Parenting Gamers

Look Ahead to 2015

In my last post, I talked about how I am changing Parenting Gamers mission. I want you to not only understand your gamer but also have the tools to help her know herself.

I have been mulling over how to accomplish this mission. There are a few things I am going to be trying over the next few months.

  1. Review Videos – I get requests for these from time to time. I have decided it is time to give them a try. The videos will be short (~5 minutes). I will layout a basic overview of the game, the good and bad things about it, and then a thumbs up/thumbs down if it is good for your gamer. I will be putting out my first either on Friday or Monday. Stay tuned.
  2. Podcast – Podcasting intimidates me but I think I could do a good one. I am working on what the format will be. I will let you know when I launch it.
  3. Ideas – I want to be the person you come to when you are looking for things to try with your gamer. I will post about careers she might be interested in, physical activities she might enjoy, and social activities to get her people time.

This list will evolve as the year goes on. Wish me luck!

Expanding Parenting Gamers’ Mission

super-baby

I love New Year’s day. And I’m not saying that because it’s my birthday (which it is) (and I accept cash, checks, and Best Buy/Steam gift cards 😉 ) I love the opportunity to reflect on the last year and look forward to the next.

I have been reflecting on Parenting Gamers and its direction a lot over the last couple months. My initial mission here was to help parents use video games to connect with their gamers. I wanted to educate parents about video games hoping that eventually they would want to sit down and play with their gamers.

I did this by pumping out a lot of information. I gave you vocabulary. I told you about some of the big games out there. I showed you how to evaluate the games your gamer is playing.

The thing is, I want to do more. I want to help you not only know your gamer but also guide and direct your gamer.

I am coming to the point in my journey as a parent where I believe one of the most important things I can do for my kids is help them figure out who they are and then empower them to be that person. And that is what I want to help you do as well.

This train of thought was inspired by Joe Budish. In his article about video games, he talks about being frustrated with kids who sit in front of the TV playing video games all the time instead of exploring the big world out there.

I can’t stand hearing of a teenage boy with all the time in the world, so many resources at his disposal, a supportive family, a ton of potential, and so much to be discovered about himself and the world who instead is content to spend a good chunk of his middle school life in front of a TV screen.

The key phrase in that quote is “so much to be discovered about himself and the world”. Your gamer is just starting to figure out who he is. Sitting in front of the TV all day, every day does not help him do this.

He will begin to figure out who he is by trying new things. I am a programmer by trade. I love sitting down at a computer and building a program from scratch. However, I did not know this about myself until my first programming class my senior year of high school. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life before then. That class opened my eyes to a whole new, amazing world that I wanted to join.

Now, I am not saying throw away video games. I still believe video games are an amazing vehicle for connecting with other people, including your children. I also believe you can use video games to help your gamer know himself.

For example, I wrote in my book about Minecraft how you can use it to find out what makes your gamer tick. Asking questions about why he loves it can give you a hint at other things he might really get into.

So my mission here at Parenting Gamers will be to equip you not only to be able to connect with your gamer through video games but also to use video games to guide them on the journey of knowing themselves. I will be unpacking how I am going to do this in the next few days.

Posting Schedule Change

I want to take a minute and let you know of a small change I am implementing here at Parenting Gamers.

Over the last month or so I have worked hard to bring you a new article every Monday and Wednesday and then a vocabulary word on Friday. I am going to change this schedule starting next week.

The truth is, that many posts have gotten to be a bit much with the other things I want to accomplish here. I am currently working on a product that I think will be awesome for parents. I need a little more time to work on it than the 3 posts a week schedule afforded.

So starting next week I will move down to one article on Tuesday and a vocabulary word on Friday. I feel this schedule will allow me to bring you quality content and give you a heads up about upcoming games while leaving time to work on my product.

Looking forward to 2014

2013 was a big year for video games. Microsoft and Sony joined the 8th console generation in November with the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 respectively.

2014 is going to see a ramping up of the games for these consoles. With that, I am going to be ramping up my writing here at Parenting Gamers.

Here is the schedule I am going to keep starting Monday, January 13th.

  • Monday – New Releases/News - For the most part, new video games are released on Tuesdays. I will cover the new games coming out that week. I will include as much information as I can to help you make purchasing decisions.

    I will also include any big news from the last week. This will include things like announcements and stories from the mainstream media.

  • Wednesday – Feature Article – These articles will cover a range of topics. These include (but are not limited to):
    • Specific Game Spotlights – I will take a popular game or series and break them down. This will include games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Minecraft.
    • Hardware Breakdowns – I will select a console and breakdown a specific feature. For example, all 3 of the major consoles (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U) offer parental controls. I will write an article detailing how to setup each one.
    • Big News – While I will include news stories in the Monday article, there will be times when a specific story deserves more attention. For example, in 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a California law restricting the sale of M rated video games to minors. I will explore stories like that in more detail.
    • Study Breakdowns – There have been numerous studies trying to determine the effect video games have on people. Some claim to find video games make people more aggressive, others claim they don’t. I will breakdown these studies, both good and bad.
  • Friday – Gamer Vocabulary 101 – As with most hobbies, gamers have our own vocabulary. I will help you understand the terms your child is using.

I will also be releasing some products throughout the year. There will be more information about those in the weeks to come.