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Most Parents Don't Game With Their Kids
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:41 AM
from the football-is-overrated dept.
from the football-is-overrated dept.
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?
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Lies (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
The wife and I tried playing D&D with our 3 year old, and the kid stabbed the cat with a pencil.
No more gaming with the kid till she learns fluffy's instestines are not pencil holders.
Tell the kid Fluffy is a familiar (Score:3, Funny)
'Course, I guess it can backfire. Next thing you know, the kid could decide he/she wants a bat or a pig as a familiar. And may Mielikki have mercy on you if your kid wants to be a Druid or Ranger
Re:Lies (Score:4, Informative)
The poll also found that among gamers:
* 44 percent said they play over the Internet;
* 26 percent said they spent nothing on the pastime last year, another 46 percent spent up to $200 and 12 percent spent $500 or more, with men usually the bigger spenders;
* Price is the chief factor for people purchasing a gaming console, followed by the availability of games.
The poll involved telephone interviews with 2,016 adults conducted Oct. 9-11 and 16-18, and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Included were 770 people who said they play computer or video games, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.5 points.
Parent
Duh? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Duh? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
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Re: (Score:2)
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I DO (Score:2)
I for one find it kind of surprising. Both my wife and I are avid gamers, and our kids are too. I play games with my kids all the time. We always have a roaring good time with co-op games like Lego Star Wars or Harry Potter Goblet of Fire or -- the old stand-bys -- Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Smash Bros. Heck, even Project Gotham Racing gets in there. I mean, why wouldn't you game with your kids?
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Re:Duh? (Score:4, Insightful)
How many parents during the 80s-90s could have honestly said that they listened to Rock and Roll with their kids? How hard would it have been to find a quote just like the quote in the summary about Rock and Roll back then?
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I can tell you've never had children, never been married, and likely never had a girlfriend. I guess my dig on nerds playing video games in the basement really hit home, eh dork?
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I'm sorry, I'm too competitive. (Score:5, Funny)
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Our family guild in WoW (Score:5, Funny)
I can't wait till the day I can play games online with my kids. I'll finally have a 2v2 partner for Arenas who I can ground if they suck
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Our family guild in WoW (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Not there yet (Score:2, Insightful)
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Other studies... (Score:2)
The same group has published other interesting studies [theonion.com] about teen behavior.
My son's a 3rd generation gamer (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Gaming with the old man (Score:2, Interesting)
Sad.. (Score:4, Interesting)
One of the first things my dad did for me was help me get our 486 to play the games I liked. This involved going into config.sys and autoexec.bat and REMing out a bunch of entries. That not only taught me critical thinking skills (as at a point he just said "ok, you have to figure it out from here") and made those hours upon hours I spent with my dad doing that very fun and rewarding.
Current parents...give the games a chance, try them, you might find out you actually *shock* like them too. What's the worst that could happen? You could only be as screwed up as your children are, and lets be honest, most kids are allright.
Stupidest article evar (Score:2)
What adult has an extra 25 hours a week to play video games? I run a business, I'm raising 3 kids, I try to have some time with my wife. I'm lucky if I get to play an hour or two of games a week.
Plus my kids don't WANT me sitting in their room all weekend playing video games with them.
I'd rather them playing games than passively watching TV though.
it's a shame (Score:2)
It's more interesting to consider those that did.
It's sad to see a parent just ignore his kid while his kid's in a game. You could be bonding with him, and suddenly you are working on something meaningful. Then he might actually want to spend time with you outside the game world.
side point: If anything in life can be considered meaningful outside of what we think of ourselves. A hobby is a hobby really. You could knit a sweater, but d
Um....duh? (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Shared-screen game design (Score:2)
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.
Even Bomberman and Smash Bros.? Those games are zoomed out far enough to show the whole playfield, including all players' characters.
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?"
They're all the X button [pineight.com].
Better question... (Score:3, Insightful)
- 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.
Hide and seek (Score:2)
A Rebuttal for the Star Witnesses (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Small Portion (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
I like to watch (Score:4, Interesting)
Last night I had both kids playing Garry's Mod (a HL2 mod) against each other. Emma, who's four and a half, was having a great time spawning in odd things and making rebel companions. I did have to step in and mediate Emma wailed "Sam's murdering my buddies." Ah, parenting.
They also both spent a lot of time playing the experimental game Darwin Hill [experimentalgameplay.com]. Emma requested it, "The one where there's the bugs and you get to squish them!".
Parent
It can be awkward (Score:2)
GTA Hot Coffee with your mom?
Some things are not meant to be.
Difference in taste? (Score:2)
I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if most parents
4 year old? (Score:3, Interesting)
At times, I'll also let him run my orc shaman (usually in Ghost Wolf form) around Thunder Bluff in WoW. He loves to make him swim through the pond on the lower rise. He learned to spell his first word - "dance" - by making my orc dance. So if you're logged onto Trollbane and you see an orc dancing in the middle of Thunder Bluff, it's probably him. Feel free to say hi - I'm standing right next to him at all times.
On the other end of the spectrum... (Score:5, Funny)
TV, Video Games and Parents (Score:2)
How many PARENTS spend 20-25 hours a week watching TV and ignoring their kids?
Like it or not, raising a child is a full-contact sport and REQUIRES that you spend the time to learn about your children. Who knows? You might even find out that you like them and the video games they play!
My 4 year olds favorite activity... (Score:2)
I have thought about what my gaming policy will b
This is a ridiculous study. (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Depends on what games you mean (Score:3, Interesting)
But outdoors? Um, dude, he has friends for that. We live in a city, not the country.
When I grew up in the boonies on a tree farm I played games with adults and older kids a lot more - because there were fewer kids my age in easy distance to play with - in a city, as our society has moved from a farm-based agrarian culture (1900) to a city-based culture (2000) it is very easy for kids to find nearby kids who are the same age to play with - who don't live (true fact) 25 miles away (most of my girlfriends since I was 10 lived about that far away).
Plus, in some online games, we even coexist on the same server and sometimes run each others characters
Well, I am not primarily my kids' FRIEND (Score:5, Funny)
We don't have to share interests, although it is nice. However my main priority when it comes to my kids is gaming in the real world.
One time I caught my son chasing his sister with a whiffle ball bat -- it's not heavy enough to really hurt somebody, but it certainly can sting like the dickens.
"Here, give me that," I said. "We're going to play a game. You are going to take this bat and tap me on the shin. But the rules of the game say I can tap you back on the shin just as hard."
So, my son takes the bat and gives me a tiny little tap. I take the bat and give him a tiny tap. Then he gives me a slightly harder tap which I return. Then he gives me a look that plainly says he doesn't believe I'm serious, then gives me a painful whack in the shin. I take the bat and promptly give him an equally painful whack in the shin. He then gives me light tap which I return.
This goes on for a while, and my son is literally whooping with laughter, when my wife walks in to see what's going on. She snatches the bat out of my son's hands. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she yells.
"I'm teaching our son about the Golden Rule," I reply. "Also, that it hurts to be whacked with a bat."
One other time, I walked into the room and caught my daughter calling my son a "shithead", for which I remonstrated with her.
"Do you want me to apologize?" she asked.
"Of course I want you to apologize," I replied," although I realize I can't keep you from insulting each other."
"You mean its OK to insult each other?" she asked.
"Of course it's not OK," I replied. "I simply recognize I can't stop you from doing it. I insist, however, that we don't use potty language in this house."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," I replied, "let's play a little game. Try insulting me without using potty language."
"Er,'You are a stinky idiot.'"
"No, playground language isn't acceptable either," I said. "How about, 'You are a fetid addle-pate.'"
We went back and forth a few times, and were just getting into the swing of things when my wife came into the room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she cried.
"I am teaching our daughter not to use vulgar language," I replied. "I am also working on her vocabulary."
Sometimes I wonder if women understand child-rearing at all.
You guys may dislike our method. (Score:3, Interesting)
30 minutes a day is plenty of computer time right now. They get more on Saturdays. As they get older, computer time will increase, but it will have to be productive computer time. Programming, typing, i.e. learning...
Life's 90% work and 10% play. The kids that learn that early on have a better chance at being successful and self-controlled.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
football (Score:4, Insightful)
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.