opinions and big questions about screens: TV, computer, game systems, cell phones.

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Gaming

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No TV, video games for girls who trashed home

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Hmmm. How to punish teen vandals without having a crime appear on their “record”? The AP reports that the New Smyrna Beach, Fla., home of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy was vandalized two weeks ago by teenage girls. They used fire extinguishers, eggs and running water to damage the 87-year-old’s home. Cathy requested the girls […]

Dangerous stuff for boys

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

We’re hosting a “Dangerous Camp for Boys” this week, a take-off on the best-selling The Dangerous Book for Boys. For the week, Andy and his a few of his buddies get to do all sorts of dangerous and old-fashioned boy stuff. (They’re off fishing as I write this.) Today I happened to stumble upon this old […]

Do you play video games with your kids?

Friday, January 25th, 2008

My friend Paul sent me this link about the number of parents who play video games with their kids. I have to admit, I haven’t done this much lately. Until this month. We received a wonderful TV-plug-in miniature golf game from my brother for Christmas, and the whole family has been playing the Pirate’s Cove course […]

Game system myths … busted

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

This is interesting data and analysis on how game systems compare, in terms of game ratings. (A common factor in selecting a game system is the number and types of games available.) Wii wins for the highest percentage of E-rated games. And PS3 lives up to the myth that its games are oriented to a more […]

Wii karma

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

This is a present-day morality story, if there ever was one: The tale of one father’s generosity, a son’s foolishness, his forfeighted treasure, and the treasure recouped 100-fold (by the generous father only). But the moral may well be to be careful what you pay on eBay.
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What every parent should know about game ratings

Monday, December 17th, 2007

I was recently talking with a friend — a parent of teens — who said she suspected game developers purposely insert violence and questionable content deep enough into a game so that when parents “test” a game through play, they never reach it. While that’s possible, it seems unlikely, given the process used to rate video […]

E-Harmony?

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

An account of the Hans Reiser trial yesterday caught my attention with the headline, “Couple fought over violent video games.” This got me to thinking about what happens when parents disagree about screen issues. The Reiser case is extreme — he played very violent video games with his then-six-year-old, considering it an education of sorts. […]

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