Oh, this is simply too good not to share.

Apparently, there is one British politician by the name of Glenis Willmot who supports an idea introduced in other European countries to help prevent children from spending too much time playing video games. The idea involves-- ready for this? -- for video game consoles to have a big red button installed, which parents can quickly press in order to stop their kids from playing.

“Research shows video games are useful for educational and medical purposes â€" and they can be good fun. But not all of them have content which parents will be happy with,â€� she says.

Hmm. A button that a parent, nay, that anyone could press at any time in order to make a game stop. It is a novel idea, and I applaud her creativity.

Oh, wait, except for one thing: Most consoles already have that. It's called a "Power" button. Granted, it's not "red" (except in some cases of the Xbox 360; and even then, if it is, you aren't playing anything anyway), but that's nothing that a can of paint and a brush can't solve.

Perhaps one could even get creative, and make a clown nose, or a happy face. That way, when the kid starts to sulk, the parent can just point at the console and say "...but see? Happy face!"

Of course, there are also parental controls. Though imagining how someone like Willmot might attempt to use such a feature reminds me of watching a King of the Hill episode.

Just think, those are British tax dollars at work here. Not that American tax dollars are likely to get you much more than that and a cup of coffee, but still.