GregHowley.com

The Impact of Being a Gaming Parent

May 8, 2007 -

I just read a great article on 2old2play.com entitled The Impact of Being a Gaming Parent. The article caught my eye of course because I've got a daughter on the way. (4 weeks!) But as I kept reading, it turned into a really good story and an even better example for parents, specifically gaming parents.

We've all heard it before, "Video games are bad for kids". The press, some celebrities, religious leaders and of course politicians want to blame events and actions of our children on video games. This is our opportunity as gaming parents to prove them wrong.

Video games mean so much more for parents. Being a gaming parent means more quality time with our children and more sharing. It gives us insight to what our children enjoy and gives us control over what our children do.

If you've got the time, the article is a great read.

Comments on The Impact of Being a Gaming Parent
 
Comment Wed, May 9 - 7:00 PM by pmd
2old2play.com... Is that anything like "Too old to rock and roll, too young to die?"

Here's some grandma playing Paper Mario (warning: Spoilers/Language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7XMPRE-YOI

I love the conversation after 4:44 (Possible Spoiler... or maybe not)
Kid: So I don't get it, they're committing suicide?!?!
Grandma: Yea
Kid: It's a F***ing Mario Game!
Grandma: It's not actually suicide. He was going to die anyhow and she was a butterfly so what they did was killed the black heart by showing true love.
Kid: But they're dead.
Grandma: No, they're actually living on another planet somewhere in another dimension.

Yea, butterflies and persons about to die... I'd love to see that eHarmony commercial.
 
Comment Fri, May 11 - 1:12 AM by Magus2
Games have kept my wife and I closer and my son and I closer. Shared activities are a good thing. These days the games challenge our kids to improve and give them motivation to learn. I'm proud that my son has played most of the way through Kingdom Hearts and was able to work his way through difficult problems with the help of the hint book. He's more thorough than my wife was which is amazing.