DS 'turned kids into monsters'

by Chris Greenhough { May 4th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Everybody's favorite scaremongering rag the Daily Mail is at it again. Regular Mail scribe and middle England mom Rosie Millard has written about how a Nintendo DS "turned my delightful, curious and funny children into argumentative demons full of aggression." In the 1,000-word article, Millard laments that her blissful domestic existence was disrupted by her offspring squabbling over the console, and knows exactly where the blame lies: the "hideous" DS.

So far, so predictable, but whereas we'd usually be irked by something like this, we actually found most of it amusing. For example, Millard unwittingly admits to purchasing pirated games ("The pale blue, £150 Nintendo finally arrived last November, fresh from Hong Kong, crammed with a 'bundle' of 20 games including Brain Trainer, Fifa 08, and Nintendogs"), while some of the language used is so ridiculously over the top and inflated that we couldn't help but smirk -- apparently, the DS encouraged a "mood [...] of anger, confrontation, pain and frustration." Eyes. Rolling.

Our advice, Rosie? Get a Wii -- they're lots of fun, and more suited to social gaming than the DS. As far-fetched as it seems, maybe you'll even crack a smile and have a go.

[Thanks, Matt!]

Tags: brain-training, controversy, daily-mail, media, nintendogs, piracy

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Aquilo @ May 4th 2008 5:14PM

She has 4 kids and 1 DS.. Hmm..

jsutcliffe @ May 4th 2008 5:26PM

Exactly what I was thinking.

Roto13 @ May 4th 2008 5:29PM

Anyone with her DNA in them is doomed from the start anyway.

ALH @ May 4th 2008 6:32PM

How disgustingly middle class. i like how she suggests musical instruments are a better use of time, as if that is something easily affordable for most familys.

chispito @ May 5th 2008 1:47AM

I'm speculating, but it seems that most people who like to complain about the middle class are risk averse and tend to work in government, education, non profits, or heavily unionized sectors. Basically, anything where there is a guarantee that unless you do a remarkably bad job for a remarkably long time, you can't legally be fired.

Don't confuse this lady's apparently poor common sense with her socio economic status.

ALH @ May 5th 2008 4:56AM

that or some of us cannot stand snobbery

OW @ May 5th 2008 7:00AM

Snobbery, like most forms of discrimination, is not a one way street. You have merely demonstrated yourself to be a complete hypocrite. Congratulations.

Besides, what's wrong with the suggestion of musical instruments as an alternative to a Nintendo DS. So these families can afford a DS but not a guitar? Grow up. I'm not saying I agree with the woman (who would), but your comments was the sort of opinionated rubbish I'd expect to see from a Zoe Williams article in the Guardian.

guts @ May 4th 2008 6:41PM

Her children look evil

hvnlysoldr @ May 4th 2008 6:54PM

Send in Super Nanny.

andy @ May 4th 2008 7:18PM

If they're not arguing over a DS, they'll be arguing over whatever toy you put between them. Its what kids do. I know I did it.

Red @ May 4th 2008 7:38PM

The part that bothered me about the article (aside from the lack of logic as remarked in comment #1) was how that woman sounded like she considered her kids to be a little above a pet. I was half-expecting her to have a throwaway line like, "Why, after the infernal device was brought into our home, I couldn't get my little Honey to take her daily walks. 'No, mum,' she'd say as I waved the leash at her, 'Let me get to the save point first.'"

bones3d @ May 4th 2008 8:21PM

Wow, you'd think this woman has never heard about the concept of supply and demand. Wonder if she'd be cool about royal family taking all her belongings just because they can. After all, a mere peasant getting all uppity over an insufficient supply of necessities due to royal hoarding would make her "evil"... or at least, her belongings are.

Naiyeli @ May 4th 2008 9:03PM

Mommy it wasn't my fault! The Nintendo Ds told me to do it! ;_;

NvM @ May 4th 2008 11:44PM

GTA?
It's the DS that's is ruinin our childrens!

Jacksons @ May 4th 2008 9:45PM

What a goon.

ladyofkrypton @ May 6th 2008 9:32PM

Wow. She blames her own lack of parenting skill on something SHE bought. And to make it worse, she only bought one ds when she has 4 kids. I can understand if you don't have the money to get 4 of them. But don't blame the fact that you're kids are fighting over the one system ON the system. -_-;

ssuk @ May 5th 2008 3:46AM

As if you needed another reason not to listen to the Daily Mail: http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/02/british-paper-paying-for-game-violence-stories/

They pay good money for these sorts of stories. Someone making it up to get cash? Maybe. Exaggerating the truth? Possibly. Edited and twisted to sound worse than it is? Ding, ding, ding. We have a wiiiiinner!

chill penguin @ May 5th 2008 5:02AM

Also what little fans know: In the original lineout for Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker was dragged to the dark side by a crimson red Nintendo DS.

This device IS evil, my friends!

XionPH @ May 5th 2008 5:35AM

These stories really bother me. I am sure, if she used her head, she would know that if you get your kids something you had better then them each one, or something they can all play at the same time. Try to give them a one peice of cake and one fork and tell them to share it. Then see how well THAT turns out! Honestly, some people should not have kids.

Narcosynthesis @ May 6th 2008 9:19AM

Seem to me that it is more her unorganised and limited use of it that annoyed everyone. Give kids a toy they enjoy playing and naturally they will want to play it as much as they can, and if that includes four kids and one toy then there will be fights.

Whats the bets that if she had set some solid groundrules then everyone would have been happy? Each kid gets x amount of time to play a day, or a day each or whatever. Then everyone gets a set amount of time and no fighting between them.

One other thing - she said she hid the console yet they still got hold of it and played it. Either they live with no rules and are free to do what they want and she felt the need to subvert them by hiding it instead of banning them from playing, or they are just unruly and undisciplined and ignore her requests and rules anyway. Neither shows her off as the mum of the year...

Insanimal @ May 5th 2008 10:36AM

Sounds deeply fishy to me. None of the charity shops I know will take electrical items.

eugaet @ May 5th 2008 10:47AM

My son and I have been playing DS games (as well as games on other platforms) together for quite a while and we've never been closer. Of course, we're both argumentative demons full of aggression, though.

briancstrock @ May 5th 2008 10:53AM

Good to know it isn't just parents in the US who will take any excuse they can get to blame their children's abhorrent behavior on anything but their own atrocious parenting.

C.R. @ May 5th 2008 12:18PM

4 kids and 1 DS? I have a brother and a sister and we all have one each. It was the same for the GBA SP. It wouldn't kill to get at least 1 more, would it? It's her fault that she's a pushover. I agree with her on the My Little Pony being hideous, though. And I suppose it did go to a good cause... but it was a bit too drastic, giving it away.

C.R. @ May 5th 2008 12:22PM

Another thing that irks me is how she gives us people from England a bad name! Making out we're a bunch of sad bids who don't like to game... I hate us sometimes.

rikki @ May 5th 2008 4:21PM

"I'll admit, the Nintendo had its uses. I managed to achieve a longheld aim of getting a short haircut for Phoebe [...] She was so engrossed that she failed to notice the flashing blades and ended up with a wonderfully short crop."

What a wonderful woman. I can understand having rules and regulations on the hairstyles in your household, but resorting to deception to force a hairstyle on your ten year-old daughter is pretty cruel. Way to omit the part about how she cried inconsolately afterward, Mom!

...I can understand getting rid of the DS to correct misbehavior; it's fitting punishment, and my mother would have done the same and then some if I'd stolen a "restricted" toy from where she'd hidden it. But honestly, I think she's Doing It Wrong. The occasional biting and hitting I can understand, but on the whole a ten year-old and an eight year-old (and maybe even the five year-old) should ALREADY know how to SHARE.

Why do the bints always have to have so many kids anyway? I swear, it's as if the number of kids you give birth to is indirectly proportional to your intelligence and the amount of common sense you posess.

elfgirl @ May 5th 2008 8:21PM

its not the ds's fault- its poor parenting. any toy you put between them will cause a fight if they like it. and every family has problems. her kids can't have been little angels or argued about whos was whos- unless she never bought them toys

Matdredalia @ May 6th 2008 5:35PM

What really, really killed me about this article is how she talks about how she uses the DS to keep her kids quiet on the train, or to con her daughter into getting a short haircut.

I'm sorry, but if my mother had basically bribed me into getting my hair butched off into a style I didn't like, there would have been hell to pay.

This woman, who claims to value the arts, creativity, and self expression, apparently doesn't know what those words mean. God forbid she let her daughter have the haircut of her choice. I mean, of course, a ten year old girl could NEVER make a reasonable choice about her haircut. Sure, you can let her lose with a machine that costs �150, but choosing how to express herself through her appearance? Perposterous.

I feel so bad for her children.