Sooo much pooping

[iar fach goch]

ES has decided to ask for an xbox for Christmas. He has asked previously but being the cruel mummy that I am, I have refused up until now. He is now in secondary school and EVERYONE has one, apparently the only other two boys who haven't got it are getting it for Christmas, PS3 is so last year (we haven't got one of those either!). I don't do technology, I would quite happily pack up and move to live with the Amish, but in this day and age there is no getting away from it. So, I'm thinking I might actually have to give in this year, so have tried to do some research on the xbox but am now even more confused, what with live, 360, kinect, buying points - blah, blah, blah! Help, I have no idea, and I don't really want to know, but I think that I am going to have to try and understand. Your omlet expertise is so desperately needed.

[Geoid]

Xbox live - an online gaming platform where people can play (and talk) to each other over the internet.

Kinect - a controller which uses your body to control gameplay (uses a type of camera)

Buying points - currency to buy stuff (games etc) online, but I think this is being disbanded as before you had to buy points, then buy the game or whatever with the points. Now (or very soon) you can just use money to buy the games.

360 - the amount of degrees in a circle

 

If you need any more info, just ask!

[patsylabrador]

I'd ask your son what he wants exactly and get him to explain why. I find boys love to explain technology to their mothers and you can guage what sounds best for your conscience. I was reluctant to get gaming stuff initially but once you start using it yourself, there's no going back. It's great fun. We use the PS3 and Wii so I don't know anything about Xbox.

[snowberry]

A few years ago Youngest was desperate for me to play on his Star Wars game with him. I really don't 'get' games so it was a long time until I relented. After 15 minutes of my 'character' walking around in circles & trying to walk into walls, Youngest sighed a big sigh & said "It's ok mum, you can go back to the dishes now"

 

I don't do technology, I would quite happily pack up and move to live with the Amish, but in this day and age there is no getting away from it.

Where shall we set up our settlement iar fach goch?

[surfer_chicken]

I don't know much about the x-box as we have a PS3 at home, but one thing I would do is make sure ground rules are clearly set out from the start. My brother quickly became almost addicted to playing games on it, and would be on it every spare moment he had. My mum had a terrible time trying to make him do his homework, help out around the house and take part in normal family life (for example he would want to finish dinner as quickly as possible so he could get back to playing) and he would throw terrible tantrums if he wasn't allowed on for some reason. This happened right through year 7 to 9 and mum would literally have to stand over him as he did homework or chores because as soon as she left the room he'd be back on. Luckily he seems to have broken away from this over the last 9 months and has just started his GCSEs and is finally doing his work off his own back and actually seems to be enjoying it

 

I love the PS3 and it's a great way to relax on a break- just wanted to warn you at what could happen! Don't know if the x-box is the same, but my mum loves it because she can watch Downton whatever time she likes on the TV screen

[chuckmum6]

My boys both have Xbox and have subscribed to Xbox live, so they can chat and play games with there friends over the Internet. I have a time limit set through the parental settings and have limited who they can interact with online. I would go for an Xbox with 250 gb rather than the 4 gb as this quickly get filled up, as YS is finding on his, however you can easily put in a new hard drive, which is what we will have to do.

[iar fach goch]

Thanks for the replies. I fear I may have no choice but to venture into the world of Xbox, especially seeing as ES has managed to persuade his youngest brother that he wants kinect and points off Father Christmas - he's as clueless as me but is happy to go along with anything. Can anyone tell me what is the maximum numbers of players that can play at anyone time with the one xbox?

 

 

Snowberry, I shall probably leaving home on boxing day if this suits you?!?

Life is so much more complicated with technology involved. I won't go into my rant now, I'll save it for the chickens.

[Chucky Mama]

I have 3 children and decided not to bow to peer pressure. We don't have an X box or PS3 even though nearly all of their friends have one. ES 18 and YS 14 haven't suffered because of it,. We bought a PS2 for about £40 a couple of years ago to play Buzz and Singstar which is a laugh when in a group and and we have a Wii as it is more sociable and less addictive. They chat to friends on Facebook. I hear so many parents saying that they wished they hadn't got their boys and Xbox. My SIL has had to take her son's away as can get no school work out of her son, he also racked up quite a bill. I think that as surfer_chicken says is right, you have to set some pretty strict ground rules before you get it and I guess keeping it out of bedrooms would be a good idea.

[Angie]

The grandson says do remember if the xbox is intended for the kinnect you need a good 10 ft from sensors to actually move around and play otherwise he prefers the ps3........grandson is 13 yrs..... his sitting room is 20 ft long so has no problems using it , whereas his friend sold his as the rooms in his house are smaller and he couldn't move about to play it and reverted back to the wii ......

[Snowy]

We don't have an X Box either, just a Wii that stays in the lounge so it limits itself to when Dad is not watching TV

However, I have played on a friends Kinect and was very impressed - 2 of us could play together (not sure what the maximum is though - on the Wii it's 4) and we were jumping and ducking to get through an obstacle course. I was exhausted! So it's certainly good for keeping moving

[superkitty]

We have a Kinect and agree with Snowy - it's great for keeping moving! We go through stages of using it and not using it, but I can highly recommend Fruit Ninja You do need quite a lot of space to use it. I think you can play with two at once but it depends on how much space you have.

 

Saying that, my friends boys have xboxes in their rooms and you hardly ever see them; they have to be dragged off to do homework and get ready for school, and bolt their dinners to get back to it, like someone else said. So maybe not in the bedroom...!

[chickencam]

This is a tough subject for parents.

 

Our Children had a Nintendo game Cube between them from the eldest being about 10 years old.

 

DS wanted an X Box when they first came out, we held out until he was 13, then bought him one for Christmas, he very much appreciated it all the more for the wait, and we were 'the best parents in the world' he was thrilled. We have not allowed him to use X Box live, but we will relent on this at Christmas this year, he is now nearly 17 and got excellent GCSE results in the summer. He spends a lot of time playing on it it mainly Fifa Football games, fortunately he doesn't really like the shoot em ups. We did find out that he had borrowed one from a friend at school a couple of years back, he was so ashamed of the deception that he had barely played it and he pretty soon gave it back, we knew nothing of this until his big sister dropped him in it one night.

 

We do keep an eye on how much he uses his X Box but don't have specific restrictions unless we feel that school work is slipping, he did all of his home work downstairs when he was in year 10 to remove temptation.

 

There is space in life for electronic games especially those that can be played with others, as with everything it is down to balance and personal choice.

 

Set the ground rules from day one it is very difficult to back track once habits are formed.

 

Good Luck

[iar fach goch]

Thanks for the advice, xbox will not be going anywhere near boys bedrooms, they don't have a tv in their bedrooms. Obviously I would prefer if we didn't get the xbox, but I am outnumbered 4 to 1 as OH agrees that the xbox is the way to go, even though he has no interest in gaming. As the boys are not on facebook or any other social networking site, OH feels it is only fair that they have some means of communicating with friends outside school hours. I can see his point, but I also fear that the xbox will cause more problems; ES has come home from school today saying that all the boys in his class have pre-ordered the new call of duty game and are all playing it tonight, but he knows better than to ask.

 

As you say, chickencam, setting the ground rules from day one is the way to go.

 

Wish me luck!