From businesswire.com:

The new line, which is set to hit shelves of leading retailers this month provides a unique, valuable and interactive play pattern for children three to twelve, according to Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “My Baby Girl and My Baby Boy encourage creativity, problem solving and responsibility and the nurturing associated with raising an infant,” Mroz adds. “Most of all, however, children will just have fun playing with each of these new games.”

Developed in response to a growing demand for educational products available for play on Nintendo DS, My Baby Girl and My Baby Boy engage children in the parenting process, something many children are curious about at an early age. The child is in charge of every aspect of making a baby happy, from feeding and bathing to changing the baby’s diaper and clothes.

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From slashdot.org:

A nice discussion over at Slashdot, about non-violent cooperative games. Do you have any suggestions?

While I generally don’t play computer games, I do occasionally play games like Crossfire or The Mana World, because they have more of a story line and allow you to go at your own pace. What I don’t care much about, though, is that they are still focused on killing monsters and amassing wealth, and it gets very tedious after a while. Are there really no games where the goal isn’t so much about increasing your own power and defeating others, but where you instead grow by doing things that benefit others, where enemies shouldn’t be killed out of hand, but befriended; where learning, teaching, research and social skills are more important than killing and conquering? Would people be interested in a game of that nature?

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From timesonline.co.uk:

Yet it is a scene being created in homes up and down the country this weekend, giving the lie to the claim that harmonious family life in modern Britain has all but disappeared. There may be no piano for a singalong, and the Monopoly board is gathering dust in a corner. Instead, the 21st-century family is bonding around a computer game.

These days home entertainment involves racing against one another in cartoon go-karts, a father taking on his son in a virtual game of tennis, or a mother taking the same exercise class as her daughter. Even grandparents join in. Computer games have become the modern family’s shared experience and the console is the centrepiece of a happy home.

Computer games will outsell music and video in Britain for the first time this year, a report released this week says. This surge for games has been fuelled largely by the sale of family-friendly games such as Wii Sports and Mario Kart .

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From canadianpress.google.com:

Parents must enforce moderation if they’re going to keep their kids from getting addicted to video games, the developer of one of the hottest games to hit the market said Friday.

Vance Wallace, the lead designer of “Tomb Raider: Underworld” which is set for release later this month just in time for Christmas, admitted gaming could become an obsession for some kids.

“I’m not a politician, a judge or even a parent, but I would say that just like with anything else, moderation is really important whether you’re talking about video games or anything in your life – movies, TV,” he said.

“You can go overboard with it, but it needs to be taken in moderation.”

His comments come just days after the body of gamer Brandon Crisp was discovered in a wooded area near his Barrie, Ont., home.

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From dell.com:

An older article I just stumbled upon, but still useful.

While kids use the family computer for various activities, they probably never use it with as much gusto as when gaming. Good habits, smart software choices and age awareness can help make online gaming safe, appropriate, fun — and even educational.

Take an active role in your kids’ gaming with these healthy habits for parents:

Educate Yourself.

Find out what games your kids play and what sites they visit to access those games. Determine the time investments your kids’ games require. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (or MMORPGs) often reward players based on the cumulative amount of time spent playing them. You may decide that games like these are unhealthy for your kids.

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From mpnnow.com:

Brighton’s director of health, physical education and athletics, Fritz Killian, has seen changes to the physical education programs in his three years in the district.

They’ve added a rock climbing wall, a Dance Dance Revolution gaming unit, kayaking and an orienteering program that uses global positioning system (GPS) technology. Of course, Brighton still offers the traditional gym sports, but Killian said it’s important to offer activities for everyone.

“You’re always going to have a population that loves the traditional basketball or football,” he said. “But we’re also getting students who would like to try those non-traditional activities.”

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