Boys Will Be Boys II.

I'm back from my big adventure (happy to report that baby is STILL on the inside) and I had an amazing time! Despite my promise not to do so, I ended up walking the entire city, and I am in some desperate need of a good night's sleep (and a foot massage, but given that the family is still out of town, sadly that is going to have to wait.) I promise to be back to my usual, blogging self tomorrow, but until then I thought I would share with you this video that I stumbled upon while killing some time the train today. It was in the comments section of this article, discussing why video games are actually good for kids. My husband and I have this conversation often, and he, a avid gamer in his teens/ 20's/ and yes, even now, has always been a proponent of our boys playing minimal, monitored, amounts of video games when they get older. Having grown up one of four girls, I don't really get the whole "gaming" thing, and am always saying, "violence, obesity, anti-social behavior!" Well, I have to say that now that I will soon be the mom to two boys, I am realize that I am definitely going to be changing my tune in the near future. My husband is the kindest, gentlest, person I know, and I dare anyone to find someone that is healthier and more social conscious then him. I learned a long time ago not to question his love of "shoot em up" games and given that he doesn't watch ANY sports, I consider myself to be one lucky girl. (Before I get comments, this is always done after the little man is in bed, at age 3 1/2 I wouldn't expose him to ANY violence, especially a such realistic view.)

This TED talk below discusses why boys should be allowed to be boys and reiterates a lot of what was said by Michael Thompson, who I was lucky enough to hear speak on this very same topic earlier this year. (That discussion can be found here.) It speaks to how educational (non-violent) games can be used to aid boys and their learning. 

Whether you are for or against video games, this definitely makes you think a bit about how we can get boys to reengage in a system that seems to be setting them up for failure.