Tip #3 - Set to Easy Mode

Games are mirror of life

Kids are learning all the time. They are learning to handle and master the complexity of the world. They learn to roll, crawl, walk and then run. They learn to cry, make sounds, say words, compose sentences and then read and write. It always starts with the basic, and if they can't master these basics they have troubles in moving to the next level. It is important to have a positive experience in the beginning to be able to grow and master it in the future.
How many people hate Math? Most of them hate it because of early life experience. If they could grow their confidence gradually, they would certainly could manage the Math they learned in high school with greater ease.

This long introduction leads to the simple tip: It is better to start a game in the easiest difficulty level. It gives you and your kids more confidence for the next of the game, future games and more importantly to future real life activities.

It is not Lame...

The first "macho attitude" is to say that it is lame to start with "Easy" instead of "Normal" or even "Hard". Your kids should also look at you and say: "Easy is not cool". But if your kids are young and they don't have enough experience with games in general or this type of games in particular (Driving, Role Playing Games...), it is highly recommend to still choose the "Easy" mode for the first time you play it.

If you read my past posts you probably already know that games are not played once. You can always go and play it again in a higher level of difficulty when your kid feels he has mastered it.

Most games start in the easy mode as a default, but some of them start in "Medium/Normal" level and you should decrease it from the “Options” menu. Setting the level to the easiest won’t ruin your fun of the game when played for the first time, just lower the number of frustrating moments.

If the "Easy" level is indeed very easy for you, you will be able to finish the game in no time. You will be amazed to see how confidence your kid will be that you did it so quickly. He maybe even asked to play it again with the same "Easy" mode.

Increase Game Difficulty Gradually

It is also that you control the increase of the difficulty level in the next session. On one hand don't stay in the easy mode too long, or it will be impossible for the kids to play it, if he is too used to the "Easy" mode. Usually playing a game for couple of days, is enough to master the "Easy" level. On the other hand don't jump the levels, and increase the difficulty one level at the time. Your kids will need more time to master the harder level. If they mastered "Easy" in couple of days, they will probably need almost of week to master "Normal" mode and much more to be able to play "Hard" mode.
The older your kids the faster they will be able to move faster up the mode levels. The more you play with them, the more you will be able to judge their level and help them build their confidence to handle game events and real life events.