Video games have many benefits to our community. They give us an opportunity to escape our own reality whenever it proves to be too much. They give some students opportunities to learn in a way made easier for them. They give researchers and developers a method to conduct their respective tasks. But at the same time these games can cause many problems.

Although it pains me to say this, video games do have an influence on our sense of judgment when played or used incorrectly. There are many parents who do not monitor what their children’s play thus never noticing the changes in behaviors that children produce when playing overly violent games that weren’t meant for their age group. Furthermore, many times adults also allow their judgments to be influenced and persuaded by these overly violent video games as well.

There are times when this goes too far. The news reporters always report things like murder and homicides, so it’s not that big a surprise when people hear that a game influenced someone to murder someone. However, the situation is a little different this time around.

It all started when Shizu Shigeta, a Japanese 42 year old mother asked her 5-year-old son a simple question, after her son asked for his Nintendo DS, which she threw in the trashcan as punishment.

“Which is more important? Your game or breathing?”

At that time, the child gave the same answer any 5-year-old child would and replied with “My Game!”

Any normal parent would be irritated by the response, but none would go this far.

It has been stated in the official crime reports that: “…she then tied up her son and put him in two garbage bags thus causing him to suffocate to death.”

Just let that sink in for a moment.

As said before, video games do cause violence at times; it’s been proven true time and time again.  But never this far.

Imagine yourself with your children and then proceeding to cruelly murder them… over a simple outdated game console.

It pains me deeply hearing news like this. Not only because it adds fire to the war between Games and Society, but because it also caused the unjust death of an innocence child.

Children these days rely heavily on their parents. Without them, they wouldn’t be able to function correctly within society. So to hear that the child’s parent was the cause of his death… it just lights an angry fire within me.

So today I ask all the parents reading this, take better care of your children.

Monitor their actions in a way that they’ll have their limited freedom, but you’ll still be able to have control over what they do. It’s up to you to raise them, so for everyone’s sake, raise them right. Cherish them and help them, do it now while you can, because in the end, you’ll never know when they’ll be gone.