Raising children has never been an easy job-I, for one, will admit it is far more difficult than being a neurosurgeon. And no matter what we think, each generation is as different from their parents as the parents were from their parents. Difficult as it may be, being a parent carries with it important responsibility to help develop individuals who can become responsible, contributing members of society-to provide a framework of understanding, of commitment, of right and wrong. Non-parenting is just not an option, not fair to the children, not fair to society.
While there is no right answer, we made the decision to raise our children during their early years with limited TV exposure and little or no computer access. Many scoffed at us for a whole variety of reasons until the hard studies started to prove that curtailing this activity led to better school performance, fewer behavior problems, etc.
It is no surprise, then that increasing studies are emerging (
Violent Video Games Bad) detailing the potential harm of violent video games-especially at early age, for prolonged periods, and those with the most realistic violence.
As a neurosurgeon, I have too often witnessed the sad results of violent youth-the wasted lives, the uncontrollable tears. Certainly video games are not solely to blame, the problem is far more complex. But why expose ourselves to any added risk of such devastating actions.
Maybe this "hobby" has become too ingrained in our culture to expect change...but they said that about many negative cultural phenomena in our past (slavery, segregation, women's right to vote, women as physicians/astronauts/lawyers). Change can happen.
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