Tip #1 - Work (Play) Together

You don't like watching your kids play alone their "stupid" video games?

Why not play with them?

Whenever your kid is about to start a new game (that you bought him or he got from a friend), this is your chance to step in. After they master the game they will need you less and you will not be able to contribute anything to them.

Video games are best solved and played when played as a group. Even if the game doesn’t have a multi-player mode, and there is only one controller, you can still play it as a team (and as a family)

What is my role as a parent?

It starts with discussing what is going on, what has been tried already and what is still ahead of us. What is the most beneficial next step, which is based on the multiplication of cost (how much time it will take us to get there? How many enemies must we fight on the way, which will cost health points? And other such questions) and of effectiveness (What are we going to find there? What is the likelihood that it is really there?). It sounds more like a board meeting of an industrial company or a discussion in a military headquarters, but this is exactly the kind of talks that will help you get through the games. In this matter I completely agree with Don Norman's "The Future of Education: Lessons Learned from Video Games", and you get the chance to be the teacher!

In the beginning of your gaming experience, you as the parent must take the place of the manager or the commander of the discussion. Ask the questions, give your guidelines and ideas, and teach your kids to think, invent ideas, and evaluate options until finally they are also ready to make decisions, following your examples. They will soon be able to manage these discussions, with you, by themselves and with their friends.

Who is holding the controller?

One of the things that might cause some arguments among you is “Who is holding the controller?” In the beginning the controller gives the sense of control on the game, and it is important that it is held in the hands of the kid. Rest assure that they will be better with it than you will ever be (their reflexes are sharper, their hand-eye-coordination is faster), but at the same time you are a better thinker. Use that advantage and the fact that you are not wasting your time on moving your fingers to look around the game, and think how to solve it better. After a few hours of playing a game, your kids will be satisfied with the actual control, and you will have a better understanding of the game rules, and you can start sharing your expertise.

Your kid will be happy to teach you the control and will be more willing to listen to your advice. Let you kids hold the controllers in the first hour of the game, don’t try to take it from their hands, if they fail to make a specific jump or trick. Probably you won’t do it better. Always ask for the controller and let them hand it over. This is also a good lesson in politeness. Encourage them to try it again, read in the manual for tips of how to do it better and use the other methods that are discussed here. Never take it from their hands and do it for them!

But I want to play too...

From my experience, every player has his good moves and bad moves, and once you discover it together, your kids will give you the controller to preform the tasks that you discovered are easier for you. For example in one of the games ("Mario Paper"), whenever there was a need to tap the controller button repeatedly faster, it was my job. When there was a need to tap at a precise instant it was my son move. You will have your share of actual controller holding.

Just make sure that you are still able to have control of the game through your kids, by talking, laughing and teaching, which is what playing together is all about.