Re: People prefer videogames to the outdoors

I agree. I was at my brother's for Thanksgiving and was cajoled into playing Wii tennis. As an actual tennis player I thought, what's the point of this? I already know how to play tennis, and not with faulty video game skills.

Like most things, there's probably a (very small) place, in moderation, for stuff like this. But not at the expense of actually doing stuff.

I guess I'd rather have someone play Wii sport and dancing games than violent video games, but ultimately doing real things (preferably including lots of things outside) is best.

By the way, I saw "The Dangerous Book for Girls" at the library today, complete with the sections Bill mentioned above, though there certainly were a number of active sections (like softball and snowball fights), beyond how to tie a sari. I haven't seen the boys version yet though, which sounds way more exciting. I did notice that the girls book included some female role models though, which is a positive aspect.

My potential problem with the books is labeling certain activities as ones for boys or girls. I think it's good to expose all kids to a range of activities, especially outdoor ones.