Warning: This one is for all the concerned parents out there….
An ultimate parental guide to a healthy gamer child.
Methods for having your gamer child in control, just so that the situation and your child doesn’t go out of your hands.
Back in the days, the period of childhood and adolescence were truly cherished because back then, the demands were simple, yet filled with innocence. But as time progressed, evolution in humans fanned the flame of evolution in demands and their solutions which currently happens to be the reason behind the change in the general notion of what we considered as ‘FUN’.
Initially, fun was all about experiencing and it still is. The only difference is that as parents, experience was more in the real world but now as children in the digital era, it has drifted into the virtual realm. What started with video game cassettes has now taken the appearance of online gaming marketplaces where kids are slowly drifting towards spending fortunes on what not. Getting the hardware wasn’t enough so kids shifted to buying games and even paid extra for those in-game perks like skins and themes. This has already become an alarming matter for many parents.
In one of my recent articles I discussed the problems with the gaming scenario in India. The article proved to be a source of information for many readers and an inspiration behind this article. Keeping this spark of inspiration alive, allow me to proceed with today’s article dedicated to parents of the past, present and future generations. So all parents, heads up, today’s session is just for you.
The following article aims to provide a certain set of practices aimed towards maintaining a proper balance between the analog and digital world. In simple words, I’ll be presenting you with a set of practices that any parent could implement for the sake of not just controlling their child’s screen-time but also improving their quality of life to make up for all the lost time in the real world.
As a gamer, casual or professional, one must be aware that balance in life is everything. From on-screen to off-screen, balance must be maintained. And as the wisest villains of all times, the undisputed king of universal truths, the intergalactic mighty Thanos taught us…….and Gamora:
But here’s where all the parents can take a deep sigh of relief, because we bring in some positive vibes and the set of practices as requested:
1. Routine regulation
As a parent who’s concerned with their child’s gaming habits, you must understand that it all starts with efforts as simple as this. A certain amount of regulation in the time period provided for gaming could help you implement an amount of control over your child’s daily routine.
2. Healthy habits like food and exercise
Inclusion of healthy habits in the form of proper diet and exercise can help your child develop a balance between the digital world time and the real world time. Make sure that you start this by providing the fact that many gamers they follow do the same. This strategy does help act as a convincing factor in your gamer child’s life.
Proper diet and exercise is the secret behind the fitness of any gamer’s body and mind and helps them deliver their best at all times. Give them examples of gaming professionals like Ankit ‘V3NOM’ Panth, a professional Valorant player from India and Arslan Ash, a professional Tekken7 player from Pakistan.
3. Digital Detox (No gadgets day)
A specific ‘NO GADGETS DAY’ should be a part of every modern family, especially due to the fact that we’re constantly surrounded by gadgets and mostly busy in finding an excuse to surf the never ending world of the internet. This isn’t just the case with children, even adults are equally guilty. So, both parents and children should implement this once or twice every week.
Playing indoor board games like carrom, ludo or snakes and ladders or outdoor games like cricket, badminton, football or just a simple game of throw-and-catch a ball are some suitable examples. As a parent, you could also go on some trips or picnics for getting an experience of the real world.
4. Check ratings, warnings and age audience for games
Here’s a question for our parents who have witnessed their children’s gaming choices and habits. But here’s the condition, as parents, you need to answer this question truthfully in either YES or NO. Ready? Well, here’s the question:
‘Do you, as responsible parents, ever check the games that your child is playing? Do you ever try to investigate the ratings given to that game they’re playing? ‘
Trust me, the majority of parents, especially in the Indian subcontinent, don’t even make the effort of trying to look into the ratings and what do they mean. Every game has some ratings associated with it that conveys the following things about the game:
- Age
- Content type
- Warnings
These factors help determine whether a game is child-friendly or not. For example, there are many games that involve violence, nudity and other visuals that may affect children of various groups and communities on the basis of their cultural backgrounds too. Some prominent examples include GTA-V, Smite, Dead Island etc..
5. Talk and encourage them to focus on skills, not skins
Due to online exposure provided by the internet, many children have started to follow various live-streamers and try to mimic them in every way possible. From their daily habits to the clothes they wear and even the skins available in the game which they have to obviously purchase.
But as responsible parents, you still can have control over your child’s desires for those flashy in-game skins by convincing them through motivation that they don’t need some skins to prove their potential skills. They can be as good as their gaming idols or maybe even turn out to be better with just normal weapons.
A little effort made by parents in the form of motivation and guides can literally bring change in your child’s gaming habits and demands and he will focus more on enhancement of skills rather than enchantment of skins.
6. Reward them
A simple reward-based approach will surely do the job. All you have to do as a parent is to let your child play when they complete some tasks. For example: provide them with a task where they will have to study for some time and if they do it well, they will get to play some games.
You could also provide special incentives in the form of prizes. Here’s an example: Suppose your child demands for a game that he wants to play, so here’s what you can do as a parent. You could tell your child to do well in some test or exam and if he/she performs well enough, then that game would be theirs happily.
See, incentivized reward-basis regulatory measures do bring wonders. Just keep your conditions a bit realistic and start with baby steps to get better results in the long run.
7. Play along with your ward
Why not?! Sometimes playing along with your child helps strengthen the bond between you and your children. Even if you’re not really a gamer, just play along with your child. There are several multiplayer games that you and your children can get together for.
Games like Tekken7, Mortal Kombat 11, DOTA-2, CS:GO, Call of Duty are some of the prominent examples where you and your child can band together and make your parent-child bonding sessions a memory worth living.
If you’re seriously not into playing games but are looking for a way into improving your personal relationships then you could just give your child some company and talk to them while playing various story-based campaign games which are, in my opinion, a much better option you should look into for parent-child bonding.
So, there you go, the seven ingredients to a perfectly balanced gamer child. Enjoy with love and responsibility. If you have any views and opinions regarding this article, feel free to share them in the comments section.
