Daughter (Aka. Pinky Pie….Age 6.): “What game is that Dad  ?”

Son (Aka. Groot..Age 3): “Who is that that guy…what he do ?”

Pinky Pie: “Did you just shoot those people ?”

Groot: “Are they people or robots ?”

Both: “Can I have a turn ?”

ME: “It’s called Destiny…he’s a guardian….yes I did shoot them….their aliens….no you can’t, this isn’t for kids….wait a second……Why aren’t you two in bed.?..do you know what time it is ??….and how long have you been standing there ????…get into bed before your mother catches us and I get into trouble !!!!!!”

I’m a gamer, that said, I’m never going compete in tournaments, or get my name in the paper. My gaming skills have been rated as “Solid”,  by the  20 something, hardcore gamers in my extended family, which basically means when it comes to gaming I’m a firm “C”…maybe a soft “B”, if their feeling generous.

Gaming was always something my kids were going to be exposed to and get interested in.  Although for some reason I thought they would be older when it happened. In retrospect I have no idea why I thought that, but i did. So when this conversation happened at age 6, I was surprised.

Pinky Pie: “how do you play minecraft ?….. can i install it on my ipad “?

What I thought: “How does she even know what minecraft is ????……Can you even get it on an iPad…..I have no idea how to play…..”

What I said:  “Sure honey, its bed time now though, how about we have a look tomorrow, okay ?”

Satisfied with that answer, Pinky Pie, twirled away and off to bed, and I went off in search of  my iPad and youtube.

This was a new dimension to the one of the problems a first world parent….I had up until this point been primarily concerned  with the suitability of the  content they were exposed to when watching television or movies, but suitable content in gaming, both on console and mobile devices was something I had not thought, I would have to deal with at this age. What is appropriate content  and what is available out there for kids of this age ? and how can I share the gaming experience with them in a responsible way ?

So now I have begun a journey through the world of gaming for kids as a responsible adult. I cant be alone in feeling a little unsure and more than just a little overwhelmed at the shear volume of content available these days. I think there are too many choices when it comes to gaming for myself, so one of the goals of this site is to share my experiences and hopefully it will provide some useful information to you and other parent who like me, stand like a dear in headlights when your child comes home from school and tells you all about this game that their friend told them about and can they play Terraria too ???…”Please Dad…. can  I ???? ….PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE !!!!!!!”

I miss pacman.