Gunman Kills Students and Staff In Connecticut Grade School
I know the conversation around this tragedy centers on horror, grief and guns.
I am feeling emotions around all of that, but I also believe that violent and realistic video game/movie/YouTube imagery is a root issue to be dealt with.
(Too)Young children are exposed to and can be steeped in visual/sensory imagery at a developmental age which seems to have a far more sinister consequence than the plastic green army men that we may used create our "battles against our bullies" in our youth.
We chose to wait until our oldest (a son) was in 7th or 8th grade before we allowed him to purchase a gaming system and it could only be the Wii as it would be used by us as a family. Not an Xbox.
(We even had an informal pact with a family of 3 boys, who were in the same grades as N and A, that we were all holding-out against the norm of having Xbox etc in our homes until the kids were older)
Our son was only able to buy an Xbox, with his own money when he was mature enough, in our view, and the games he could purchase/play in our home were pre-approved by us.
I am not bragging about our approach-I am sharing it as I process on what just happened in CT and has happened in CO, OR, Virginia Tech, NIU etc. and reflect on how we elected to go against the tide of other families who brought violent and realistic imagery into their home, unsupervised, at an earlier age than we elected to.
America's freedoms in full display, of which I am a fierce defender.
The point is that this imagery is the "drug" or initial "weapon" and combined with the wrong immaturity, emotional pain, etc. can produce horrific consequences.
The root is not guns.
A man in China used a knife to slice kids at an elementary school two days ago.
Afghans use acid.
Asian Indian cultures use gasoline and a match.
African cultures severe a limb and so on and so on.
In the U.S., easily accessible imagery sparks the evil which flows through the action.
I know the conversation around this tragedy centers on horror, grief and guns.
I am feeling emotions around all of that, but I also believe that violent and realistic video game/movie/YouTube imagery is a root issue to be dealt with.
(Too)Young children are exposed to and can be steeped in visual/sensory imagery at a developmental age which seems to have a far more sinister consequence than the plastic green army men that we may used create our "battles against our bullies" in our youth.
We chose to wait until our oldest (a son) was in 7th or 8th grade before we allowed him to purchase a gaming system and it could only be the Wii as it would be used by us as a family. Not an Xbox.
(We even had an informal pact with a family of 3 boys, who were in the same grades as N and A, that we were all holding-out against the norm of having Xbox etc in our homes until the kids were older)
Our son was only able to buy an Xbox, with his own money when he was mature enough, in our view, and the games he could purchase/play in our home were pre-approved by us.
I am not bragging about our approach-I am sharing it as I process on what just happened in CT and has happened in CO, OR, Virginia Tech, NIU etc. and reflect on how we elected to go against the tide of other families who brought violent and realistic imagery into their home, unsupervised, at an earlier age than we elected to.
America's freedoms in full display, of which I am a fierce defender.
The point is that this imagery is the "drug" or initial "weapon" and combined with the wrong immaturity, emotional pain, etc. can produce horrific consequences.
The root is not guns.
A man in China used a knife to slice kids at an elementary school two days ago.
Afghans use acid.
Asian Indian cultures use gasoline and a match.
African cultures severe a limb and so on and so on.
In the U.S., easily accessible imagery sparks the evil which flows through the action.
