You have to play video games with your children.
It isnt optional anymore.
Its your parental responsibility.
Plus gaming with your kids is super-fun, and will bring you closer together.
Like they say: The family that plays together, stays together.
But I havent touched a video game since they took theDefendermachine away from the Pizza Palace!
Hey, I got you.
So let them pick what you play together.
You might be pleasantly surprised by their choices.
Its educational as hell, but I never tellhimthat.
But decisions about the appropriateness of any content are up to you as a parent.
Youll get (marginally) better as you play more, I swear.
Once youre comfortable with the basics of a game, let your child guide you.
Let them show you how to get the power-ups and how to beat the boss level.
Talk to them about strategies to employ and possible solutions to puzzles.
This gives you a golden opportunity to model behavior.
This is especially important when gaming with younger kids.
When they get older, you could use the content of the games to more abstract and intellectual things.
When Dex was just a little guy, he and I playedLego: Star Warstogether for hours.
Now that hes entered tween-hood, the lesson seems to have sunk in … most of the time.
The main reason you should play games with your kid is because its flat-out awesome.
Iloveplaying video games with my kid.
Its a way of spending time with my favorite person, doing something we both enjoy.
Were not usually bonding as if were in a very special episode of an old sitcom.
I dont spend much time trying to impart life lessons or instill good moral behavior.
And isnt that what its all about?
