Do you think computer games taken over the imagination of a child

There are many ways of looking at the question, and many theories. Historically, the arrival among us of the cinema - movie theater - was considered by some to herald the death of reading 'proper' books.

Comic books also were seen as potential killers of childrens' interest in 'real' books, as was television.

The popular novel was definitely sounding the end of any interest in non-fiction and 'good' fiction.

And what the miniskirt was going to do to our growing kids - well, it didn't bear thinking about.

None of these scenaria came to pass. Today, more books are published for all age groups than ever before. Age and cultural barriers are crossed in many excellent publications, fiction and non-fiction, while in the not-very-distant past, publications specifically for children, frequently aimed at school use, were stilted, uninteresting, culturally restrictive and quite often contained amazing errors of fact.

At the other end of the scale, children were forced at school to read and learn publications referred to as 'the classics', including Shakespeare's works which, marvellous though they are, served to teach children to literally avoid literature.

Now, more children read than ever before in our history. Children naturally have free imaginations, and are encouraged in many ways to use their imaginations without limit, to a far greater extent than in the past.

Computer games are no different from movies, comics, television and all the other things that were going to destroy childhood, take over our childrens' minds, make them (horror!) rebellious, and so on.

Only a minority will turn into screen-fixated mindless morons; the same few who become fixated, and have always become so, with any other single occupation to the exclusion of other interests and social contact.

We don't need to hear the dire warnings of those whose own imaginations appear to have stopped working long ago to know the kids are mostly all right; we only need to watch a bunch of children together. I live near three schools and a kindergarten, and close to the bus route to other schools and the city, and twice on every weekday I see children passing my home, chattering, laughing, and just generally being kids.

On weekends I see the same kids, still chattering and laughing, heading off to the park, to friends' homes, to catch the bus into the city - to just have fun. The local sportsgrounds are crowded with youngsters and their parents enjoying their favourite sports, and if all these kids spend some time playing computer games, fine. I expect their parents do, too.

Toys such as Lego are still huge sellers: those who see gloom and doom everywhere should ask, who's playing with all these great imagination-fuelling toys?

The same gloom merchants will stand in the supermarket complaining that people don't eat proper food anymore, while past them go trolleys full of fresh produce, good breads, and all the other fine foods so blessedly available to us every day. No, they don't seem to ask who's cooking and eating all this stuff?

Maybe they believe the good toys and the good food are all being bought as landfill, while the people with the trolleys go home to stare at small screens and eat junk? I don't know, but I do know these people aren't using either their eyes or their imaginations.

Perhaps it was the miniskirts, or the comics, or television, that caused it?