Preschoolers playing video games?

My 4 year old loves playing the DS , Wii or Xbox but he has a limit on how much he can play. It is only a problem if the parent allows it to become a problem. While I let my son play video games I also make sure he spends more time interacting, playing outside, coloring or doing something more productive. Seems like your friend is just being lazy and would rather sit him in front of a gaming system rather than teach him anything or interact with him. In her case yes I can see it becoming a huge problem the older he gets if she doesn't stop that right now.

it does teach them some good stuff like coordination, etc. but it depends on what games he is playing. my son loves computer games and really does good playing all the games on the disney website and nick jr. we don't have a xbox or anything like that

My kids don't have a DS and we share a WII. Once in awhile my 4 year will play Mario Kart with his older brother..I think too many people worry about what is going on in other homes instead of their own.

we have an xbox and a ps3 but both my kids 5 and 4 are not allowed to play them. they have their own they have a vtech and leapfrog my first computer and they dont even play those even everyday. i would say all day is way too much for anybody let alone a 4 yr old. it could become a huge problem.

We have an XBOX 360, my four year old doesn't play it. I do have a DSi and she will on occassion, not even every day play Dora and Little Mermaid on it, for CHristmas last year she got a VSmile, a portable one because her one older sister has a DSi and the other one has a Gameboy Advance, and I didn't want her left out, not to mention its nice when we take trips. The VSmile games all help her learn things and as the same with the DS she does not play it everyday!

My 3 year old plays on the PS2...he LOVES to play the "monster truck game" I let him play for a while but he doesnt' get to play all day every day. I think it's a good way for him to learn some coordination and sometimes it does get him out of my hair. He gets about 30 minutes a night during the week and longer on the weekend. However, it has also become a good punishment for him when he misbehaves---I tell him he can't play and he's learned to stop doing quite a few things that he shouldn't when I take it away!

We play the Wii all the time (we also have Xbox & PS3, but only the older one gets to play with those). My son is 4, he gets about a half hour a night to play. And he is addicted. I have to turn it off sometimes because he gets out of control when he loses. However, he acts the same if he loses to a board game too. Sometimes we all play the Wii together (like sports or racing), to me it is no different than playing any other games together. I think it is like anything in life, its all about balance, they need other activities too. I do think its important to let them play (maybe not necessarily at 4 I realize, lol) especially for boys. I have 6 brothers - so much male bonding goes on playing video games when they're older and it sucks for them to be the worst at it.

i fear my son (4 yrs old) would be addicted to it..... but we only have a WII and only excersize games ... so if he wants to play golf or baseball he can do that on rainy days... he also has 3 learning computers to reinforce the language math and logic the school and i are teaching him.

My son just turned 4yrs. old and we don't have the games like xbox or etc. out there. We do have three computers for him to play on. One is a right handed, one is left handed, and we have a lap top. He plays starfalls.com, jumpstart.com, and nick jr. they are great learning tools for pre-schooler's. He also plays out doors alot and perfers to be out doors. I just want my son to be up to date when he starts school and he will be starting late. He loves me to read to him everyday and this is fine with me...

My son has a smart cycle system in his room, but he probably plays it 3-5 times a week for about 20 minutes. I like it because it helps teach him his numbers and letters along with basic math and spelling, so even though its a video game he's learning. He learned how to spell cat dog and mom off his game. At grandma's he plays computer games off nickjr.com, but we don't have any other type of game system. He's played the wii a couple of times. I think video games only become a problem when parents let them consume their child's entire life. 20 minutes of gaming isn't going to hurt anything, however hours upon hours probably is.