I don't have kids of my own yet, but I don't see gaming as detrimental, unless it's taken to extremes. If a child keeps his grades up, and does his chores, and has friends offline that he sees at least every other weekend, then I think it's fine to spend a day inside playing games. Some children are introverted and don't like over stimulation from excessive social encounters. I was one such child myself. I was bullied a lot in school, and had very few friends. In grade and middle school when we had recess, I'd sit inside with the few friends I did have and we'd play checkers or other board games that were kept in the classroom. This was before handheld and mobile gaming. If I had those options available, I probably would have played that. I had a great best friend (and still do) for almost 30 years now, when she'd come over, which was EVERY SINGLE DAY in the summer, and almost every weekend during the schoolyear, we'd sometimes play games both board and video games. SOMETIMES we'd be playing videogames in seperate rooms, such as one in the computer room and one in the den or living room. And it was OKAY. We have that special bond where we don't need to speak or even be in the same room, to have a good time together. Other times, we'd take turns playing single player games together, socializing while doing so, swapping out who was playing after each level advancement or death. And sometimes, we'd play games together, like fighting or racing games. And sometimes we'd go outside, go camping, go swimming (I grew up on lake front property, so that was quite often in the summer), take a walk around the neighborhood, or play on my swingset. But there's no doubt that games of some kind were probably involved in each overnight visit at some point.
It's a myth that games make people more violent. You know what, before videogames, people said rock n roll music made kids violent, and after that it was TV makes kids violent. Media just wants a scape goat to pin problems on. When the next fad comes along it will say that makes kids violent as well.
I used to game nearly every day and have no criminal record, have never been in a fight, and am a very kind hearted person.
In fact, there's more evidence to the BENEFIT of gaming than the negatives such as:
Improves hand/eye coordination / motor skills
Improves logic/problem solving skills
Improves brain/memory/concentration
the list goes on.
And as for a comment above about games not having any "social" value, I think that's incorrect. I've made a Meetup group with 180 members and we meet and play games (both board and video varieties) together in real life. I am very very introverted and shy, and I built this group as a way to FORCE myself to be more social and work on my people skills. Since I am the hostess most of the time, I have to ensure everything is running smoothly and interact with large groups of different people from all different ages and socio-eco backgrounds.
There's also mmorpgs, and other online games that have strong social components. I've made "real" friends online. Some I've also later met face to face.
I do not think a child should be forced to be extroverted and all gungho about sports and social parties and whatnot. If that's not their style. There's room in life for the quiet geeky nerd who sits in the corner and keeps to herself. She's probably got higher grades and more imagination, and more interesting things to talk about than half her class.
Love your kids as they are. Don't try to make them something they aren't just because it's not how you grew up.
