Great read! It definitely helps to take a step back and remember why we play games in the first place, not to consume it as efficiently as possible, but to have fun! I recently finished Dragon Age Veilguard but found myself constantly stopping because my daughter wanted to see EVERY dragon. So if I knew a dragon fight was coming up, it was time to stop playing for the night. In the morning I'd get her up 30 mins early and say "Do you wanna see the dragon I'm about to fight?" and she'd hop out of bed as I did a quick boss fight before we got ready for school. Made the game so much more fun to have someone next to me cheering like crazy.
Great read and thanks for sharing your personal experience with your kiddo. My son is 7 and, ever since last year, he enjoys playing Super Mario 3D World and I remember having to teach myself to not focus overly much on winning quickly when we played co-op. There was an adjustment period for me, but the experience taught to just enjoy the time spent with him.
Sometimes I think back to how I originally played Mario 64 in contrast with how I play today. I wouldn't have even been able to tell you what 95% of Mario 64 looked like. I played through the first couple levels, but that's about it. I was just obsessed with swimming and flying outside the castle. Nowadays, I definitely notice how much less I simply play games for fun, and how I usually go in with the mentality of clearing it officially and it not becoming too much of a timesink. I hope I can avoid keeping my son from picking up on that mindset too young, and instead just letting himself explore and experiment.
Thanks for sharing this story. My elder kid(8) improved her literacy because I was tired of reading everything on screen in Pokémon Sword for her.
Now she's able to the game all by herself and even started playing Pokémon Unite without any coaching.
However, when there are still sections of games like Astro Bot which is "too scary" for her and she'll rather just explore and swim among the fishes which can cause me to tune out. This happens too when we do Stardew Valley co-op if she can't keep up. I even find it annoying if she looters around trying to steal a peek at whatever I'm playing solo.
I introduced this hobby to her and we barely play together anymore. Maybe it's my lack of patience as well and that has to change before she thinks it's no longer cool to play games with her dad.
Years ago my therapist said “The best place to practice patience is when driving alone. If you can be patient with other drivers you can be patient with anyone” sometimes we don’t realize our impatience but it’s so important to just let kids be kids with games and we all gain a lot.
This was really cool to read. My daughter is 5 and we got a Switch for Christmas. She still struggles with ToK but loves to pant surfaces in Splatoon2.
Great insight, my son is turning two soon, still too young for games but I'm looking forward to sharing these kinds of memories. My dad never wanted to play video games with me but I feel like they're a good way to bond - and as your experience shows, it became more than just a game as you were planning sessions for later. I took a lot from this, thanks for sharing!
I have run a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, plus other ttrpgs, for people new to that genre. And I have spent a decent amount of time with less experiences gamers who are just less active or of an older generation. I've always found it deeply rewarding, as long as you have patience, and the other person is genuinely interested. It's a joy.
Great read! It definitely helps to take a step back and remember why we play games in the first place, not to consume it as efficiently as possible, but to have fun! I recently finished Dragon Age Veilguard but found myself constantly stopping because my daughter wanted to see EVERY dragon. So if I knew a dragon fight was coming up, it was time to stop playing for the night. In the morning I'd get her up 30 mins early and say "Do you wanna see the dragon I'm about to fight?" and she'd hop out of bed as I did a quick boss fight before we got ready for school. Made the game so much more fun to have someone next to me cheering like crazy.
Great read and thanks for sharing your personal experience with your kiddo. My son is 7 and, ever since last year, he enjoys playing Super Mario 3D World and I remember having to teach myself to not focus overly much on winning quickly when we played co-op. There was an adjustment period for me, but the experience taught to just enjoy the time spent with him.
Sometimes I think back to how I originally played Mario 64 in contrast with how I play today. I wouldn't have even been able to tell you what 95% of Mario 64 looked like. I played through the first couple levels, but that's about it. I was just obsessed with swimming and flying outside the castle. Nowadays, I definitely notice how much less I simply play games for fun, and how I usually go in with the mentality of clearing it officially and it not becoming too much of a timesink. I hope I can avoid keeping my son from picking up on that mindset too young, and instead just letting himself explore and experiment.
Thanks for sharing this story. My elder kid(8) improved her literacy because I was tired of reading everything on screen in Pokémon Sword for her.
Now she's able to the game all by herself and even started playing Pokémon Unite without any coaching.
However, when there are still sections of games like Astro Bot which is "too scary" for her and she'll rather just explore and swim among the fishes which can cause me to tune out. This happens too when we do Stardew Valley co-op if she can't keep up. I even find it annoying if she looters around trying to steal a peek at whatever I'm playing solo.
I introduced this hobby to her and we barely play together anymore. Maybe it's my lack of patience as well and that has to change before she thinks it's no longer cool to play games with her dad.
Years ago my therapist said “The best place to practice patience is when driving alone. If you can be patient with other drivers you can be patient with anyone” sometimes we don’t realize our impatience but it’s so important to just let kids be kids with games and we all gain a lot.
Haha, that's damn good advice.
Beautiful and touching article! Thanks for sharing.
This was really cool to read. My daughter is 5 and we got a Switch for Christmas. She still struggles with ToK but loves to pant surfaces in Splatoon2.
Great insight, my son is turning two soon, still too young for games but I'm looking forward to sharing these kinds of memories. My dad never wanted to play video games with me but I feel like they're a good way to bond - and as your experience shows, it became more than just a game as you were planning sessions for later. I took a lot from this, thanks for sharing!
I have run a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, plus other ttrpgs, for people new to that genre. And I have spent a decent amount of time with less experiences gamers who are just less active or of an older generation. I've always found it deeply rewarding, as long as you have patience, and the other person is genuinely interested. It's a joy.