“Ban kids from buying violent video games?” plus 3 more |
- Ban kids from buying violent video games?
- The Score: Kids need more play, less PlayStation
- Brookline kids and families get healthy, have fun at Pierce FitFest: PHOTO GALLERY
- Should the government ban the sale of violent video games to kids?
| Ban kids from buying violent video games? Posted: 15 Sep 2010 10:50 PM PDT UTAH (ABC 4 News) - A fight over violent video games is heating up in Utah. One group wants to ban kids from buying the games without parent permission. If you can imagine an act of violence you can probably find it in a video game and that's why the National Eagle Forum wants to put this ban on the games. Others say banning video games violates freedom of speech. Pacman made his debut around 1980 with relatively little violence. The first Grand Theft Auto was introduced almost two decades later in 1998, with a noticeable increase in violence. Today, violence is extreme. Gamers can watch a video game character literally rip another players head off. Another game shows a soldier blown to little pieces in an explosion. Disturbing images like the two just mentioned in this article are why National Eagle Forum lawyer Andy Schlafly is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to ban children from buying violent video games with out parents permission. "Some of those children are not mature enough to handle it. Many get addicted to the games and then go on a killing rampage, which we've seen in many of the school massacres," said Schlafly. He is asking Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to support the violent video game ban. "We're asking Mr. Shurtleff to view these violent video games," said Schlafly. Spokesman for Shurtleff Paul Murphy says he has looked at violent video games. "We share the concern about violent video games, but we don't think you throw out the Constitution and the rights of parents in order to accomplish what you want to do," said Paul Murphy. According to Schlafly 11 states are asking the Supreme Court to ban kids from buying violent video games without parent permission. Utah is the next state to take a stand on the issue before it goes before the Supreme Court. Utah's Attorney General has until Friday to decide whether to support a ban on video games. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| The Score: Kids need more play, less PlayStation Posted: 15 Sep 2010 09:00 PM PDT Anational week of play starts Saturday. That's a week in which communities and groups organize a Play Day where kids (and their parents) can play outdoors at a park, school playground or any open space. But wait a minute: Why do we need special play days? Don't kids play enough already? The sad truth is that kids do not play as much as they once did. A University of Michigan study in 2000 found that kids had 12 fewer hours of free time a week than kids in the 1980s. Those 12 hours included eight fewer hours of unstructured play and outdoor activities. That's important because lots of doctors say kids need to play to be healthy and happy. What are kids doing these days? Electronic media and lots of it. The average kid spends almost 45 hours a week with TV, the Internet, movies and other electronic media. The popularity of video games is a big factor. A recent study in the medical journal Pediatrics showed that video games are played in 90 percent of homes with kids ages 8 to 16. Still another report by the Kaiser Family Foundation this year found that time spent on video and computer games increased from 43 minutes a day in 1999 to 2 hours and 42 minutes a day in 2009. Now, boys spend 16 to 18 hours a week playing video games. But don't computer games count as playing? They are called computer games, after all. Not really. Most computer games just get kids to react to what's on the screen and press buttons or move a stick so some computer image can chase a car or zap space aliens. Play is when kids, and not some microchip, make up the adventures. Play is when kids ride bikes or play ghosts in the graveyard and move more than their thumbs to make things happen. Kids also are spending twice as much time in organized sports and more than three hours a week watching sports, the University of Michigan found. Although I love sports, that might be too much organized sports. So what should kids, their parents and coaches do to get more playtime? First, kids should spend far less time watching TV and playing computer games. That would give them much more time to play real games. Second, parents and coaches should set aside more of their team practices for free play. Coaches should make sure the kids, especially kids younger than 12, spend lots of time scrimmaging or playing games instead of just drilling skills. Maybe for some practices, coaches could let the kids pick the teams and make up the games. That part is trickier, I admit. I've coached more than 30 teams, and I can almost hear coaches asking, "How can kids learn to play without practicing their skills?" Kids need to practice, but they also need to play. This week and every week. Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column. To find a Play Day near you, go to http:/ / www.kaboom.org/ playday. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Brookline kids and families get healthy, have fun at Pierce FitFest: PHOTO GALLERY Posted: 15 Sep 2010 01:33 PM PDT They went by zipline, potato sack or their own two feet, but they all ended up in the same place: a healthy frame of mind. The fourth annual Pierce School FitFest offered sports, games, physical activity and healthy snacks to Brookline kids and their families in an effort to promote all the fun ways to stay fit and make smart choices. Kids get a "passport," which is stamped at each event/activity. At the end, they get a medal. For more information, visit www.piercefitfest.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Should the government ban the sale of violent video games to kids? Posted: 15 Sep 2010 09:35 AM PDT Do you think the government should ban the sale of violent video games to kids? Well, if you do, you are certainly not alone. Indeed, a recent poll conducted by Common Sense Media (CSM) claims that nearly three-quarters of all adults (72%) would support a law prohibiting minors from purchasing ultra-violent or sexually violent video games without parental consent. "The results of this poll clearly show that not only do the effects of ultra-violent or sexually violent games weigh heavily on the minds of parents, but also that parents feel that the video game industry isn't doing nearly enough to protect kids from accessing the most ultra-violent games," explained CSM CEO James Steyer. "What we've learned from this poll is that parents want to be the ones deciding which games their kids play, not the video game industry." The poll was conducted just days after the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) kicked off a massive campaign to overturn California legislation banning the sale of violent video games to minors - with the US Supreme Court slated to hear opening arguments from both sides on November 2, 2010. "It is disappointing that the attorneys general we've contacted will open their doors to the billion-dollar video game industry, but they won't take the time to speak with an organization that represents parents," complained Steyer. "[Still], we hope the attorneys general will take a look at these poll results and that they'll side with families over protecting the profits of the video game industry." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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