#16: Should Parents Play Video Games?

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EXPLOSION OF HOME VIDEO GAMING

If you are in your 30’s then you were likely part of the Nintendo craze when it began in 1985.  I was 10 or 11 when my friend got his for Christmas.  My friend and I played for hours in his bedroom.  We played Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Contra and any other new game that he purchased.  We had the books that gave all the hints and tricks that would help us get through the game.

MY ADDICTION TO VIDEO GAMES

I continued to play video games in my youth and through my early 20’s.  I got married and continued to play video games, however the frequency lessened as more time went to my wife and work.  When my daughter was born I would hold and rock her while playing a video game.  I figured if I was going to have to stand and rock my daughter I might as well sneak in some video game time.

I think one of the longest breaks I had from video games was when I started college.  My time was completely accounted for and there wasn’t any time left for video games.  My time went to the family, school and work, and that was it.

After about a year or so of college I kept hearing about this amazing game called Halo on the XBOX.  I didn’t own an XBOX so I went out and purchased one.  I was immediately sucked into the XBOX environment.  It started with Halo and branched off to other first person shooter games like Call of Duty.  I was addicted to playing against real life people in a video game.  It was a fascinating experience.  Not long after becoming addicted I found that there were many others just like me that played games like Call of Duty including many of my closest friends.

IGNORING THE FAMILY

So for several years I played and at times found myself ignoring the family as a result.  My children were young but I could have been doing quite a bit more with them then just playing a video game that they couldn’t participate in.

So after awhile I realized what I was doing. I decided that rather then play while the kids were awake, I would wait for them to go to sleep so I wouldn’t be ignoring them.  This worked for awhile until I realized that when the kids went to bed, it was really the only time to spend with my wife alone.  So what happened was I found myself ignoring my wife.

This was a dilemma for me.  My family means more to me than playing video games.  This is a no brainer.  But I really enjoyed playing one game which was Call of Duty.  In fact I stopped purchasing any other games.  Once a year I would purchase a Call of Duty game.

Playing video games during the day also kept me from doing chores or anything else around the house that needed to get done.  They eventually got done but usually at the last minute.

WHAT I HAVE DONE

Well I can say I have dialed down my Call of Duty playing quite a bit over the years.  I still play but it is when I know that I am not interfering with family or wife time.  I might play a video game when I have the house to myself for an hour or after I finish my work.

WHAT I SEE OTHERS DO

I am blessed that I was able to see how I neglected my family.  I wish others could see how video games can affect the time a father spends with his family. I can hear dads playing all the time as their children seek their dads attention and want to play with them. Occasionally dads can be heard yelling at their children because they are in the middle of a game and their kids are interfering with how well they are doing.  It’s a sad thing to hear happen but it happens quite a bit.

ARE VIDEO GAMES BAD FOR THE FAMILY?

No, video games are not bad for the family.  Video games like the Wii have allowed for my whole family to play a video game at the same time with each other.  We enjoy playing quite a bit on rainy and bad weather days.

What I will say is that if it is a nice day I would much rather be out and about with my family then staying inside.  Going to the park, taking a walk or even playing soccer with my children keeps them healthy and entertained.  Best of all my wife and I spend some quality time with our children.

LAST THING

For the dads and moms out there that play video games I would ask that you do some self reflection.  Does your video game play interfere with your family life?  Could you be playing with your children during the times you are playing video games?

These are just my thought on the video game topic.  I know I have grown much closer to my children as a result of playing less video games.

Thanks for reading,

Andrew