Are Video Games Truly Bad for Kids?

Every person (gamers) that reads an article or news report about video games causing some kid to go rampart or kill someone - we just roll our eyes because it's completely blown out of proportion no? It really truly is. It's a big 1,000 lb guerrilla in the room gamers love to feast on when it comes to the news/media today. But thats not the point of this post.

The other day, I was watching a recorded episode of "Supernanny". (Don't ask, Im very weird when it comes to TV O.o) The main point of the show is a nanny comes in and helps the parents parent their kids better with techniques and all that other crap. The episode I watched kinda centered around video games because the kids were playing alot of T+ games. Then they would turn around and repeat the violence.
(Obviously it was exaggerated like it always is )

But when I keep thinking back to it, even though it was exaggerated, the kids were like 3-5 years old. It kinda got me putting more brain power into reading articles about "video game related incidents" then I normally would with a simple roll of my eyes.

Really, I truly believe video games are a form of art. Just like movies and novels are in a sense. They are literally made in the same way. Now, kids obviously don't realize this nor do they care. I kinda don't blame them. What Im getting to is that there are alot of positive thing about gaming in general.

Gaming helps expand the imagination of kids just like a movie or book would. Games like Final Fantasy (Im going refer to it alot - forewarning), Sonic, Resident Evil, and all those others good "oldies" for my generation really got me going as a kid. I remember I would absolutely love to play with my little plastic sword and pretend to be in my own Final Fantasy/Resident Evil adventure or something. I would spend almost all of my day basically expanding what I used to think of it as a world where anything goes.

It also helps (at least the old games) to read and expand vocabulary. Again, when I was younger I remember being able to read so great for my age that I was the ace of the class. I could use and understand what would be considered astronomical words for my grade level (but are kind of like second hand for me now) all because of games where you -HAD- to read like Final Fantasy. You wouldn't be able to not only understand what was happening but you wouldn't know what to do! Most portable games still do the reading only with maybe some voice acting. Voice acting kind of takes away from the reading experience.

And then there is hand-eye coordination, thinking outside the box more, teamwork, and all those other good things. BUT - you can't deny it.... there are negative sides to gaming too, where this is hopefully like the main beef of my post so far.

When I think back to that Supernanny episode - the nanny went ahead and explained each ESRB rating to the children. I thought that was one of the best things to do because if a child wants to buy or play a game - they should at least deserve a reason WHY NOT.

Games that are above T rating really shouldn't be allowed for kids to play (at least 8-9 or younger). Now, this is an obvious thing. But children still do!!!! Why? THE PARENTS.

Everything boils down to the parents not taking control of their children when it comes to gaming. Half the time they dont even know what an ESRB rating is until they get a hold of the box after the fact their 5 year old son is imitating language from a game like Grand Theft Auto or moves/shooting from a game like Call of Duty or Halo. Sometimes not even the game itself but the people who play multiplayer.

And then of course we see articles of some 10 year old kid turns around and shoots another kid. Regardless if it's related to video games or not
(stupid news media)..... it's the parents fault. Infact, in a way I think it gives a clue to parents that they should start taking control of their younger children playing video games (if they haven't already). But at the same time we know its a bad thing because it not only gives us gamers a bad rep, but it also leads some parents from restricting gaming completely.

Basically, all I'm trying to get to is that.... It all boils down to the parents! The news and all those people who blame video games on some incidents..... It may or may not be related to video games. We don't know ourselves 100%. But, even if it IS NOT - it's still the parents fault.

I just felt like posting this and getting it out of my system. Most people already agree on this stuff enough but I had to vent somehow.