Raising Geeks and Gamers Part 1

Dad and I are self-proclaimed geeks as well as gamers. So I guess it should surprise no one that we are raising a household full of them.

We have the Minecraft players, the Cookie Clicker players, the Team Fortress 2 players, the Elder Scroll Online players, the Dungeon & Dragon players and we've already talked about all the games that Dad plays.

For those that think that video games are bad for you, I present this: 9 Ways Video Games Can Actually Be Good For You. 

I also present these videos from TED Talks:
1) Daphne Bavelier: Your brain on video games2) Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

And for those of you who think that all games whether video games or not are bad for you:Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life

Now, don't get me wrong, we don't let the kids spend unlimited hours on electronics. There are rules. 

We have a sign up sheet. The kids may sign up for an hour at a time on a specific electronic. 
The slots go from hour to hour, i.e. 1 pm - 2pm and turns are up on the hour. 
They may not sign up for 3 hours in a row on one specific electronic. So if they are on Dad's computer for an hour they can move on to the XBox, but not stay on the computer.
And if there is school the next day, they get off electronics at 6 pm.

They have to start their homework at 6 pm, but if they need the computer to do their homework we will allow them to use the computer after 6 pm for homework only.

And the electronics are the first things that we take away if disciplinary measures become necessary.