Over the last 13 years China has had a ban on video game consoles. As crazy as that may sound, China issued a ban in 2000 banning video games in Beijing “to safeguard children’s mental and physical development”.

Lenovo somehow got a system into the market last year which is similar to the Xbox Kinect beacuse it called it an “exercise and entertainment system”.

This past Christmas,  I was able to obtain an Xbox 360 with a Kinect at a very cheap price…(at close to half price). Up to this point, I have not played many video games or used a gaming system basically since I was a kid. That means that my exposure to video games pretty much began with the Atari 2600 and ended with ColecoVision. During those days, it would be nothing for me to sit with my brother and play games for hours, just like kids do today. However, we were also “made” to go outside and play.

Kids today however, spend much more time in front of the TV and less and less time outside.  On average, kids are spending up to 50 hours a week on video games!  Even though there are more active game systems and games including Wii and Kinect for Xbox, there’s no doubt that gaming has drastically  distracted kids from playing outside. Even I have found myself tempted to play a little more on the game system than I ever have before. I haven’t X’d my Xbox yet but I can see China’s concern, not that I would ever endorse such a thing in America, I’m wondering how you feel gaming systems have affected your kid’s outdoor activity? Comment and let me know.