Choosing video games for your kids.

Focus on the Family has a good article on how to choose video games for your children. While many people would not have a problem picking the right game for their kids, I think there are many that would have a problem and probably leave it up to the kids to decide. That alone can be very dangerous. Focus on the Family gives some great helps for parents and even some tips when choosing a video game. My family owns a Nintendo Wii and we love it. Our boys enjoy to play it, but I'm careful to pick family friendly games as my boys are quick to imitate the action going on in the games. Video games can have a huge influence on your children and consume a lot of their time that could be better spent else where. Time limits to video games are extremely important. So here is an excerpt from the article, I hope you find it useful for yourself or your church family.

"Here are the facts: Total U.S. retail sales of video games, which includes console and portable hardware, software and accessories, grew six percent in 2005 over 2004. The video game industry generated $10.5 billion in record-breaking sales, surpassing the previous record high of $10.3 billion set in 2002. The healthy increase in sales was driven by the success of the portable game market.1

As a parent, what do you do when violent video games are atop your child’s list of must-have entertainment?

The vast majority of people who play games do so with friends and family. Almost 60 percent of frequent game players play with friends, 33 percent play with siblings and about one-quarter play with their spouse and/or parents.

This trend will only increase. Parents need to make an effort to educate themselves about video games so they can model appropriate choices for their children. Specifically:

Are there any real benefits to playing video games or is it all detrimental?
How do you choose family-friendly games? What types are there?
How can you control the way the games are used once they’re in your home?
The content of concern is graphic in nature. Hand-to-hand combat, shoot ’em up and blood-and-guts are just inappropriate for children and desensitize them to violence."