Kicking the Nintendo DS in the butt
There is a Nintendo DSLite in my garbage can today. It works (mostly). It was put there by my ten year old son, on purpose.
We have always believed that outside time, family time, any kind of activity is far better for our kids than an XBox, Nintendo, Wii or Playstation. I think most people would agree, yet I see far too many kids active on these systems more than they are outside. With many forces against us and peer pressure from friends, we had stayed the course and not bought one of these systems for my son.
Until recently….
My wife was scheduled to have major surgery last December and she knew she would be mostly unable to entertain our son through these winter months during her long recovery period. At the same time, my son, seeing what must have been a very rare chink in his mother’s armor, happened to mention that not having a game system was, among the status of his friends, like bringing a BB-gun to a war with real bullets. It was at this point that my wife caved. I am not sure if it was because my son slayed the dragon with his logic or if she actually realized that this would help keep him occupied when he could do nothing else.
But we had to compromise. If we were going to let one of these machines that eat valuable time in the house, it was going to be the one that would eat up your time but keep you somewhat active while the electronic monster gobbled up your brain cells. So, I told my son the only system we would let in the house would be the Wii. We enjoyed (and still do enjoy) the Wii but it has not really changed my son in any way and we do not play it as much as I thought we would. In short, the white wonder that is the Wii has not become a problem.
A few months ago my son received a Nintendo DS-Lite for free. It was an older version and had a broken touch screen but it could still play games. It was really not worth much but to my son it was like gold. We were reluctant to let him have this new toy because we have seen his friends and other kids become totally engrossed in these portable demons. But we gave him some strict rules and he assured us that it would not be an issue for him. After about a month of owning this contraption, my son saved up some precious allowance to buy a Pokemon game for this DS-Lite so he could play and trade digital Pokemon’s with the neighbor kids and his friends, and I believe this is where it reached out it’s digital claw and clutched him.
We started noticing that certain friends were always coming over with their little portable boxes of digital cocaine and they would sit in my son’s room playing Pokemon and having battles and trading and whatever else you do with Pokemons (the whole Pokemon thing confuses me as an adult). Instead of going outside or having Nerf gun battles, they were getting a LCD suntans on their faces.
Last night, I was thinking about having a “conversation” with my son regarding the DS-Lite and what I am witnessing with his friends. We have preached the dangers of this digital addiction to him before he even got the device but it seemed to me that he needed a reminder. It was then that he surprised me by coming upstairs and throwing his DS-Lite in the trash can. His statement was that it had control of him and that by throwing it away he feels like a great weight has been lifted from him. When asked why he did not give it to a friend or try to sell it he stated that he did not want to have some other kid addicted to this thing and that it was better off to throw it away.
So, wow! The smile on his face and the sense of relief I saw in him made me a proud and happy father. I am still waiting for the shock to wear off from realizing that my 10 year old son was able to notice something about himself that most adults are unwilling to admit or even face in their entire lives.
Ohh, and no digging through my garbage for a free DS….that is just Section-8
