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I enjoy video games just fine as an adult, but I have an instinctive resistance to the idea of introducing them to my son (<5-years-old). At what age did you a

I enjoy video games just fine as an adult, but I have an instinctive resistance to the idea of introducing them to my son (<5-years-old). At what age did you allow your kid to start playing? When they start school and learn about them from others?

dabeeeenster 4y ago
For my daughter it was around 9 or 10. Games these days are way more addictive than they used to be. I think any younger than that and its hard to reason with kids about what's going on in their heads. Also had zero tolerance to things like iPads, phones etc in our home. When out at grandparents/friends etc then fine, but never, ever at home or in the car, on a plane, in a restaurant etc. Seeing families sit down at a restaurant and then they just chuck the 4 y/o an iPad for the entire dinner makes me sad.
NegativeLatency 4y ago
Obviously it’s changed a bit from the 90s but I think I wasn’t irreparably harmed from playing say “Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo” as a 5 year old. I don’t plan on giving my kid unfettered access to the internet but I really enjoyed using computers as a kid and I think it’s a big part of why I ended up being an engineer today.
borski 4y ago
You just have to be careful about what the games are. I wouldn’t hand them the App Store and say “have fun,” but lots of games are spectacular for young kids. Hell, hacking video games when I was an early teenager is how I developed an entire career in vuln research and exploit dev, and eventually started and sold a cybersecurity company. Video games literally handed me my career because I had fun breaking them. You never know where interests will lead. You just want to stay away from “FarmVille” and similar games that make it impossible to do anything but play the game.
carabiner 4y ago
You should be resistant. Kids should be outside playing and interacting with other kids. Take him to a rock climbing gym. Take him on hikes.
exitb 4y ago
Start out with retro gaming. Kids have no standards for graphics, so they won't object. Old games are much more focused on clear mechanics, rather than flashy graphics and complex rules. The further back you go, the controls become simpler and easier to grasp for young kids.

dabeeeenster 4y ago

For my daughter it was around 9 or 10. Games these days are way more addictive than they used to be. I think any younger than that and its hard to reason with kids about what's going on in their heads. Also had zero tolerance to things like iPads, phones etc in our home. When out at grandparents/friends etc then fine, but never, ever at home or in the car, on a plane, in a restaurant etc. Seeing families sit down at a restaurant and then they just chuck the 4 y/o an iPad for the entire dinner makes me sad.

NegativeLatency 4y ago

Obviously it’s changed a bit from the 90s but I think I wasn’t irreparably harmed from playing say “Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo” as a 5 year old. I don’t plan on giving my kid unfettered access to the internet but I really enjoyed using computers as a kid and I think it’s a big part of why I ended up being an engineer today.

borski 4y ago

You just have to be careful about what the games are. I wouldn’t hand them the App Store and say “have fun,” but lots of games are spectacular for young kids. Hell, hacking video games when I was an early teenager is how I developed an entire career in vuln research and exploit dev, and eventually started and sold a cybersecurity company. Video games literally handed me my career because I had fun breaking them. You never know where interests will lead. You just want to stay away from “FarmVille” and similar games that make it impossible to do anything but play the game.

carabiner 4y ago

You should be resistant. Kids should be outside playing and interacting with other kids. Take him to a rock climbing gym. Take him on hikes.

exitb 4y ago

Start out with retro gaming. Kids have no standards for graphics, so they won't object. Old games are much more focused on clear mechanics, rather than flashy graphics and complex rules. The further back you go, the controls become simpler and easier to grasp for young kids.