Great read! Thanks for this. It's definitely nice to be aware of the generational gap, so I don't get too upset when my 8 y/o daughter prefers to play Roblox rather than playing the new Zelda game with me. She's having her own experiences that don't have to perfectly line up with how I played games at 8.
Admittedly I do throw all of this out in one case - every game has parental controls and time limits, but I let her know that if she wants to play Earthbound, I will never limit access to that particular game... "Dad, can I have more screentime?" - "Yes, but only for Earthbound" - "Nevermind, I'll go read in my room" (SO close)
Heh, yeah, I’ve definitely had to make peace with the fact that my own 8 y/o is just not into Zelda, and may well never be. But that’s okay. But we do enjoy playing Dress to Impress together, and I’m just as grateful for that time with her
Great article and guest post! My only caveat is as a Gen Xer/Millennial cusper, video games have been a real part of my life for the duration. Granted, my dad had a Pong set before I was born. But from the Atari 7800 through the PS5 now, sure there was HYPE they're "dangerous," just like movies and rap and metal... and books. And just like all of those, they're not.
My mum always played Sonic 2 with me, as Tails. I would inevitably speed off in most of the levels, but we had the special stages down to a fine art. That was such great bonding and problem solving as a kid. You definitely don’t have to be super involved to enjoy playing with kids, as you say, just being interested is a great start 🥰
Great read! Thanks for this. It's definitely nice to be aware of the generational gap, so I don't get too upset when my 8 y/o daughter prefers to play Roblox rather than playing the new Zelda game with me. She's having her own experiences that don't have to perfectly line up with how I played games at 8.
Admittedly I do throw all of this out in one case - every game has parental controls and time limits, but I let her know that if she wants to play Earthbound, I will never limit access to that particular game... "Dad, can I have more screentime?" - "Yes, but only for Earthbound" - "Nevermind, I'll go read in my room" (SO close)
Heh, yeah, I’ve definitely had to make peace with the fact that my own 8 y/o is just not into Zelda, and may well never be. But that’s okay. But we do enjoy playing Dress to Impress together, and I’m just as grateful for that time with her
Great article and guest post! My only caveat is as a Gen Xer/Millennial cusper, video games have been a real part of my life for the duration. Granted, my dad had a Pong set before I was born. But from the Atari 7800 through the PS5 now, sure there was HYPE they're "dangerous," just like movies and rap and metal... and books. And just like all of those, they're not.
My mum always played Sonic 2 with me, as Tails. I would inevitably speed off in most of the levels, but we had the special stages down to a fine art. That was such great bonding and problem solving as a kid. You definitely don’t have to be super involved to enjoy playing with kids, as you say, just being interested is a great start 🥰
Being a "gamer dad" was a superpower I used a lot when my eldest was younger. It was an easy way to connect with his friends and be the "cool dad."
Unfortunately, I’ve since been relegated to "embarrassing dad" as he’s grown older, which I assume is just the natural order of things.