Dad says no to COD, takes kids to real warzone

[lacktheknack]

What's wrong with being exposed to human suffering? It's more visceral and it gets the point across. Do you think it's unhealthy? I think that remaining sheltered your whole life against reality is way less healthy.

I agree that people shouldn't be sheltered- I just think there are better reasons and times to teach them about the harshness of reality, not because they want to play a video game. The lesson is a good one, but the reason for it was ridiculous. They weren't questioning the news, studying war in class, or being disrespectful to a fellow student of another nationality- they probably just wanted to play the game because their friends did. It's almost as if he went way to far just to discourage them from playing a game.

Being exposed to human suffering CAN be unhealthy, but only in the sense of being over saturated with information. I have known people, myself included, who get "bad news burnout" when there's constantly horrible things being addressed over and over and you can get very stressed/distraught. I'm not saying that people should ignore bad news, but take it in small doses so it can be handled properly. Take a "media break". Have a balance of ENJOYING life as well as helping to improve the world.

Well, the kid in question decided that he didn't want to play the game in the end anyways. Is that not his prerogative? I don't see how this is a "ridiculous, indulgent and dangerous social experiment". This doesn't mean his life is an endless slog of gloom, just that he doesn't want to play war shooters anymore now that he's been exposed to a war zone.

The kid is better off in the end having been there, regardless of what triggered the trip.

 

[veloper]

Don't they have the news on television in Sweden?
Watching that would save on the expensive trip and you also get to see more ugly stuff than just the aftermath. Maybe throw in a couple war documentaries, when feeling really fanatic and active.

Going through all that trouble over a game is a little bit cuckoo. Probably harmless but just weird and terribly inefficient.

Yes, but the news segments are terribly brief. If you've got any real intention of watching the news, you're better off getting BBC News or some other network.

Further, it isn't about using gore and nasty things to frighten the children out of playing games. It's about showing what real war leaves behind, his point likely being that entertainment of CoD's sort usually doesn't show that side. The arrangement is more of "Well, this is how it looks like behind the scenes. Just so you know". Looking at the news or documentaries might have the same effect, but it'll be far more meaningful in person.

And hell, it's not only about the game. Getting that kind of perspective will be useful for them in general, and if nothing else, it's some clear involvement into their upbringing. If he has the means, then why not?

You miss out on so much then! I reckon I could conjure up 24 hours of documented misery per day on my cable, if I could make the effort the tap the remote buttons on the right time and in the right order.
I don't think I could really bring myself to pester real war victims for my personal education.

 

[Muspelheim]

You miss out on so much then! I reckon I could conjure up 24 hours of documented misery per day on my cable, if I could make the effort the tap the remote buttons on the right time and in the right order.
I don't think I could really bring myself to pester real war victims for my personal education.

Again. This is not about stewing people in misery for its own sake.

And second, there is a difference between pestering people caught in a catastrophe for personal growth and observing it to learn from it. If this is what someone is prepared to do for their kid's worldview's sake, I imagine they are a little bit better raised than that.

 

[chocolate pickles]

On the one hand, yeah, this is endangering your children, and if something had happened to them, I'm sure we would all be quick to call him irresponsible and a bad parent.

HOWEVER, the fact he actually managed to show his kids the horror of real warfare and get them to appreciate it's real consequences is commendable. I'm leaning slightly towards the 'Good dad' end of the spectrum on this one.

 

[Harpalyce]

Wait'll you see what the dad did after catching one of his kids playing Five Nights at Freddy's.

(Seriously though, I get the thread of logic but... really? I feel like there could have been better ways to approach this. Or that the problem shouldn't have even gotten to this point of talking about the effects of war on people. The correct answer may just be "no, you're too young", end of discussion. I think the dad's maybe a little far from the idea that video games are meant to be wish fulfillment and entertainment instead of a factual presentation of the situation.)

 

[mysecondlife]

Not sure how I feel about this, it involves a host of quite intricate moral considerations...

Therefore its time to make some lame jokes by replacing CoD with other games.

Dad says no to Assassins Creed 2, pushes kids off top of Florence Cathedral into bale of hay.
Dad says no to Forza 5, buys kids own Bugatti Veyron.
Dad says no to Aliens Colonial Marines, hires own tap-dancing xenomorph
Dad says no to Duke Nukem Forever, flings own feces at kids.
Dad says no to JRPG, teaches kids value of friendship by killing God.
Dad says...

Well you get the idea.

Post of the day right here. You just created a new forum game.

Dad says no to Far Cry 3, abandons kid in a pirate infested islands in middle of pacific ocean to fend for him/herself

 

[veloper]

You miss out on so much then! I reckon I could conjure up 24 hours of documented misery per day on my cable, if I could make the effort the tap the remote buttons on the right time and in the right order.
I don't think I could really bring myself to pester real war victims for my personal education.

Again. This is not about stewing people in misery for its own sake.

And second, there is a difference between pestering people caught in a catastrophe for personal growth and observing it to learn from it. If this is what someone is prepared to do for their kid's worldview's sake, I imagine they are a little bit better raised than that.

It's all about education! I learned that war is bad when I was just a little kid, without ever coming withing a 1000 miles of one and on just a shoestring budget.
All the other kids in my class later became mercenaries and jihadists ofcourse, but I was the teacher's pet, so that must have helped.
I guess a mandatory school trip to the war zone was really a necessity afteral!

 

[Eddie the head]

As a chinese saying goes: "You cannot substitute 1000 miles journey with 10000 books" (paraphrasing).

As math says: there is no reason to go to the hundredth decimal when ten will do.


On topic I think this is a case of overreacting. If you wanted your children to understand the horrors of war, you don't need to show them you just need to talk to them.

 

[Callate]

I think that's an interesting approach. I don't know if I would feel safe touring my family around a Palestinian refugee camp, but if he did, well... That's quite an experience, and I'd venture to say, a valuable one. Even well beyond gaining perspective on how video games (or other media, for that matter) portray war.

 

[nevarran]

The title is rather misleading. First, he didn't say no to anything. And second, he did not take them to a warzone. You can't go more wrong than that actually.

And the guy sounds like a good parent to me. He showed them the consequences of what his kids thought to be "cool". Whether they play shooter games from now on, or not, they'll at least know that it's just a game and that the real thing is horrible.

 

[ADDLibrarian]

Snip

As interesting as this conversation is, your flashing icon gives me a headache and makes my eyes hurt...sorry.
@__ @

 

[Amir Kondori]

Good for him, I would never let my minor child play a game like that.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Honestly, I think this kinda thing should happen more often. Not just there, but every where. We'd probably have less people bitching about inconsequential bullshit as a bonus.

 

[Mr Companion]

Now THAT is a guy who makes a point to the fullest. I thoroughly agree with this practice (if you have the money for it).