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Most Parents Don't Game With Their Kids
A recent study, reported on by MSNBC, has found that a sizeable percentage of parents don't play games with their kids. Of those that do, many only play for a small portion of the time their kids are gaming, or have no real understanding of what their kids are playing. "Besides those who simply don't play the games with their children, another 30 percent say they spend less than an hour a week doing so. All told, about three in four parents of young gamers never or hardly ever touch the stuff. 'I don't think it's good for them, the violence, the obsession,' said Karen Kimball, 55, of Hale, Minn., another nonplayer who estimates her 17-year-old son plays 25 hours weekly. 'No longer is it, Let's go out and throw a football.'" I wonder how many parents object to their kids watching 20-25 hours a week of television. Is this a sign of current popular attitudes towards games, or honest parental concern over the 'dangers' of gaming?
In the article, it says 43 percent don't play with their kids, that means 57% DO play...seems MOST parents play games with their kids....Of course, this is coming from MSNBC.
Is this really surprising? Who here DID think parents game with their kids??
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
I think the gaming generation (those who grew up with video games being ubiquitous) are just now approaching parenting age. I'm thirty years old and I can't wait until my two children are old enough to play video games with. This is something Nintendo noticed, and so they created their system so that a 30 y/o parent can play along with their 5 y/o child. That parent has been playing video games since Atari, and will continue to play. Ten years from now parents and children will all play together and it will be the norm, and not considered some "gimmick".
I grew up watching my parents playing Pacman and Asteroids on the venerable 2600, and got my first chops on a computer by making levels for Lode Runner with my dad. My childhood's filled with those kinds of memories, along with the fishing trips and the amusement parks and all the other usual stuff. So it's no wonder that my son's growing up dancing along to Guitar Hero, rolling around the pretty shiny ball in Metroid, and learning his alphabet by playing online games (Fisher-Price and Starfall are his favorites)
I do all the usual Dad stuff with him too; we throw the ball around, I read books to him, we push around toy cars (Vrrooms, as he calls them), we hang out the park on weekends. But it's the digital age, and the generation that grew up with the Video game industry is going to incorporate it into their children's lives just as our parents grew up in front of the TV. The interactivity of video gaming just makes it a much better bonding experience -- it's something we do together actively, not passively.
Is anyone really surprised by this? After all most video games aren't even designed to support 2 players.
Even those that can usually do so by splitting the screen, which just causes confusion and even headaches for most adults.
Besides, I can't see it being that fun for either the kid or the parent, especially if the parent is a non-gamer in the first place. It really isn't very fun to get continually pwned by your opponent while you're still trying to figure out how to even hold the controller, much less which buttons do what. And the parent's aggravation will just aggravate the kid. "No, daddy, hit the X button! X BUTTON!" "Uh..." *looks down at the controller* "Which is the X button again?" *splat*
Yeah, that sounds like fun for all.
If anyone wonders why the Wii is doing so well, this is why. The controller and included sports games are easy enough to handle for newbie and expert alike, so at least the parent feels he can give the kid an appropriate challenge.
Would kids let their parents play with them? It would probably depend on the game.
- Little kids don't like being beaten at a simple game consistently
- Older ones can be impatient attempting to show their parents the ropes.
- Sometimes parents want to play when they see their kids playing with their friends. The kids don't like to have their friends see how much the parents suck at the game.
- Stereotype of parents not being cool *period*
Disclaimer: I'm talking about parents born during the 50s through to the early 70s.
"It's just such a waste of time," said Lackman, 47, a power plant operator from Center, N.D. "I tell him, 'Do something that has some lasting value.'"
And what, exactly, has he accomplished with his life that's got lasting value? The article declines to mention any charity work, artistic endeavours, or community programs he's involved in that his son's neglecting. Odds are good he spends his spare time in front of the TV, watching football and drinking beer.
News flash for parents: if you want your kids do great things, first you have to do great things with them. If your son's more interested in slaying monsters online than spending time with you, it's probably because whatever he's doing is more engaging than what you've got planned for "Quality Time".
"I don't think it's good for them, the violence, the obsession," said Karen Kimball, 55, of Hale, Minn., another nonplayer who estimates her 17-year-old son plays 25 hours weekly. "No longer is it, 'Let's go out and throw a football.'"
I really hope this is misquoted, because if this 55 year old mom is disappointed that her 17 year old son to offer to go outside (where his friends can see) and throw a football with her, she's got more problems than video games. How about challenging him to a game of Madden? Would it kill you to try and engage your teenage son on his level, rather than guilt him into breaking social norms? I'm not saying there's anything *wrong* with throwing around a football with your mother, but try explaining that to the pimple-faced horndog who's just trying to survive the pressures a high school social fishbowl.
many only play for a small portion of the time their kids are gaming
I know I do, because my kids spend more time gaming in a day than my total free time. I find it hard to believe this is unusual.
There is no qualification of the participants. I'd wager a guess that these numbers include a large number of parents that don't play with their kids AT ALL.
Let's see some numbers on parents that actually have a history of interacting with their children to begin with, then I'll be more interested.
The kids and I play catch with the football. As soon as I stop watching, they're crashing into each other and dragging each other to the ground. That's the way football is actually played competitively. They see that and imitate it (without pads of course).
I understand what she's saying, but what an ironic choice of non-violent activity. I know I'm coming off like a weird hippy, by sometimes I see football games and think that we're not nearly as far separated from the Roman crowds watching the gladiators as we pretend.
-Dave
Life's 90% work and 10% play. The kids that learn that early on have a better chance at being successful and self-controlled.
Says you! Some people happen to have jobs that are... FUN! You know, the movie stars, the skydiving insturctors, the mythbusters, and maybe just maybe video game developers?
If your child has an intrest in video games, I think it's entirely possible to make that into a career someday.