HELP! Four Year Old Loves Video Games

hello M.. everyone is different with what they allow and dont allow so you really must judge on YOUR feelings. i however did not allow my son (who is now 17) to have video games until he was about 8 and even then he was only allowed limited time. they do get hooked very easily and they can get consumed by them. i now have a 6 year old who wanted one about 2 year ago because she seen her brother playing one. i would not allow her to have one at her age either so i compromised and got her a leap frog. this game is not to expensive and they have a hand held one (like a gameboy) and a tv one like a playstation and she loves it. she thinks she is playing video games and she is sort of except for the fact that i only buy her fun and educational ones. so instead of video games, she is learning at all time. it was an awesome compromise for her and great for us mothers who dont believe in video games and/or a lot of tv at an early age. hope this helps.

Hello,
We don't have game systems for this very reason...but it was my husband I was more worried about(: He has a more addictive personality and I knew he would play until he mastered something. I have one son who has the same personality, so we don't own one. You have to limit it. It is impressive that he is that good, but what value is it adding to his life or education are the questions you have to ask. The types of games should be resricted also and I would only allow them as rewards for "good" activities. You need to try and explain it to him that these are fun, but that sitting in front of the TV isn't healthy and it won't be allowed for long periods of time. Not only is he not being physically or mentally challenged as he plays, most importantly, he is no longer interacting with you or daddy. Your awarness and concern is this first step, now you just have to be firm and consistant in your restrictions of it. Good luck.
A.

Hi M.

I think you already have the right idea about setting limits. Half hour a day maybe, as a reward for something you need him to do... take his nap or rest, pick up toys or help with a task. Set a timer for it if you have to. We had to set limits with TV for my 3 year old, my Mother introduced him to Tom and Jerry and "On Demand", ugh. He whines and cries for TV, but after a certain time limit I turn it off and offer another activity or playing outside, and if he wants to whine and cry about it, I tell him he can whine and cry all he would like up in his room. It's getting a little better. Just pick your limit and stick to it and I'm sure he will be fine. As he gets older you can refine your rules as appropriate, but I feel the same way you do, preschoolers have more important things to do than video games and TV. I figure moderation is always a good idea.

Hi M.,
I agree with the other posters to just set time limits. You can't stop him from talking about video games, but you CAN control the amount of time he spends playing them! Just expose him to different (active) things to do as well. Good luck!

I have managed to avoid the video game temptation for my husband and my 3 year old son so far, however, my son has really become interested in our computer. I am not so worried about him using that as we have created a separate log in for him (ours is password locked) and we choose to allow him access to certain websites. Since he can't type a website address yet, we put links to pbskids.org, disney, sesame street, and other preschool aged websites that have various games and activities, including printouts he can color on. He loves having control and getting to use the computer and I think it's building his skills on the computer which he will definitely need in school and in his career in the future.

You can also look into computer games - my son loves a Thomas the Tank Engine - Trouble on the Tracks one that allows him to "help" the trains accomplish their
tasks. You could suggest these in place of the video games - he might even be more interested in things that are age appropriate and not interested as much in the video games.

Best wishes!

We used the 'chip' system with my daughter when she was younger, surrounding video games/computer. Obviously, these things need to be in moderation so we would give her 3-5 poker chips a day (you can use slips of paper just as easily) each 'chip' would be worth 10 minutes of game time. 3 during the week...5 on weekends. It would be a visual reminder of how long she had to play when she really didn't understand the concept of time that well.
Also, if you let him have more play time in the summer, on school vacations, extra chips can be tied to rewards for good behavior, etc.