Poker is Good for Kids?
I was talking with a colleague the other day, and we were talking about growing up. I got into some trouble when I was growing up, being that I was a little shit-head know-it-all. (Those of you that know me are saying "was?") But I never got into serious trouble, never did drugs, barely drank and never got arrested. But my coworker got into serious trouble, involved in drugs, etc.
We wondered what the differences in our childhoods were that we had very different experiences. We grew up in the same state, in basically the same suburban setting, and we are about the same age. Neither of us came from a broken home, neither of us were rich but neither of us wanted for anything.
We hung out with vastly different crowds, and that seems to be the difference. But how did we end up hanging with such different crowds? Why did he gravitate to the "hang out and do drugs" crowd and I gravitated to the "get a job and make some money" crowd?
It was hobbies. I had a killer hobby, and it consumed me. I was into photography, and that pretty much kept me out of trouble.
While my friend was bored, hanging out with his friends getting high, I was building a darkroom in my closet. I was working in the mall camera store so I could save up some money for a new camera lens, he was watching MTV and getting stoned.
My friend had a hobby too, he played guitar in a band. A friday night for him was hanging out in a friends basement playing guitar and getting wasted. For me it was going to three different high school football games and working in the local newspaper's darkroom until 1 AM.
Now Time magazine tells us that some parents think Poker is Good for Kids? I'm not sure if that's the kind of hobby that's going to set your kids on the right path.
Teaching your kids to gamble is a dangerous thing. It's better that they should learn it like every other kid, by stealing their parents' credit cards and signing up for party poker.
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4 comments:
Thank you for taking the Self Quiz. Your score was 5. This result is consistent with a likely diagnosis of pathological gambling. It is important to note that this self test is not a diagnosis and DOES NOT replace a face to face evaluation with a trained clinical professional. We urge you to seek further assistance or information about your gambling behavior.
This was the quiz through the link at the end of the article. The questions seem a little too broad however to assess someone's inability to gamble responsibly.
I've often wondered how my teenage kids would deal with being exposed to poker at their age. My son, now in college, plays online poker like I do on his own money. I don't encourage it and often tell him never to dip into his savings to reload. So far he's done OK but fact remains he's a poker player like his dad. They started playing poker with their buddies back when Moneymaker hit it big in 2003. They saw that I played online poker and some of them opened their own accounts (without my blessings).
So, teach them money management and discipline from the start. And hopefully they won't abuse it.
You chose 11 'Yes' responses.
Your score indicates that you should seek help immediately for what is clearly a problem.
I got the high score so far! Go me! BTW, Drizz, the test is based on the usual Gambler's Anonymous questions. Anyone wanna bet that they can beat my high score on the Gambling Addiction Quiz?
Duggle I think you left out one cruicial point.
by stealing their parents credit cards and signing up for party poker HERE [insert your referral link] :D
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