Scouting, Keeping with the times
Today, many households play video games. Video games are a source of family entertainment with parents, children, and even grandparents all vying for their entertainment systems. Today’s parents increasingly view video games as a positive and often educational way to interact with their children.
Video games in this day and age are a sizeable source of entertainment for children, be it in portable format or as a home entertainment system, they have become part of children’s lives. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) decided to proactively address these trends in a family focused way by introducing Video Games as a topic in their educational program.
Computers, iPods, and video games are core elements in the lives of young people today. The BSA who recently released 13 new Cub Scout Academics and Sports topics has included Video Games as a topic in its new offering. This is designed to encourage family interaction, give guidance on ratings and selecting games, and balancing video game time with schoolwork, chores, and other activities. The goal of this Video game “belt loop” (badge, award), is to assist youth in making wise choices and setting priorities that are important in their family.
As a part of earning the Video Games belt loop the BSA provides family guidelines to assist parents in deciding if there is a place in their home for video games. The family guidelines are:
• Make a plan. Schedule video gaming times and choices in advance, just as you would other activities.
• Set time limits. Limit children’s total screen time, usually no more than one to two hours per day, and with periodic breaks.
• Make video gaming a family activity.
• Set family guidelines for video game content.
Feedback from this incentive has been positive about the 100-year organization creating more innovative programs, while remaining true to Scouting’s core values and principles.
More information :
Скачать эту страницу в PDF формате
