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away to your computer and compete in a nonjudgmental atmosphere.

How can this issue be brought to balance? I do not believe that an article would have to be written on young people and computer games if parents were more involved. Parents set the standard for their children. Life is not always black and white. Most things that we encounter in this world have its good side and its negative side. Anything needs to be in balance.

A child's schoolwork and chores need to come before entertainment activities. You must have a healthy lifestyle and exercise everyday. A foundation of being kind and honest is a must. Parents and children should respect one another. When a child is taught respect at home, they learn to respect others in society. Children should not be exposed to violence at a young age. They will see enough of that in their lifetime and parents need to teach them how to cope with that over a period of time. All that being said, it can be a lot of fun for the family to spend time in the evening playing nonviolent games on the television.

Case in point: My daughter earned her first gaming system when she was seven years old. She saved birthday money and did small chores around the house to earn the system. Her first game was the original Mario game on the original Nintendo. She played the game for about five minutes before she threw down the controller and ran into her bedroom in tears. My husband and I took up the controllers and began to master the game. Our daughter joined us when she saw that she was not the only one that got stuck. It became a family affair to get Mario to the end of the game. She began to see that we did not give up if we failed. We discussed strategy and kept at it until we won the game. We encouraged each other as we each reached our goals. There were many points where I had to ask my daughter to play my character so that I could get to the end of the game. She loved to know that even at seven years old, she could do something mom couldn't. It was affirming to her that she was a "winner."

Through the years we have had many of my daughter's friends and cousins play games at our house. I have found that my daughter has picked her friends as we have taught her to pick games, television programs, books, etc. Her friends weren't always the most popular people but they were some of the best as far as character.

We still game as a family together and separately. My daughter loves to game on her computer and on our television with or without us. Friends drop by for a game or two, often. Our house is always filled with youth and laughter. Someday we may be grandparents competing with the next generation of gamers. It won't be easy to beat "the old man or lady." I wouldn't have it any other way

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