ryuta kawashima, the guy behind the hugely popular "brain age" games for nintendo ds declined to accept his 11 million dollar royalty from the sales of the games. instead he donated his share to construction projects on the campus of the japanese university he works for.
"My hobby is work," he said. "Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it."
amen.
oh wouldn't i love 11 million dollars!!! BUT, and i am sure about this and not just being a smug ass, i wouldn't want it UNTIL after my boybarians were much older and had started to make their own way in the world.
because there are a LOT of ways to fuck up a kid. but i think a real quick way is for them to get the idea that based on their family finances that perhaps what they do doesn't really matter in the grand scheme because they will eventually have all the money they will ever need no matter what.
it's a generalization, sure. but one i'm fairly comfortable making and sticking to.
(it just means if i ever win the lottery i'm not tellin' a soul!)
he also has four sons who are not allowed video game playing on weekdays and only an hour on the weekends.
bill gates lets his daughter have 45 minutes a day of screen/computer time on weekdays, an hour on the weekends.
bully for them. hey, we have computer and N64 time around here, don't get me wrong. daily except sundays. and you'd think it was a national tradgedy for some people to miss it.
cue dramatic eyeroll.
BUT it is limited for each boy. the duke at 10 gets one hour total. wingman at 7 gets 30 minutes.
there have been exceptions to this here and there. sure. but on a continuous basis, bottom line is the time limits are adhered to. if not, the consequence is that there is no time at all.
and while wingman has minutes to add as he gets older, sadly, the duke has yet to be informed that one hour is the cap for the next few years and beyond.
if you ever feel a distinct and horrific disturbance in the atmosphere in the near future and you can't quite put your finger on it, know that the duke has finally been fully informed of this fact.
i think each parent has the right to handle the whole tv/computer/video screen time deal the way they see fit.
i just like it when the guys responsible for all of this also talk openly about the responsibility they take with screen time and their own kids.
it's admirable, and just perhaps might be enlightening and influential enough to convince parents who haven't already to look into the idea of imposing limits on screen time in their own homes.
all good things in moderation.
except wine. of course.
x.
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