My Kids and Their Video Games

Feature photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

I’m always impressed with the way my kids react to different video games. I do a fair amount of gaming myself, so being able to introduce my kids to a lot of fun and nostalgic games brings me a lot of joy. I see a lot of value in letting them be creative in sandbox type games like Minecraft. Even old-school games like The Incredible Machine give them a chance to build and create with resources they otherwise wouldn’t have. They have a chance to use their imagination and learn how to develop creative problem-solving skills. My job is to steer their creative energy in the right direction.

My First Computer

When I was a kid, I played just as many video games as kids these days do. I didn’t have any consoles growing up because my parents didn’t allow them. But we did have a Packard Bell desktop with a 486 that they bought at CompUSA back in 1994. And it was awesome. I vividly remember the smell of new the new electronics while being unboxed. I can still picture the instruction manuals and the included desktop interface, Packard Bell Navigator. It also came with a bunch of educational software like 3-D Dinosaur Adventure and one game just for fun: MegaRace. After see me play this over and over again, my dad decided to buy a Gravis joystick. In the box was a floppy disk with the shareware version of Commander Keen 4. Ever since I installed it and played it, my fate was sealed: I loved video games.

It kind of fun to be able to share some of these games with my kids today. Ever since my parents bought our first family computer in 1994, video games were just part of growing up. Because we didn’t have any consoles like the Super Nintendo or the Sega Genesis, the computer were my only way to play. I think my parents could justify the purchase because my mom used it all the time for finding homeschool resources, word processing, and budgeting. You know, actual computer stuff.

More than Just Gaming

Today, I don’t think it’s much different. I use my computer for way more than just gaming. It’s useful for video editing, graphic design, web development, and, of course, blogging. We have a SNES Mini that they like to play Donkey Kong Country and Earthbound (despite two of them not really reading yet). They also use my computer to play the Lego games on our TV. They actually get more use out of my Steam controllers than I do. Like the purchase of a bike, a new book, or craft supplies, I can justify the purchase of a computer because I see the value in the amount of entertainment they will get out it and the usefulness for school. This mentality is what I wrote about in my Frugal Dad or Cheap Dad post. Apply it to video games and and you get this: a video games console is single-use, but a PC is multipurpose.

Video Game Rules in My House

So when it comes to my kids and video games, I have a few rules for them to follow:

1. No more than 30 minutes of screen time at once.
   If they play a game on my phone, I set an alarm for no more than 30 minutes. When it goes off, they have to pass it on.
2. I filter what they play.
   My phone has pre-approved games installed on it, so when they ask to play a game on on it, I choose what they can play.
3. No video games before bed.
   I joked about the bedtime routine in another post, but in all seriousness, no video games/TV during their quiet time before bed. Instead, they can read book or color pictures.

I’ve come to accept that video games will be a part of my children’s lives for probably as long as they live. My job as their dad to make sure they they use computers in a way that enhances their lives, not detracts from it. Hopefully, they appreciate the same kind of games that inspired me to be creative, work through challenges, and develop problem-solving skills. Who knows? They may one day be game designers themselves because they were inspired as kids.