Video Games

I love video games. At one point I loved them so much it was hurting my marriage so I all but gave them up.

Lately I've been jonesing to buy a Wii. It looks like fun, but two things are stopping me.

1.) I don't think the games are good for kids. It is only a personal opinion, but I think it contributes to the rise in ADHD as I think television does. Believing that, I can hardly indulge knowing the kids will be included. On rare occasions dg5 and I will play a racing/crash game. I don't like the way it makes me feel when we play together. For that reason I refrain foremost.

2.) In my last stake the number one reason for divorce was not infidelity, or pornography, or money issues, it was video games. Men would not put the games away to be with their families. What an empty existence. To that point there are signs of addictive inclinations and incidents in my family. These have never been healthy. Knowing the kids may have a predisposition to addicitions and knowing that video game studies have proven the games are addictive, how can I put the two together?

I am sometimes a lazy parent. I would prefer "wrastling" to reading or playing a game. I do both, but I very much want to try harder to be a more engaged parent and "wrastling" isn't going to get me there.

The end game is I want healthy children. One day I will die and when they look back I want them to know I loved them because I gave them the most precious thing I have to give, my time. It is not enough to feel love. Love is a do word, a verb, an action. Do = Love, Do Not, but feel Love = Broken, Do Not = no love.

And I think a notch up from that is to give them the very best time I have. Sometimes that will be wrestling, but more often than not it will be exploring, or playing pretend, or reading, or teaching and sometimes just laying with them so they can get to sleep. I love being a Father.

He's trying and he likes it for awhile

Look at the smile on his face. Man does he love the parent tunnel. He wasn't the animal I thought he would be. At one point he just walked off of the field. Quite frankly I think 3 is too young for him. Another year or two and he'll be ready I think.

It didn't help that his cousin Z was there. All he wanted to do is play with him. wg looks up to him as he does his brother. He very much wants to be part of their world and they very much want to just play between the two of them.

It's a hard thing. I think dg and I will have a talk soon. I want him to know that his brother loves and admires him and that love his brother unconditionally offers is a precious trust that dg5 should strive to be grateful for, respect and honor, as annoying as it may seem sometimes.

I am very grateful for both of my sons.

I thought he wouldn't have the taste for it

His first game. It was great fun to see him. I thought he would stand around, pick at the grass be disinterested, but the kid was a defensive animal. I'm telling you, I'll bet he caused 4 or 5 kid pile ups, running head long into the packs of kids coming towards the goal he was defending, running up from beside them and kicking the ball away. When I say it was great fun I'm not kidding. I really enjoyed it.

In fact, if he plays again I think I'd like to coach. On defense I give him a 9 out of 10. On offense he needs to learn how to dribble. Compared to the other kids he's just like them, but once he gets it I think he'll do well.

I mean wow, what fun. What a change.