Okay, my wife's had it!!!!

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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I’ve seen the pressure build the past few weeks with my wife (me too) at my boys’ spending all their spare time on Xbox, computer, and computer games…we can hear their brains turning to mush. We have been begging them to branch out and do something else. After my wife’s last lecture to the boys, I made a command decision and cleared off one of my tables in my hobby room. I set out two sprue cutters, two files, and one liquid glue jar. I set out two models and sat both boys down. I gave a 1:72 Airfix Spitfire to my 12-year-old and gave a 1:72 Hasegawa F-105 Thunderchief to my 14-year-old and told them to BUILD!!!

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Interesting…So instead of turning brains to mush as a result of the video screen, they will be turning to mush as a result of toxic glue/paint fumes and optivisors that bend your cornea like a rubber band…I like it…

I love our hobby but don’t think it is the solution to the problems of today’s youth…I smile every time I see a thread where someone feels like they are saving the world by getting kids to build a model of a warplane…

At least we do know who wears the pants in the family now…[:D]

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LoL…I hear you, Manny… Not the end all solution, but at least they are up there talking and laughing which each other…just a change of pace!!!

But Hmmmmm…maybe you got something there about the fumes!!! [Y]

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Good for you Hutch! While certainly not a cure its more productive than gaming. All things in moderation just my .02

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So Hutch, how often does their Scout Troop go camping?

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Manstein’s revenge:

“Interesting…So instead of turning brains to mush as a result of the video screen, they will be turning to mush as a result of toxic glue/paint fumes and optivisors that bend your cornea like a rubber band…I like it…”

Glue/paint fumes toxic? Hasn’t bothered me any. In fact the hallucinations make me a better modeler!

The plaid elefant keeps telling me- “Not enough rust”!

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Not a bad idea at all, Im all for getting kids building. Dont forcem to do AC though, never know, you might be raising gear heads, armor junkies, or scifi builders.

I will defend video games, but some of them are just… ugh and will turn your brains to mush, you have to get them the right kinds of games. Real time, and turn Based strategy games are examples of the kind of games you should be getting your kids, especially at a younger age. They require critical thinking planning, and stratagising. Basicly an advanced version of Chess. On that note, get your kids a chess game, and bribe them to play it, IE when they play it, the winner gets a piece of candy, will urge them to actually try and get better at it. (yea you could get then a normal chess set, but a nice one is more expensive and it wont get knocked over and you wont step on a pawn at 5am)

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LOL… I would agree building is better than flipping on the “dumb box”. Although a nice outdoor activity would be preferable.

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Once a month!!! The gaming is not bad in itself, but it is starting to chip away at that interest as well!!! We are just trying to find a happy middle ground…just doin that parent thing… Still haven’t figured it all out…I am open to suggestions [:D]

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Give them other viable options for things to do, and only allow a certain amount of something per day. So when that time is up they have other stuff to do.

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Nice that they get along and nice that they are building… When I was in their age range I was building too, but mostly I was outside throwing or playing baseball.

Still, good that they are introduced to the hobby

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Thing is they loved to build kits a couple years ago and then the gaming kicked in. They are good kids and we just wanted to expand their horizons. Funny thing is that both have been talking about their build all day and my oldest now is dusting off an old Camaro that has been partially built for quite some time.

I too remember playing baseball all the time…not much of that going on these days. But my youngest plays musical instruments like you wouldn’t believe (talent not from my loins) and my oldest is very good at football, so they do have other interests. Just that they were in a deep rut the past six months. Again, gaming is not that bad…just when it is all they want to do then my wife and I get a bit antsy.

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The ebb and flow of interest Hutch. Even us, as modelers, can have our building juices wane now and then. And, with them being of age that they are, the female lure is surely pulling at them as well.

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…still see another dreaded menace on the table…a cell phone! I have 3 teenagers and each have their own laptops and cell phones. All 3 are in honors at school but only my son is a gamer. We got the laptops for homework…3 teenagers fighting over the computer to get term projects done got insane! They “turn in” their laptops by 8pm…if I hadnt made that rule theyd be facebooking to the wee hours. Cells are mainly for after school activities…so I know where they are,etc. They get turned in with the computers or theyd be texting their buddies all night..lol. Kids today would rather play with technology than a baseball, outside in the fresh air. I have to threaten to take away their gizmos to get em outside…nuts huh? When I was a kid the worst punishment I could receive was a grounding…“you`re not allowed out for a week!” I thought I would die!

Looking back, Im glad I grew up without all the video games,etc. Im not against them but I look at my kids and realize they don`t care if they ever see the sunshine. All I can do is try to keep a balance between technology and getting them outdoors.

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And they wonder why children’s obesity is spiraling out of control. Kids SIT all day on their games, computers and cell-phones. Whatever happened to bike-riding? Sports? Sure they’re still done, but I see less and less all the time. I can go outside for hours in the yard on a nice day and never see a child running around. Parents wake up! Save the children.

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Thing is they loved to build kits a couple years ago and then the gaming kicked in. They are good kids and we just wanted to expand their horizons. Funny thing is that both have been talking about their build all day and my oldest now is dusting off an old Camaro that has been partially built for quite some time.

I too remember playing baseball all the time…not much of that going on these days. But my youngest plays musical instruments like you wouldn’t believe (talent not from my loins) and my oldest is very good at football, so they do have other interests. Just that they were in a deep rut the past six months. Again, gaming is not that bad…just when it is all they want to do then my wife and I get a bit antsy.

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Ok, I had a whole thing typed out and the window closed Ill retype.

Im guessing your all over 40 or so and didn’t grow up with video games.

Here is what you have to do if you want to play baseball outside

1 get people, you have to get enough kids to play, which isn’t always easy

2 get the equiptment, cant play the game if everyone doesn’t have a glove, and you dont have bats and balls

3 find somewhere to play, you cant harrass your parents to drive you to the park every time you get bored

then if you get all of that you have to worry about breaking windows with baseballs, or denting cars, or the ball going into people’s yards.

NOW

you have that, or you can play MLB 2011 on the Xbox and play in all the majorleauge stadiums, like every kids wants to and never will, play as the best players in the leage, and do things they could never do physically. Dont say ‘if they practice they could do it’ because the fact remains that if you go into sports thinking you are going to end up being a professional, you are going to be disappointed.

When you were kids everyone’s parents FORCED the kids outside of the house to go run the streets regardless of safety. I constantly hear stories from my parents of when they were kids, playing outside. I always hear stories about things like, hitchhiking, hanging in gangs on street corners, getting into gang fights. You know… I think ill let my kids stay inside and play videogames unless they have somewhere specific to be, IE going outside to play in the neighbor’s yard.

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[whstl]

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Aww, nuts. You know, I thought better of my initial post after reflecting on it and went back and editted it, but I can see I was too late.

I’m not going to get into a quid pro quo argument with you Smeagol.

By the way, I don’t poo poo chess. I like it a lot actually.