From Rhymes To Crimes!

My son was interested in video games as soon as he was old enough to hold a controller. I loved to watch him play as he rescued princesses, found magic mushrooms, and rode around on little clouds. As he got older, the games became more complicated, but I was happy to see him continually improve his fine motor skills, and develop the patience necessary to see a game through. Until one day……….

He was sitting with a controller in his hands, eyes focused on the 3000 inch projection TV his father thought we needed in our ten foot wide room. I asked him what he was playing and he said it was a new game. I had some free time, so I decided to sit and watch for awhile.

“So, what are you? Are you a hedgehog, an earthworm?” I asked him.
“I’m just a guy” he said.
“And, what do you do?”
“ I steal cars.”
“Oh, are you an undercover policeman?”
“No, I’m a thief.”
“Are you stealing a car right now?”
“No, I’m driving to my boss’ house to get a new assignment.”
“Doesn’t your boss have an office?”
“No Mom, he’s not that kind of boss.”
My mind drifted off, as I fondly remembered the old games he used to play, with their cute little creatures and fairy tale lands.
“Now, where are you going?”
“I’m picking up his cousin at the airport….”
“Well, that’s nice of you.”
“…and dropping him off at a restaurant so my boss can whack him.”

I let this slowly into my brain.

“I don’t suppose by whacking him, you mean hitting him over the head with a rolled newspaper?”
My son gave me the eye-roll. The same eye-roll I gave my dad when he asked why I ruined perfectly good baseball cards by clothes-pinning them to my bicycle spokes.
Just then, there was the sound of screeching tires and a flash of light.
“What just happened?”
“I hit a lady with a baby stroller.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful!”
“Not really. I get points for that. And, if I hit enough of them, I level up.”
“Level up to what? Launching grenades into preschools?”

The eye roll again. I stood up indignantly.

“I demand to know where you got this game!”
“You gave it to me for Christmas.”

Needless to say, from that point on, I tried to monitor his video games more closely. I have no idea if playing video games like that one is harmful. All I do know is that my son’s fine motor skills have been an asset in his career in the military. AND…he’s on our side.