Friday, June 22, 2007

Lisa made an interesting comment on my last post. She mentioned how this game was the cause of some terrible marriage problems friend's of hers were having.

I thought about this. My guess is that it is probably the husband who has an addiction problem. He probably plays all the time, never spending time with his family and ignoring his duties.

There a quite a few addictions that can cause the same strife in any home. To name a few, Pornography, and alcohol, which are very dangerous in and of themselves. Then there are games.

Whether you play on a computer or play a gameboy or Xbox. I used to be against these things. I have learned since I have aged that these things are not bad in and of themselves but do need to be regulated. WoW is a huge incentive for my kids. I love how they can get their stuff done fast to play. They only get an hour after their things are done and if they want more time, they have to do another job.

The fun thing at our house is that we all like the game so we actually spend time together watching each other play. It drives me crazy to watch Bry play! He lets himself get killed while I would run away! His pride doesn't let him be a chicken! It is so fun. What I really want to do is buy a laptop so we can run around together. I know a couple that do that. They don't go to movies, they don't watch tv, they like to play together.

Addictions like over eating, or shopping when you have no money, or other things like ignoring your home and kids while playing would definitely fall under the line in my opinion. I think it comes down to being a mature adult and mature parent.

We as parents need to teach our kids to take care of responsibility first and make play time at anything, the reward. It is too bad that there are so many people who struggle with this. It can ruin lives and families. On the flip side of the coin, it can bring a family close and give them something in common and fun to do together that is no more of a waste of time than watching tv would be.

Be careful folks. Don't judge a book by it's cover. I used to do that where games are concerned. Life doesn't always have to be a "test". I believe we can have a little fun too!

4 comments:

Jeri said...

true, true. There are lots of "good" things in this world that the adversary uses to destroy people and families.
I know a few couples in our ward that were having troubles over some internet game. It was just like you said - in these cases it was the husbands. In one case the husband lost his job and wouldn't look for work, he just sat at home all day and played games. One husband (former member of bishopric) stopped spening time with his kids, wife, (intimacy), everything - just wanted to play. The first couple got divorced. the second - the husband recognized (with help from his wife) that this was a BIG problem and he stoped playing altogether.

All of these things - gaming, tv, movies, porn, even good things like reading good books - can be bad if we are not in control of ourselves. (Just ask me about solitaire and sudoku...I know all about addictions)

As long as you are in control and it is bringing your family closer together - you go girl!

Anonymous said...

"rated over 17".
"possibly violent".
"possibly addictive".
"no more of a waste of time than t.v."
"he let's himself get killed"????
"his pride doesn't let him become a chicken"?????
"...because he feels women are meaner."????
assuming this is a "male" problem.
assuming that men who "never spend time with their families" also "ignore their duties."
assuming that others are judging "books" when indeed this post also judges men in general as being addictive and those who are concerned and/or warning are judging the game and those who play it.

in all the world, of all the choices for motivation, is this THE thing you really want your kids reaching for? Is there nothing better? What about building a treehouse for the family or earing money for a vacation or special camp?

Spending time "watching each other play" makes about as much sense as getting to know your date at the movies.

A warning bell as been rung and i think you will be hearing Lisa'a words ringing in a few years.

thank you Lisa for being a good and brave friend and saying what needs to be said.

hi, it's me! melissa c said...

I think if you are going to write a comment like that, then you ought to have the guts to say who you really are.

Why are you so insecure with your opinion that you can't even be honest about who it is coming from?

I have no problem with people sharing their honest opinions but I do resent it coming from someone who is too afraid to stand up for what they think and let everyone know who they are!

Melessa Gregg said...

anonymous-I strongly recommend that you steer clear of my blog. My husband and I are converts and there are a lot more threatening things in this world than a little WoW between a husband and wife.

This is likely none of my business, but Melissa C. is one of the few LDS bloggers I know who willingly links to me and even admits that she enjoys what I write and I just won't let her be picked on over something so...trivial in the eternal scheme of things.