It is the single most difficult thing as a parent to put my foot down about. Or it was at first.
My son LOVES watching the YouTubers playing the (horribly developed) games and enjoys making pretend games based on what he watches (some of it, sometimes we have to skip a video). He has a lot of friends at school that play it.
I will not let my son play it. Minecraft? Sure. Minecraft has a very different system, plenty of it crap, but it’s much easier to supervise and much less exploitive.
But he does let me know that he feels left out when his friends play it and he can’t. He doesn’t have any siblings, so I understand how it’s difficult to lack that connection to peers. He has other ways he gets to connect - mine craft, local playgyms, events for children, sports.
As a parent part of the empathy is feeling that sadness that comes from his disappointment in not being allowed to play it. But I think he has started to understand as he’s gotten a little older, that adults making money off of what a kid makes isn’t nice, or fair, or safe.
Turkey did well here. I don’t think we’ll ever have something similar in the states, but I hope regulation can come about eventually.
I straight up told my kid that he will not be playing that game. So you’re not alone out there and you’re doing well by taking an interest in your child’s activity and monitoring them appropriately. I wish more parents would do the same.
If he likes the idea of making games, just find a playlist of Godot or Unreal 5 game building on youtube. Most of that stuff can be done low-code, and would be perfect for someone who wants to click around and make something. It can be frustrating at first… but if you find something that actually works, I bet it’d click
I wish. There are things we have been unable to change, even with the assistance of a couple of child psychologists.
When he gets upset with other kids, particularly when they break rules, he is absolutely convinced he needs to be the executive of the rules and often hits or pushes the other kids.
He was doing it before my ex and I separated. It only seems to happen during the summer at the day care program, so it’s likely something more going on there.
Kids are still humans, and honestly I have to remind myself I’m doing the best I can. Because if I knew a better way to do things, I’d be doing that instead.
To me it’s not about raising a superstar, it’s raising someone who shares my values, and is capable of caring for themselves as an adult. Socializing and play is the most vital part of childhood development, so I do everything I can there.
Well put. I exaggerated, and not to minimize their issues, but the fact you clearly care and are willing to work at it makes me less worried for them.
All you can do is encourage good behavior/perspectives and discourage the bad. At some point, every child growing up will have to decide if they want to be like their parents or not. You’re clearly doing great, just keep going! And take care of yourself as well…
If he likes making simple games, consider introducing him to Scratch. It’s not monetized at all and last I checked, was much better moderated than other online platforms for kids.
Yeah the same conversations have occurred in my household. I think you made the right choice here. I’m a huge gamer myself and developer, not on Roblox. Usually if anything it’s me being the lenient one when it comes to games in our home, vice my wife. This is one that I did not allow from day 1 regardless of the age of the kid. It was apparent to be a bad apple to me from my initial looks at it, and has only proven that point over the years. I can’t imagine though how hard it is for most parents who are not entrenched in that industry to navigate decisions like that.
It is the single most difficult thing as a parent to put my foot down about. Or it was at first.
My son LOVES watching the YouTubers playing the (horribly developed) games and enjoys making pretend games based on what he watches (some of it, sometimes we have to skip a video). He has a lot of friends at school that play it.
I will not let my son play it. Minecraft? Sure. Minecraft has a very different system, plenty of it crap, but it’s much easier to supervise and much less exploitive.
But he does let me know that he feels left out when his friends play it and he can’t. He doesn’t have any siblings, so I understand how it’s difficult to lack that connection to peers. He has other ways he gets to connect - mine craft, local playgyms, events for children, sports.
As a parent part of the empathy is feeling that sadness that comes from his disappointment in not being allowed to play it. But I think he has started to understand as he’s gotten a little older, that adults making money off of what a kid makes isn’t nice, or fair, or safe.
Turkey did well here. I don’t think we’ll ever have something similar in the states, but I hope regulation can come about eventually.
I straight up told my kid that he will not be playing that game. So you’re not alone out there and you’re doing well by taking an interest in your child’s activity and monitoring them appropriately. I wish more parents would do the same.
If he likes the idea of making games, just find a playlist of Godot or Unreal 5 game building on youtube. Most of that stuff can be done low-code, and would be perfect for someone who wants to click around and make something. It can be frustrating at first… but if you find something that actually works, I bet it’d click
There’s also a block coding plugin for Godot now too!
https://github.com/endlessm/godot-block-coding
Perfect tool to get kids into game creation.
Damn, superstar. Save some A++ parenting for other people! Seriously, you must be raising a top-quality person…
I wish. There are things we have been unable to change, even with the assistance of a couple of child psychologists.
When he gets upset with other kids, particularly when they break rules, he is absolutely convinced he needs to be the executive of the rules and often hits or pushes the other kids.
He was doing it before my ex and I separated. It only seems to happen during the summer at the day care program, so it’s likely something more going on there.
Kids are still humans, and honestly I have to remind myself I’m doing the best I can. Because if I knew a better way to do things, I’d be doing that instead.
To me it’s not about raising a superstar, it’s raising someone who shares my values, and is capable of caring for themselves as an adult. Socializing and play is the most vital part of childhood development, so I do everything I can there.
Well put. I exaggerated, and not to minimize their issues, but the fact you clearly care and are willing to work at it makes me less worried for them.
All you can do is encourage good behavior/perspectives and discourage the bad. At some point, every child growing up will have to decide if they want to be like their parents or not. You’re clearly doing great, just keep going! And take care of yourself as well…
If he likes making simple games, consider introducing him to Scratch. It’s not monetized at all and last I checked, was much better moderated than other online platforms for kids.
Yeah the same conversations have occurred in my household. I think you made the right choice here. I’m a huge gamer myself and developer, not on Roblox. Usually if anything it’s me being the lenient one when it comes to games in our home, vice my wife. This is one that I did not allow from day 1 regardless of the age of the kid. It was apparent to be a bad apple to me from my initial looks at it, and has only proven that point over the years. I can’t imagine though how hard it is for most parents who are not entrenched in that industry to navigate decisions like that.