Parents need to stop this garbage this instant. Children should not be playing video games in the first place, let alone on expensive systems such as XBox or PlayStation.
The amount of money they want for these systems is enough to get a decent computer that could be used as a learning tool, but that's not my point. Kids get too much computer time anyway, and that time is spent on what in my opinion is stupidity such as MySpace.com and mindless kiddie stuff. As with video games, often parents exercise little or no control over computer use either. And don't get me started on the third member of the evil triad: TV.
Instead, my point is that parents ought to be encouraging their kids to do hands-on hobbies: crafts, model kits, electric trains, etc. Outdoor activity should go along with that. Top all that off with tinkering with things around the house and vehicles, with adult supervision, to learn how they function and how to work on them. This applies to boys and girls alike. These activities in turn should be after the kiddies do their schoolwork and show proficiency at it.
An incredible number of hobby shops have closed their doors over the last 10-15 years because kids all play video games all the time instead. It's not healthy. And this doesn't account for the obesity-inactivity link.
It wouldn't hurt my feelings if sales and use of video game systems were restricted to age 18 up. Many years ago, some states and localities had such age restrictions on pinball games (remember those?), and pinball was never really a problem in the first place. I doubt anybody got shot over it. Unfortunately, times have changed—and as this news shows, definitely not for the better.
