Since the 1990s (when computers really became mainstream), the “just one more level” fight between children and their parents has been a very debated issue. And since “parents know best” (yeah, right!), the fighting usually ended with the kid being grounded or the computer put out of use (God knows I myself had huge fights with my parents when I was younger).

Well, for all the parents out there that consider talking as being useless and force much better in dealing with a stubborn child (it's not, forcing your decision upon anything always has bad consequences), the GameDr Video Game Timer has been invented. A device that locks onto the power cord of all video game consoles and... well... shuts them down once time has expired.

Why, ain't that nice? The press release cites Jennifer Seter, who wrote the following regarding videogaming addiction, “It is better to set–and enforce–time restrictions. Games should never be a child’s main focus.” Indeed, children should focus on more important things, like the stock market, trying to solve world hunger and forget about things like having fun.

I agree that although gaming was not addictive in the 90s and early 2000, right now more and more children become addicted, obsessed with computer games. But that is exactly because parents, instead of talking and understanding their children, prefer to take the “easy way out” and force them with ignorant rules and crude tools that try to “train” the child into submission.

Perhaps parents should be more understanding with their children, try to compromise and (God forbid such a thing) actually play that computer game that the kids like so much. Maybe they'll see the game is actually a good tool in their kids' education. When I was younger (90s), adventure games were at their peak with puzzles, multi-leveled stories, different endings and so on.

I learned to like a good story, how to solve puzzles and developed a lot of the traits that define me as a person today. But if you really want such a crude device, it will be available in June for 29.99 USD.


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