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Can parents please explain to me this situation? (self.casualconversation)

submitted 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) by Grogon to c/[email protected]

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey, I might be in the wrong here because I am not a parent and won't have kids.

My nephew turned 6 and I wanted to buy him the new switch whenever it comes out. Brother told me he doesn't want that and thinks it's too dangerous and overall screen time is very bad for children. I understand what he means but can't that be regulated with lets say 1-2 hours per day limits?

What I also don't understand and this is a personal arguement between my brother and me is following: When I turned 5 years old in 1996 my father bought us a N64 and we were playing golden eye, donkey kong etc. on splitscreen all day and night and had a blast. All our friends were at our place and most people had a N64 or Sega or whatever console.

And yes we went outside and had fun and were creative. We copied a few games like golden eye with our water guns or other games like Super Mario 64. At home when our parents went to bed we sneaked out of our beds to the living room and started playing golden eye and other games all night long.

But I understand him and respect him, I won't buy it and I will save my money. I just don't understand why most parents nowadays are so extreme. I am 100% on limiting time and nowdays it's got to be easier than back then to just set a 1-2 hour limit on consoles. I am no friend of buying phones for kids at age 3 or 4 or sitting them in front of a screen so they are quiet. I understand all that. But I don't understand all the harsh choices most people make with being strikt and going complete against stuff.

If I had a kid I think I'd give it a Nintendo to because I think it can be good for fine motor skills and in the future we will be in front of screens even more than now. It's not great and not ideal but it is what it is and I think kids should learn early how to use consoles, phones, etc. in a positive way (limited time, under supervision)

As of now my nephew never touched a phone. This isn't anything bad but compared to his class mates I think this is weird. Imagine when he is in school and his friends tell him to scroll and he has no idea how to even scroll? Isn't that weird?

I don't know what they are doing with my nephew it's hilarious cause he can't even hold scissors and he is 6 years old. If he can't use screens, phones etc. I was expecting atleast him to be able to cut a straight line??

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 hours ago

Also, the switch is a portable console, so the kid will want to take it everywhere. Oneser made a great point about a restricted use gift: it won't actually belong to the child.

Unlike late 80s and 90s' kids' upbringing, current consoles and phones and whatnot don't foster real social connections because of the internet. OP said they got a N64 in 1996 and friends would come over to play, that very rarely happens nowadays because you can play whatever free game, at home, with your friends. The internet also ruined playground game talk because every information is on the internet, so rumors and cheat sharing just don't exist anymore, anyone can watch youtube videos on their consoles or phones.

I'm slightly older than OP, I grew up with games and if I had kids, I would NOT give them any consoles. I would let them play on a rpi3 emulator box with a very limited number of games: leaving a whole library of games available would immediately spoil them. Start out with only Super Mario World and Top Gear, maybe something with coop from the PSX era. They'll know frustration and will get bored after a while, they won't want to continue playing forever because the games aren't meant for that.