Game Discussions How to introduce gaming to the kids?

[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
Rubbernuke said:
You could go with more hands on stuff like this if they have the aptitude or are old enough:

shop.pimoroni.com

Kids - Badges, Books and Kits - Pimoroni

Young or old, big or small, this collection of kits, projects, and more will keep your little nippers occupied and help start their journey into the world of electronics and Making. Our Kids collection is a mix of fun, creativity, and learning. Build your own synthesizer, create electronic clay...
shop.pimoroni.com shop.pimoroni.com

Its not games but making simple electronic gizmos.
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Bookmarked this, it seems pretty good!
 

Mole HD

Mole HD
My eldest daughter, now mid 30's started off using paint programs on my old PC but never developed an interest in gaming. My middle 2 sons, twins and both now 28 started off on on a PS1 playing a variety of games...both now are active Xbox and PS4 players when they get spare time from running the farm, preferring the simplicity of the console to PC. The youngest of the twins used to boost my gamerscore playing Titanfall and BF3 on Xbox using my profile to make me seem like a cool gamer dad...in reality, playing alongside him and his mates made me feel like I was trapped in a phone box with a load of angry ferrets :oops:

The youngest of our brood, now 20, never took any interest in gaming or computers whatsoever, even shunning social media...she's quite content being a farmer's daughter...soon to be a farmer's wife too :)
 
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kilvenny

kilvenny
We always had a gaming pc from the time we started having children, but no console. We bought the entire catalog of Lego pc games and supplemented with sims (railroad,zoo, civ, sim city), adventure games (Monkey Island, Indy) and strategy games (Total War). Literally anything that encouraged building, strategy, problem solving and some level of business acumen. I think we bought one educational game and it hardly got played, they wanted to play, so the art was finding things that enabled play with subtle learning. At two our youngest was proficient with a mouse. Courtesy of Railroad Tycoon I was discussing dividend strategy with a seven year old. They learned to share and often there would be a discussion on the game going on while one controlled and the others advised. I didn't play a lot, I was coach or the guy who got them through a particular tricky scenario (GT licences), but all the time I would encourage and be interested quietly egging them on to get further into specific games. By having one pc they learned to do other things as well, which was always a concern for us. We introduced consoles when the oldest was in her teens but they never had the same commitment. They are adults now (still at home), pharmacist, accountant and programmer, it's my belief that their education was helped by the skills they learned on the pc, playing and learning. All 3 are gamers, the two lads are pc gamers, the daughter a tablet gamer. Three gaming laptops, 2 gaming rigs between the three of us). There is a rack in the lounge of every Playstation since the first one, the main user is my wife as a multimedia platform.

We wanted them to learn while they played and in the mid nineties when we started our family console games were in comparison to pc quite light weight. Even though console has matured I would still go the same way if I had my time again. My only sadness is that ED is considered a dad game and none of them will play it on principle because it is a dad game and its not cool to play a dad game, even though they acknowledge its a game they would play if I didn't play.
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
You introduce it by putting it off for as long as possible and only then making it excruciatingly rare, a treat to be had as a reward of some kind.

Of all the activities to encourage kids to partake in, video gaming literally doesn't even make the list at my home. Also, like hell are my kids ever getting near a cell phone until they can walk into a wireless store and set up and be financially responsible for their own plan.
 

[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
kilvenny said:
We always had a gaming pc from the time we started having children, but no console. We bought the entire catalog of Lego pc games and supplemented with sims (railroad,zoo, civ, sim city), adventure games (Monkey Island, Indy) and strategy games (Total War). Literally anything that encouraged building, strategy, problem solving and some level of business acumen. I think we bought one educational game and it hardly got played, they wanted to play, so the art was finding things that enabled play with subtle learning. At two our youngest was proficient with a mouse. Courtesy of Railroad Tycoon I was discussing dividend strategy with a seven year old. They learned to share and often there would be a discussion on the game going on while one controlled and the others advised. I didn't play a lot, I was coach or the guy who got them through a particular tricky scenario (GT licences), but all the time I would encourage and be interested quietly egging them on to get further into specific games. By having one pc they learned to do other things as well, which was always a concern for us. We introduced consoles when the oldest was in her teens but they never had the same commitment. They are adults now (still at home), pharmacist, accountant and programmer, it's my belief that their education was helped by the skills they learned on the pc, playing and learning. All 3 are gamers, the two lads are pc gamers, the daughter a tablet gamer. Three gaming laptops, 2 gaming rigs between the three of us). There is a rack in the lounge of every Playstation since the first one, the main user is my wife as a multimedia platform.

We wanted them to learn while they played and in the mid nineties when we started our family console games were in comparison to pc quite light weight. Even though console has matured I would still go the same way if I had my time again. My only sadness is that ED is considered a dad game and none of them will play it on principle because it is a dad game and its not cool to play a dad game, even though they acknowledge its a game they would play if I didn't play.
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Thanks, I am also a fan of educational aspect of gaming, should it be IT skills or finance as you describe. I do believe good platformers can also enhance concentration and reflexes.

A lot will depend on their affinity though.

jasonbarron said:
You introduce it by putting it off for as long as possible and only then making it excruciatingly rare, a treat to be had as a reward of some kind.

Of all the activities to encourage kids to partake in, video gaming literally doesn't even make the list at my home. Also, like hell are my kids ever getting near a cell phone until they can walk into a wireless store and set up and be financially responsible for their own plan.
Click to expand...

This sounds a bit harsh (amish ;) ). I understand you live in the countryside, possibly in a closed community in which it is both easier to control things and I recon the great outdoors are at your doorstep. Our life is somewhat different, by time kids will get in communities full of smartphones and dubious social media and garbage f2p games are definitely a threat. I want them to be aware and informed on tech, I think it is a benefit both when they are young and when they get older.

By the way, I started learning English at the age of six, using C64 and playing Zak McKracken. This was a feat as there were few people who spoke English over here at the time, and my father was simply too busy to help.
"Use butter knife on two-headed weasel". "Put egg into microwave owen" - never forget those sentences. :)
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
optimal_909 said:
Thanks, I am also a fan of educational aspect of gaming, should it be IT skills or finance as you describe. I do believe good platformers can also enhance concentration and reflexes.

A lot will depend on their affinity though.



This sounds a bit harsh (amish ;) ). I understand you live in the countryside, possibly in a closed community in which it is both easier to control things and I recon the great outdoors are at your doorstep. Our life is somewhat different, by time kids will get in communities full of smartphones and dubious social media and garbage f2p games are definitely a threat. I want them to be aware and informed on tech, I think it is a benefit both when they are young and when they get older.

By the way, I started learning English at the age of six, using C64 and playing Zak McKracken. This was a feat as there were few people who spoke English over here at the time, and my father was simply too busy to help.
"Use butter knife on two-headed weasel". "Put egg into microwave owen" - never forget those sentences. :)
Click to expand...
Yes, I live outside of what is called a "micro city" here in America, an area with a population of around 50,000. So not in the boondocks by any stretch, but absolutely in control of every aspect of my children's upbringing. Not so much Amish as benevolent dictator. I have no religious objection to video games per se, but view them as a quintessential waste of time in all but the smallest measures for children. My own gaming habit is only slightly better than smoking, but I'm an adult and can do whatever I want, while on the other hand my children need to go outside and play, learn to work, practice music and martial arts etc. Video gaming has it's place as all forms of entertainment do, but generally speaking it's an indulgent waste of time and comes at the expense of creativity and work ethic. And when it comes to living in a "closed community" I'd correct that assumption by saying "no community outside of work" which I keep carefully away from my home life. And on the topic of phones; any parent who is willing to give their kid a phone (assuming we're talking a smart phone here or the equivalent) is no longer a parent but rather a simple caregiver and enabler. The Internet and social media has become the parent. I don't look at it like "I live in the country so I can have that attitude" either; I'd move my family back to the Big Bend of the Yentna River where I grew up before I'd let them become influenced by a peer group who lived on their phones.

Outside of a bit of casual entertainment on a limited basis, video game's have almost a negative value for impressionable children.
 

Iron Golem

Iron Golem
So when my daughter was six she learned about Minecraft so I got in on the pc. Wed take turns playing she loved it. After a year of that got a xbox with it so we could play together in the same world. She loves it and it was a fun way to get her involved with video games that also taught her things.

As someone who grew up on d&d 2nd edition, I equate Minecraft as like a d&d kid lite as far as choices, making your own stories and using your imagination. It also brings out and encourages creativity and problem solving.

It bonded us in a new way working together to survive and its a great way to have fun.

Unfortunately her cousins got her into Fortnight and Roblox. Her poor old dad refuses to buy her skins lol. But so it begins...
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
EUS said:
Yes, but mostly because gaming, and online entertainment will grab their attention eventually anyway. At that young age, I was happy to let my kids keep drawing, learning / improving reading skills, playing with legos instead of digital entertainment (movies aside).
I wouldn't rush them to gaming, they'll get there on their own.
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Well spoken.
 

[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
EUS said:
Yes, but mostly because gaming, and online entertainment will grab their attention eventually anyway. At that young age, I was happy to let my kids keep drawing, learning / improving reading skills, playing with legos instead of digital entertainment (movies aside).
I wouldn't rush them to gaming, they'll get there on their own.
Click to expand...

I agree to a certain extent.
As detailed in the OP, I thought of it as pre-emptive measure because what I definitely don't want to see is them getting engaged in mobile garbage. I'd rather introduce them to gaming a few years earlier to set different standards - that's what I'm contemplating about. And this makes Nintendo so compelling.
 

Ralph Vargr

Ralph Vargr
Most of my friends children started by playing pen and paper games with us. I was the crash-test dummy for them learning combat. Ouch.
As far as electronic games, I really could not advise you. Tablet, or PC seems to be the way to go. Phone screens are quite limited.
 
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