So far so good

Well I'm not sick with the stomach virus! Which is great! Now I hope I don't get it before I head out of town for the weekend!

I did this story on the new video games report coming out that's not supposed to be friendly. Who thought it would be? It just reminds of today's society. The report, in usual fashion, is stating as it has for the past 10 years that games are too violent today. Parent's didn't need a report to figure this out.

Here in Alabama, the game "Grand Theft Auto" was blamed in the case of a teen who stole a car, was caught and then gunned down two officers and a dispatcher. Video games were prevalent in the Columbine cases. Another story of two teens who shot a occupied vehicles on a highway because they got the idea from a video game.

Here's the common denominator in these stories and other stories of violent teens: Parental Control.

In the ongoing Pennsylvania story of two teens running from the crime of murder because the boyfriend killed the girls parents, David Ludwig (the boyfriend) was in home-school. Despite that, Mom obviously thought 18-year-old son was old enough to be left un-monitored. Kara Borden (the girlfriend) was also home-schooled. However, with the evidence that her parents showed concern of her dating Ludwig showed the investigated, they found out and the acted. The saw how misguided Ludwig was, with the first flag being he was 18 and dating their daughter who couldn't even drive yet, and laid down the law by saying, "You may not see him anymore."

Granted, with the ever growing technological advances, I'm glad my mother didn't have to raise me as a teen today because I would be able to hide so much from her now -- courtesy of text messaging, instant messages, e-mail, the delete button and myspace.com. I'm trying to say the Borden's did the best they could and I'm going to say they could have done better, as well. My mother would have taken the computer, the phone, the pager, the tv, the dvdplayer, the mp3 player, the ipod shuffle, and the hidden usb drive of goodies. I would have had to use smoke signals in order to get my homework assignments if I was irresponsible enough to forget them at school because there was no way I was going to be able to call, e-mail, text or page someone.

The gaming industry has fired back at the new report and has said, "You know what, screw your reports! Our games are fine! Why not ask the parents why they let their kids play those violent games? They have labels on them, they have codes on them and we are not handing out our games to children!" --Ok, so that's not verbatim but in a nutshell.

I agree! Why, parent, are you not worried about what your sons and daughters post on myspace.com? Have you browsed their e-mail lately? If they are under 18, what time do they come home from a night out, with whom and are you even awake when that happens?

When was the last time you browsed through your 14-year-old son's video games? Have you noticed little labels on the corners of the boxes and on the labels of the game that say "M" or "T" maybe even "E" -- which if you son wants a game that has "E" he's a freak of nature. Those labels tell you a lot more about your child than they do the games.

It basically comes down to the same rhetoric you hear for Medicaid, food stamps, WIC and anything else that does it for you when you are quite capable of feeding yourself: It is NOT the government's job, the non-profit organization's job, a gaming commission's job to raise your child. When you register "Sara" or "Bobby" for school next year, look closely at the line that says parent or guardian. If you sign your name next to that title then it is YOUR job to protect them from the games that influence trouble kids to go on shooting rampages. It is YOUR job to know them like the back of your hand and learn habits and personalities.

Before you e-mail me or comment on here that it's "too hard" or "you're not a mom, how would you know?" I'll save you the time: If it's too hard, get help. If you can't find help for your misguided child, you're not trying. And no, I'm not a mom, I was raised by a very good one, though. Maybe too good but that's another post. I'm around children everyday, though, and to see their reaction to love and attention whether they have done bad or good is proof that all kids need and want is a parent. If you disagree, you're in denial and stop displacing your anger.