What Are Your Family's Rules for Handheld Gaming? (DS, Etc)

Defiantely my rule is not until after chores/homework are done. I think once the newness wears off they won't be playing them so much anymore. For storage I got a lunchbox. It's perfect for holding all the games and the system and it's easy to carry and keep track of.

I think a 1 hr max after hw and chores and would keep them all together and have them ask you when they can play. Especially for the 4 yr old.

You did not mention your children ages. When my children were younger, and we finally gave in to the handheld game frenzy, we allowed play Friday at 5:00 p.m. until Sunday at 5:00 p.m. only. And the newness wore off.

no playing until after homework, and not more than 1 hour a day - extra time can be earned by doing extra chores - thats our rule.

my son has already lost about 3 games, i keep telling him "put them in the case when you take one out, one needs to go back in" but at 7, he just hasnt quite got it yet lol.

my son loves the super mario bros, pokemon games, cooking mama, sonic rush and bowsers inside story. I loved scribblenauts it was really fantastic, also trauma under the knife, the professor leighton games, i also secretly loved super mario lol.

some games not worth it are zoo tycoon for ds - so much better on the pc and lionel trains was really hard to work out.

i allow my children 1 hour on the gaming system or computer once homework or chores are done. after that they need to do a different type of activity. we store all the games in one place usually in a clear plastic tote with a lid i get mine from the dollar store. if a child gets a game as a gift he is allowed to keep the game for3 days before it has to go in the family box. it is up to him for the 3 days if he lets his brothers use it after that it goes in the family box.

Actually your rule is awesome as long as homework and chores are done so be it let them play. I will say its probably better than watching tv. My two oldest have them and they where on them like that but after 6 months there bearly on them now they play with them ut not for long and they get bored quick i would just let the universe move and things will calm down.

When my stepson got his video game here we told him, it was for his allergy shots, and long car rides as we do some traveling, and he can play occasionally in the house, but he had to ask first. He hardly ever take it anywhere with him to play. I think he has only played it a total of 4 or 5 hours and he has had it about a year.

If you put rules in place, such as you have, but limit the time. You can let them earn more time, and for that, keep a chore chart or a chore jar, and when they have so many stickers, or items in the jar, they can get another hour of play at their choice for the hour, BUT it can't interfere with family time.

In all honesty, I feel you have to go with what works for you and your family on this one. Everyone has different needs for their family and requirements. What works for my family may not work out for yours ~ no offense.

Try to remember - in life it is a matter of balance with everything we do. Not just with our diet, but with physical activity, reading, etc., etc...

Go with your gut. You alone know this answer. :)

On a school day my kids are only allowed 30 minutes of video game time (DS, Wii, etc.) and then on the weekends there's no "real" limit, but if it seems excessive we tell them they can't play anymore that day.

As far as keeping the stuff safe, we have several of those old style square metal lunch boxes that they put all their stuff in.

As far as games, it varies from kid to kid as to what they like. One game they all seem to enjoy though is "Cooking Momma". The important thing with games I think is make sure they are age-appropriate and have some type of educational value to them whenever possible.

Good luck!

My 7 year old son also got a ds for Christmas. They both had leapsters that were only used for long car trips but my son has wanted to use his ds more often. We have the rule that if he has a good day at school (no warnings for talking, etc.) then he gets a half hour of ds after school. It works out real well and he never fights us when his time is up. We have the same rule about computer use in the evening. He is allowed to have them on long car trips but nopt when we get to someone's house.

When my kids first got theirs, we decided how many hours a week we were comfortable letting them play the games (this will be up to you depending on your lifestyle, schedule, etc. I think we started with 8 hours/week) Then I got plastic poker chips (at the dollar store) and gave each kid their own color. I used a Sharpie to number/mark the chips...each was worth 1/2 hour. After the chores, homework, etc. were done, they could turn in a chip and play for 1/2 hour. They had to "budget" their time, because when the chips were gone for the week...they didn't get them back until the following Monday. (They liked to save more for the weekend, since they had more free time then). My husband and I could decide to give them "free time" (like on long car rides!) for which they didn't need to use their chips.

As for keeping track of the games and accessories...we got these really cool "backpacks" at Best Buy made by Nintendo especially for the DS. We also bought each an accessory kit with extra stylus, screen protectors, and cases for the game cartridges. The rule was if we found ANYTHING laying around outside of the backpack...it got taken by us! (Even the DS itself). It sunk in quickly that we were serious. Our reasoning was that the pieces are too small to leave laying around and would be too easy to lose something. (We have now found two games in hotel rooms and a case with a DS inside under some bleachers that belonged to other kids!)

Hope these tips help...they worked well for us!

My rules have also been not until til a chore a day is done for each one and each kid has to have their chore done before any of them touch a video game, this promotes teamwork. In the car they have free rain because it is soo much quieter for driving and they dont' seem to care as much what is on the radio so it's almost like having no one else in the car. I also make sure they have their clothes picked out for the next day on a school night (I posted a list of things that need to be done in the hallway).
I also have a manatory rule of 1 hour outside for each kid. That doesn't seem like a lot and I don't have a problem with 2 of my kids with that rule, but my third boy would never go outside if I didn't have the rule. They get too busy on the games that they lose track of time and I want them to never forget what it is like to be outside.
Each child is different, I have a boy that works out 12 hours a week in a gym, one that loves video games and legos and hates going outside and one that loves TV, but likes a variety of things outside even just walking and catching bugs. Punishment for one for not obeying the rules may be time outside and one reading, and the other a time out (having to hold still). Good Luck! Hope you get lots of advice that you can adapt to your own kids.
As for games I use the rating system on them for a guide. I do not allow guns or violence games or cartoons. My boys all were attached to them for months but it wore off, especially when summer came along. Use extra chores to earn more games or birthdays and holidays only and they stop asking for more games. I purchased messanger bags for each one of them with their DS's to keep track of games and DS, it worked ok for the main system but the games I still find everywhere (in couches etc..) because they are so small. Someone told me they used a sign out sheet for games to help keep track of them and it seemed to work for them, but I never tried it because they combined all their stuff to one area and don't play them as much anymore.

Hi there - my six year old got a DS for his birthday and to start with he was playing it all the time. Now he plays it, but not for that long. It's great for journeys or if we at one of his big brother's sports games. When you think they've been playing for too long (more than an hour or two) try to offer them an alternative, but I think they self-monitor after a while. Now, when you've got teenagers with iTouches......that's a different story all together and they can play for hours......scarey! - Alison

I bought a case my son can keep all his games in. He doesn't have many (he trades them in a lot), but they are easy to lose.

He was really having trouble grasping math and I had been working with him for a year with no luck. Flash cards, extra worksheets from learning books, you name it. I told my husband that I didn't know what else to do to help him get it. I found a Math tutorial 'game' for him and he has to play it for 15 min a day. He doesn't complain about playing it and his math scores for his multiplication tables has gone from getting less than half of the hundred problems done in 5 min to getting 99 and having them be right. It's called Personal Trainer Math. I'm also thinking about getting him the Professor Layton games since they are about reasoning and I'm still at my wits end with story problems.

He has other games, Lego, and some racing ones. He's got some where he is playing but learning and others that are just mindless. He's good about them and seems to go in spurts where he plays a lot and sometimes where he doesn't touch it for weeks (except that math!). If he has unfinished chores or homework then he needs to finish those things first.

I think that keeping them to after homework use and keeping TV, computer and video games all limited is the key. Some kids play them more than others. I did not allow them in the gym during siblings games as I thought it more important to learn to support what the other child was doing and that's where a lot of things get lost.

I also have my kids buy their own games. Then they keep better track of them. They often get used games at Gamestop and exchange games they no longer play. It's their own inventory management lesson I guess.

My son is only allowed to play on the weekends - enough other things going on during the school week! :) As far as games...Professor Layton has fun logic puzzles - and there are all sorts of "educational" games (well, as educational as DS can get!). I had a student last year who would come in every morning and tell me animal facts she had learned from one of the animal ones - vet or something. So maybe some of those games too...