games galore

Yesterday hubby and I watched a segment on The Probe Team regarding children's games nowadays. It seems like only a few children play the usual "street games" that the past generations have enjoyed because of computer and other high-technology games available. I remember the street games I play with the other children in the neighborhood when I was a kid and we had so much fun. We would usually play hide and seek, chase statue, hopscotch and capture the base. Our street was full of children playing and laughing, but now I seldom see kids playing these kinds of games.

We thought of Joaqui and how we would like him to also grow up playing with other children in the neighborhood. We want him to have childhood friends whom he can grow up with and be friends with for the rest of his life. I am not against technology and computer games and in fact, even at my age I do enjoy a lot of downloadable mac games like Ladybugs, Fish Tycoon and mac solitaire, but I think as parents we should not let computer become a substitute of a real interaction with other people, especially among children. There is no harm in allowing our kids to play educational games, RPG games and hidden object games for mac as long as it would not interfere with their school work and not letting them spend too much time infront of the computer.

I believe it really all depends on balancing our children's exposure to technology and letting them experience reality outside of the computer. I think no mom or dad would want their children to have 300 virtual "friendsters" and only one or two childhood friends.