While working in the art room of the Boys and Girls Club, I had the opportunity to sit and talk with kids between the ages of 8 and 12 about their everyday lives. We talked about various subjects: from secret crushes to favorite movies to what they learned at school that day. Some kids were more willing to talk about some subjects than others and some barely spoke at all. One subject, however, had the kids so excited they were yelling to be heard over one another's voices; even those who had seemed shy were trying to chime in. The Nintendo DSi had been brought up.I come from an era of the Gameboy. While Gameboys were pretty fun, I know for a fact they weren't the type of toy that would have this strong of reaction. I asked the kids to tell me what made the Nintendo DSi so cool. Their biggest emphases were on the various games that could be played on it (from a pet shop game to bloody fighting games) as well its ability to text message. It seemed pretty cool to me, but I needed to do a little more research on my own. After calling a few of my younger cousins (who were shocked I knew nothing about such a cool toy) I realized what a cool item this Nintendo DSi was. The toy flips open and has two screens, a touch screen, two digital cameras, voice recording and music playing ability, and Wi-Fi connection. It comes in a wide assortment of colors and has an unbelievable amount of games that can be played with the DS system. This toy, which costs around $170, proved to be much more than what I had access to has a child.
This Nintendo DSi is a cultural artifact of today's culture of children. They all know what is and, if they don't already own one, then they want one badly. I think a new question is raised - how do we use this Nintendo DSi to help our kids grow? In a culture of violent video games, sexting, and the often dangerous internet, it's scary that a toy with access to all three of these is the hottest conversation topic among kids at an afterschool program that promotes the healthy growth and development of today's children. How do we work with toys like the Nintendo DSi to shape our children into those the Boys and Girls club aims to form? What are the positive aspects of the Nintendo DSi?
