Kids Are Under Peer Pressure............

[FinanceDude]

My 8year old son came home distraught last Friday. He told me the kids are school were picking on him. Guess what about? The fact we don't own a "gaming system" like they do, i.e., X-box 360, PlayStation 2 or 3, Nintendo DS, Wii, etc.

Funny thing is, he's in 3 sports and karate, and all the kids I see playing Gameboy look like they need a LOT of exercise. He has some PC games I let him play, like Madden NFL Football 2008, PGA Tour 2008, and a few educational games.

We talked about it, and he seemed ok with it. I happened to see one of the kids and their mom at the grocery store on Saturday. Sure enough, "Ben" had his portable Gameboy with him. "Mrs. Ben" says hello, and smartmouth Ben says:

"How come Nathan doesn't have a Gameboy like me?" His mom looks horrifed, but the little rugrat gave me an opening......my reply?

"Well, he doesn't have much time, since he's training for his RED BELT in Tae Kwon Do".............

Mom immediately takes away Ben's Gameboy, and chastises him as I move away: "You should be doing something like that instead of WASTING all your time on that stupid Gameboy".........

Game, set,match...........ME!!!

 

[jazz4cash]

Nice come-back FD.........unfortunately as you outlined the PARENT is the problem, not (just)the kid. To make matters worse, she seemed to be projecting her failings onto the kid with her response to him. My three almost grown kids learned long ago that they would not get to have all the name-brand 'stuff' that thier peers had, but they never got bored or ran out of things to do. In aggregate they had more 'stuff' anyway....just not all the newest, latest, and greatest fad-type stuff.

To my shock, they now seem to be overdoing it a bit in terms of buying 'cheap' goods, so we talk alot about spending enough to get quality goods that will last a long time.

 

[Bigritchie]

No video games? I would rather go back to work then have zero video games!

 

[Walt34]

A Different World
Bucky Covington

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are
We got daddy’s belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside, playin’ outside

Chorus
It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

School always started the same every day
The pledge of allegiance then someone would pray
Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right

Chorus

Bridge
No bottled water, we drank from a garden hose
And every Sunday, all the stores were closed

Chorus

It was a different world

 

[HFWR]

I've got underwear older than Bucky Covington...

 

[FUEGO]

Live w/o video games? WTF?!? I plan on letting my kids have fun. Picking previously played titles out of the "Under $10" bin at gamestop just like their good ole cheap daddy! Man - Playstation 2's are super fun and now dirt cheap w/ plenty of dirt cheap games. Of course I didn't get mine till last summer. So I'm a little behind the times. Video/computer games are an important part of our culture now - surpassing Hollywood movies IMHO.

 

[FinanceDude]

Live w/o video games? WTF?!? I plan on letting my kids have fun. Picking previously played titles out of the "Under $10" bin at gamestop just like their good ole cheap daddy! Man - Playstation 2's are super fun and now dirt cheap w/ plenty of dirt cheap games. Of course I didn't get mine till last summer. So I'm a little behind the times. Video/computer games are an important part of our culture now - surpassing Hollywood movies IMHO.

I do have video games, just not a "system"............

 

[haha]

I just spent the money and let them have the games and players they wanted. They still went outside, learned to snow board, etc. But one thing is clear-video games are the lingua franca of boys and young men.

Ha

 

[JPatrick]

he's in 3 sports and karate,

Use The FORCE Nathan, Use The FORCE

 

[martyb]

I've got underwear older than Bucky Covington...

Well, since somebody brought it up Bucky is from my hometown, Rockingham, NC. Big whoopin' deal, huh?

I was just talking to my friend on the phone and he said he took his car into Bucky's dad's body shop for some repairs. I think Bucky's 15 minutes of fame has pretty much run it's course. I don't know him, but my sister and a few other folks I know do. It's not a big town.

 

[Khan]

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are

Survivor bias.

 

[cantlogin]

What's a Bucky Covington? Is it anything like a buckyball?

 

[sweetana3]

As an adult, I get chastised about not having a cell phone, working electronic locks on my car (they broke), no GPS, no computer games, no granite in the kitchen, no new clothes, not watching Lost or the Amazing Race, not reading Janet Evanovich, etc etc.

I refuse to be one of the crowd. I track expenses, paid off all debt, save between 30-50% of income and still enjoy my life.

I will be the one traveling and cruising in retirement and having the funds to enjoy my elder years.

It is up to the parents to provide an example of how they want their kids to grow up and to explain the differences. To make kids strong in the face of peer pressure, you must have a tight family and provide leadership.

 

[donheff]

Survivor bias.

 

[HFWR]

But one thing is clear-video games are the lingua franca of boys and young men.

Ha

I'm fighting to put porn back in its rightful place...

 

[haha]

I'm fighting to put porn back in its rightful place...

Absolutely. And its rightful place is helping us old guys through the dry spells.

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are

Survivor bias.

Right, I was about to quote the same text and say "We're not all here."

I thought the point of the poem/song was going to be that although we eliminated a lot of the old dangers, the new ones we've introduced, lack of physical activity due to video games, and high fat/sugar foods, compensate.

 

[Sandy]

It's an issue.

we don't have a system - kids (11) use Gameboy and online free games, but they would rather visit other friends homes so they can play on their systems instead of inviting their friends to our home. But, while they are going to other's homes, we would rather have everyone at our home - for many reasons, including known supervision and the fact that when their friends are over - they all actually PLAY outside.

We agreed to get a Wii - now if we can find one at the real retail price....

 

[FinanceDude]

Oh-oh..........My son's godfather just offered us a used PS2 AND a Nintendo 64 for $100, and that includes 12 games.........

 

[HFWR]

Right, I was about to quote the same text and say "We're not all here."

I thought the point of the poem/song was going to be that although we eliminated a lot of the old dangers, the new ones we've introduced, lack of physical activity due to video games, and high fat/sugar foods, compensate.

More a lament about the goodle daze...

 

[bright eyed]

Oh-oh..........My son's godfather just offered us a used PS2 AND a Nintendo 64 for $100, and that includes 12 games.........

those grandparents and godparents are always set on spoiling those kids rotten! Make the godparent keep it at their house and he can play when he visits

FD, good comeback!
That mom shouldn't be chastising her kid for how she was raising him! duh.

I'm not against video games - I'm against not limiting them...my friend's kid is always stuck in his portable DS system - not good for social skills, health or figuring out what to do when you're bored...

 

[TromboneAl]

Oh-oh..........My son's godfather just offered us a used PS2 AND a Nintendo 64 for $100, and that includes 12 games.........

Too bad it turned out to be broken!

 

[FinanceDude]

Too bad it turned out to be broken!

Yeah, I'm going to "accidentally" drop it because my hands are too full...........$100 seems a small price to pay to get my son to spend time with me for 4 more years or so............

 

[Nords]

The fact we don't own a "gaming system" like they do, i.e., X-box 360, PlayStation 2 or 3, Nintendo DS, Wii, etc.

Our kid won a Playstation in a drawing 10 years ago. (They didn't have any numbers back then, just the name.) She was five years old at the time so it took her over a year to realize that the demo disk could be augmented with "real" video games. But she didn't know they could be bought in stores, so she just traded with other kids for another year.

We've upgraded it with memory cards and two controllers so we probably have all of $20 or $30 into it now. Someday it might be worth even more than that!

A friend's five-year-old daughter was visiting the other day and was absolutely fascinated by it because she'd never seen anything like it. Our kid was going to give it to her but the five-year-old got a Wii for Christmas and didn't want to trade.

No video games or even martial arts tomorrow night... she wants a ride to a 90-minute college-planning workshop, and I happen to know that they provide excellent cookies & coffee. Who am I to impede the next generation's thirst for higher education?