Numbers don't lie: Godless families raise better children

A friend posted on Facebook last December something I thought was solid. She had given her son an iPad from Santa and, upon returning to school, he told his friends. One friend, who could be described as just above poverty level, said he got a new sweatshirt from Santa and a couple books. That's about all the kid's parents' could afford.

My friend vowed - and asked others to do the same - that she would in the future label her child's expensive presents from Mommy and Daddy, and label the less expensive ones as being from Santa. The premise being that it's easier for a child from a poorer background to understand that his wealthier friend's parents gave him an expensive present, than it is for him to understand why Santa gives the rich kids good stuff and the poor kids cheap stuff.

I really liked that, and I'll do it in the future. Besides, I want credit for the good presents. Screw Santa, he can get credit for the socks!

 

I think most people do this... A friend once told me, "Santa doesn't do electronics" and I think it's good advice.

 

Yeah, I don't count the book-reading program as tablet time. That's actually through his teacher. It's pretty cool. A voice reads the book to him as he follows along. Then he reads it to me. Then he takes a quiz on it.

The games he plays are some PBA Bowling game, some Jake and the Neverland Pirates Game, and some Paw Patrol game. We have RBI Baseball, too, but I haven't reminded him of it for a while because it's hard and he gets frustrated. Oh, and Fruit Ninja also.

 

Fruit Ninja is a favorite. Minecraft is the one I would tell parents to steer clear from, because it seems to be the most addictive of the games my kids play. My kids play the tablet versions of Madden and NBA 2015. Most of the ones they have are semi-educational.

 

There was a column I read somewhere a couple years ago - either in the NYT or WSJ or some national publication - about how people are too worried about making video games educational, and that it was OK for the kids to just play fun games sometimes, too. I think it talked about how parents of our generation are so high strung about making every last second count toward that Harvard application that scared to let them just be kids for one minute, even when they do traditional kid things. Though instinctively I tend to feel the same way you do - if he's having fun anyway, at least have him learn something while he does it.

I would have told you two or three years ago that my kids were never going to play video games. I probably posted that here. Now I realize that it's the greatest way in the world to get him to do what I want. Plus, hell, it's winter. It's like 5 degrees outside.

 

Atheists generally display a felony-level superiority complex and annoyance factor,

Minecraft is an outstanding game. Very creative. One of my son's friends has an assignment to "build a castle" in his seventh-grade science class, and he is building it in Minecraft.

 

An atheist, a vegan and a man on a gluten-free diet walked into a bar. I only know this because they told everyone within two minutes.

 

We would have also accepted CrossFit enthusiast.

 

Or Notre Dame alum.

 

I've read that one thing that strikes Europeans about Americans, particularly in the business world, is how quickly Americans volunteer their collegiate alma mater, Notre Dame or anywhere else. (But, indeed, ND grads are quicker on the draw than most.)

 

Was that before or after the fireman?