The family that games together
You all know already of my fondness for video games, and I am sure that you have also somehow divined my distaste for those people who blame video games for all the world’s ills. I’m sure that if Jack Thompson could pin the blame for the current ongoing troubles in Iraq on Grand Theft Auto, he would do so gleefully.
Video games are just like any other sort of entertainment, however. You have to approach them responsibly and use your own best judgment about them. Parents ought to take notice of the rating of a game, and of the content before allowing a child to play it, and adults should think about what games they play and how much time to give them. We hear many stories of gamer widows, of children with virtually no attention span and lousy grades, we hear debates about whether violence is at all linked to video game playing, and how all the ills of society possibly including venereal diseases are the direct result of the video game.
Yeah, yeah. But what about the other side of the coin? I myself can attest that video games gave my family countless in jokes, (we still sometimes express concern about grues when the power goes out during a storm) and has definitely brought me much closer to my significant other- we play WoW together all the time. I recently ran across a few other stories about how World of Warcraft in particular has affected a few other people in very positive ways. I have to say that the idea of Mom getting on WoW just to play with her kids at college was one of the best things I’ve ever heard.
Both of my kids have been in World of Warcraft since beta. They play on different realms and in different factions. My son, who was still in high school at the time, convinced me I could play World of Warcraft even though I never had done anything in a game other than run into walls in Mario Brothers once or twice. The goal was to be able to play with my daughter while she was away at college.
Sure, not all kids would like to have a parent there in game (notably in my mind, Bart Simpson…) but I think that more parents should consider the vast benefits of gaming with their kids.
Also, teachers could probably manage to have a better insight into their students if they would be ‘cool’ enough to pick up a controller or a keyboard. One teacher let his students convince him to play WoW and ended up finding true love, right in his own school!
I rerolled a troll shaman on her realm, Ysera, where I quickly caught up to her priest and then we leveled together. Last Christmas, when we both hit 60, I asked her to marry me. Playing together and getting to know each other was the best time of my life. Today we are married and I now have two stepsons, who also play.
My new family is the most epic gear I could have ever found with this game. I have a beautiful wife and two awesome sons, and we are still playing today. We are a family of 70s. For the Horde!
So. There you are. There’re lots more stories like these out there, and not just about WoW. If you have one of your own, I would love to hear it. Each positive story like these is another nail in the coffin of the ‘video games are evil’ myth.
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February 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
What a fantastic post. I am always overjoyed to come across other gaming families. It can feel like a real wasteland out there most of the time and I all too often get the raised eyebrow when I’m “outed” as a gamer mom. I too have waved the gamer flag high and touted the benefits of engaging with your kids on this level. I encourage gamefly accounts and the benefit and fun of playing across consoles and genres and couldn’t agree with you more on taking note of ESRB ratings and content reviews. I’m a regular and avid user of gamefly which provides both and offers setup options with parental controls that require passwords to be entered for mature themed game rentals so when the kids are online and filling up the game queue they’re not accessing games I don’t want them accessing. It’s really not that difficult to monitor and if you’re active in gaming yourself, even easier. I so often hear parents complaining about not having any quality time with their kids because they’re playing video games all the time and they feel shut out. And yet, if they’d only just take an interest in what their kids are doing and sit down and maybe ask them to show them ropes they’d open up a whole new world of possibility. And a fun one too! Get to gaming I say. The more involved you are the less of an issue it becomes. You might even find that you enjoy yourself!
February 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Really, I don’t see why playing video games with your kids is any different from going to the soccer games. I personally have fun memories of my folks playing games with me, or watching me play and cheering me on- heck, to this day my mom has had lots of fun watching me play WoW and I’m not what you’d call a kid anymore.
It seems so easy to me… ah well. Best thing we can do is teach through example. Game on, children of the world! After your homework and chores are done, of course.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
We’re a gaming family too with two kids, my husband and I, and three consoles (and last last but not least a doggie and kitty.) i think some parents just need a few resources to help them make good decisions. i can suggest three online resources, one already mentioned that families will find useful.
1. www.gamerdad.com
2. www.gamefly.com
2. www.whattheyplay.com
3. www.familygamer.org
February 20th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
[…] or twice. … Last Christmas, when we both hit 60, I asked her to marry me…. source: The family that games together, […]
February 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Tania, thanks so much for those links! I’ve heard of Gamefly (they have great commercials.) but the other three are new to me. I’m going to have to check them out!