Musicwhiz wrote:
So what kinds of games would you recommend? Card games, board games and stuff? Toy cars? Soft toys?
I also agree with you that these electronic gadgets are bad for kids.
I guess everybody does it differently. Nothing good or bad, whatever works for you.
My son is allowed 1/2hr of computer games every other day, provided he does 1.5 hrs of extra work given by the Mrs when he wants to play the internet games. This includes 1/2hr each of Math, English and Chinese. We always want to link a specific reward for the hardwork put in. There are a couple of websites called y3.com and y8.com that have interesting and free games for kids. That's the reason Y he likes to do "additional work" so much

The reason Y I won't buy XBOX/PSP is that I have seen my nephew become a slave to it. Somehow, his parents don't think his falling grades is a major problem. The kids have this PSPs and they seem to have lost all ability to communicate with elders and to eat or drink

, that's Y I call them "life support zombies".
When I am with the boy, we play alot of mathematical games. An example of the questions we play while we are walking is as follows:
2 lizards + 1c*ockcroach = 10
1 Lizard + 2 c*ockcroaches = 14
How much is one lizard and how much is one c*ockcroach? This is to train him in mental arithmetic. We also play BlackJack to teach him probability.
We have quite a fair number of board games at home as well as toys that he likes (Ben 10, Transformers, Bakugan etc...) that he plays when his cousin comes over 2-3 times a week during the holidays. We also do alot of outdoor exercises together like swimming and cycling and I will bring him to the playground for him to play with older kids to learn social interaction skills and to learn how to make friends.
Like I say, to each his own. The parents need to set up the guidelines and we are there to enforce it.