Friday, May 23, 2014

Engaged Family Gaming

I have a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, who, if I have anything to say about it, will be as nerdy/geeky as their father is.  My daughter is budding race-driver in Mario Kart, and very much into Wii Sports and Sports Resort.  She's also started asking questions about Daddy's cars (aka Leman Russ Battle Tanks) in the miniatures cabinets.  As my children move from diapers to gaming, I want to introduce them into the world of gaming, but as a parent, I want to game with them.  Sure, I need time to myself sometimes, but I want to make family gaming part of our family time too.  So where to find good games that can be fun for both children and their parents?

It turns out that there's a great place for it:  Engaged Family Gaming.  This website is a great place to find reviews of all kinds of games--and that is all kinds of games, console games, PC games, mobile games, board games, tabletop RPGs, and so on.  

Beyond reviews, they write articles related to issues of interest to gaming parents, e.g., net neutrality and the alleged (non-existent) link between video games and violence.  There are articles with tips for parents, such as how to use the "gaming mentality" to get children to do their chores and how gaming can help children with autism.

I know from personal experience that when you become a parent, it seems like your old love of gaming takes a back seat, and you have to deal with diapers and cooking meals and all the responsibilities of parenthood, while the kids have all the fun.  Being an engaged parent, so I seriously advise you to check out Engaged Family Gaming's website and Facebook page.

There are fewer things that make me more proud as a parent than watching my child master and ultimately school me in gaming.

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