Not many of you may know about my small 6 month addiction to World of Warcraft (WOW). Yes, go ahead and laugh (I really can't believe I'm blogging about this?!). What is WOW? It is orcs, taurens, trolls, and other ugly animated characters that go on quests to earn levels. There were 70 levels when I played (I reached 65, many say the game really began at lvl 70). If you worked at it, you could gain a level or two a day (depending on how much time you spent playing it). You play online with people from all over the world. You join a network (guild) of friends and help each other pass these quests and fight instances where you earn money and better fighting gear. You fight....yes, fight...and I KICKED TRASH! My brother has played this for wayyyy too long, in my opinion, and begged me to just try it. So, I did. It was so much fun! I had a chance to hang with my uber kewl bro and his fun friends online. I was seriously good at this game ;) Shocker, huh?! Well, I pretty much know way to much about the gaming world. I love games! It is seriously, like, one of my most fav things ;) Dan was NOT happy with my little WOW addiction and because I love my husband and because it wasn't the best thing to do with my time, I gave it up, much to the chagrin of my bro. I am so grateful that I did! Dan and I decided long ago, that our kids were not going to have video games. I don't mind them playing them at a friends house, but they are not allowed in mine. They have way too much to distract them, why add to it. Also, in my opinion one of the biggest addictions out there is gaming. Believe me, playing WOW for 6 months showed me that! The sad thing is this game was being played by kids as young as 8! The oldest person I met was 68! It's not particularly a bad game and safety measures can be taken to block out language while playing but that's beside the point. I know I sound old in saying this but when I was younger, I remember playing Nintendo, but most of my time was spent with my friends outside or just hanging out. The computer and gaming is like communication and social interaction without leaving your home...sedentary and just not all good...especially if the majority of your time is spent doing it. Moderation in ALL things, right?
As a side note...games can be GREAT! They teach children/adults a great deal. They can be good for the mind...I'm primarily talking about games and gaming in excess ;) They design them to be addicting so you'll want to play them all the time, not just a little.
Tuesday Hailey's friend Jayden sent her home with one of her Webkinz. Hailey tells me all about this lovely furry little friend she's borrowed and how she wants to go online and play with it. I'm completely clueless about Webkinz... Why? I don't know?! It is seriously THE cutest thing! Talk about being a dumb Mom...Hailey informs me that everyone has one! All of her best Friends do and send messages to each other. So where is the harm in this? right? For two days, this is all Hailey talks about and wants to spend hours on my computer playing Webkinz. Thats not so bad is it? And so begins the drama....she wants to start collecting them. I honestly have no problem with it. They are cute...it's good, clean fun. But I'm not sure spending huge chunks of time on this kind of stuff every day is the best thing. What do you think? I want my kids to do fun stuff like this but would hate for it to evolve into other things that lead to...I don't know....worse? I mean kids are dropping out of school, not getting jobs and all that from gaming addictions?!
Do your kids have Webkinz?
