Should I expose my 6 year old daughter to video games?

There have been many arguments going back and forth about the effects of video games on young children. I was blissfully ignoring this problem, until now. Phoebe, who will turn six soon has been bugging me to get her a DSlite, ever since last Christmas. Should I get one for her? What do I do? At wits end, I turn to fellow gamers for advise. I found a lively discussion on the internet regarding putting a gaming console into the hands of a young child. And I agree with this poster that the parent should remain in control of how their children spend their time. I quote,

Now, I know for a fact that she would love to play Animal Crossing on the DS. But whether or not she will love it is not the point. She would love to eat potato chips and ice cream for every meal, but being a responsible parent is not about giving your kid what makes them happy moment to moment...

What insight. How can you disagree with that. But then, I cannot agree with the same poster regarding the ill effects of electronic games on the development and creativity of young and impressionable kids. Yes, the time spent on playing games takes away the time for other "more productive" activities like drawing, writing and reading. I myself being a young gamer, was exposed to computer games at a young age. I feel that computers is a modern tool, just like how the pen and brush was to children many ages ago. I think that computers should be explored and taken seriously, even for a six year old. In the past, they say that the pen is mightier than the sword. But if we look into the future, I see that the keyboard will definitely be greater than both.

As such, I have decided go ahead and get her that DSlite for her 6th birthday. It will surely make Phoebe (and me?) happy, I hope...