Stop DSing me!

I will admit, I have contemplated buying a DS for my daughter.  She plays on the computer or Wii from time to time.  Sometimes even on our Nintendo 64 (yeah, it still works).  We have more games for the Nintendo 64 than the Wii.  All said, we have less than 20 games total.

Her computer time is limited to quasi-educational games like Poptropica, PBSKids or Nick Jr.

But I digress from the DS.  This contraption keeps kids quiet.  They focus in for hours without any real communication with a live being.  The DS is part of teaching children to be introverts without the capability to have a fully functioning relationship in their life.

Ok, that may be extreme.  Yet this evening, at a local restaurant, I saw a young man not eat his dinner nor speaking to his parents as he clicked away on his DS.  When his father finally took notice, he abruptly took the DS away which caused the child to throw a fit.  Of course, I am just a bystander and don't know what is happening in the home, yet I have to wonder if communication does.

Then as we were leaving, a young lady comes in with her family holding her DS.  

Then our neighbor boy who 'plays' with his friends on the DS, instead of face to face actual playing.

So as we lecture our daughter not to read her book while we have dinner, I hope others will ask their child to stop DSing them.