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Thanks for the comment. You're right. I think the lessons of moderation and delayed gratification should be a goal and not a blanket ban. Finding things equal

Thanks for the comment. You're right. I think the lessons of moderation and delayed gratification should be a goal and not a blanket ban. Finding things equally as fun is hard. He knows what he wants... what works is distracting him from what's in front of him to something else not equally as fun. We'll work on that. As for reading, he really enjoys books but just not nearly enough as gaming. He's favorite is "The little yellow digger" and he's even memorised it. Highly recommend it.

ChuckMcM 13y ago
Well, I'm not going to say parenting is easy, it's not. If it helps there is something more fun out beyond his current experience, you will know it when you find it, and you'll be on to the next thing. As for books, the thing with reading is to get past reading into thinking and once you get there games won't be nearly as entertaining because they are always the same. Something we've done over the years is reading and talking about them. Even simple books like The Animorphs series have things to talk about, or the Boxcar Kids, or any of a zillion books. Good starters are "how would you have told this story?" or "can you create a similar one?" "What do you think character X was thinking?" "Do you think we could build a fire with just a rock and a piece of steel? Lets try it." As long as you stay engaged, your kids will keep coming back. At this stage they are genetically programmed to seek out your approval (too bad for them, but a critical survival tool in the parental arsenal) Expect more, stay engaged, and if you have the experience I have had you will both enjoy the trip.
- alfiejohn_ 13y ago
  So far, reading has been passive. I'm liking the idea of prompting for the character's thoughts. That sounds really interesting and positive. Thanks for the suggestions. And you're damn right. Parenting is not easy!

ChuckMcM 13y ago

Well, I'm not going to say parenting is easy, it's not. If it helps there is something more fun out beyond his current experience, you will know it when you find it, and you'll be on to the next thing. As for books, the thing with reading is to get past reading into thinking and once you get there games won't be nearly as entertaining because they are always the same. Something we've done over the years is reading and talking about them. Even simple books like The Animorphs series have things to talk about, or the Boxcar Kids, or any of a zillion books. Good starters are "how would you have told this story?" or "can you create a similar one?" "What do you think character X was thinking?" "Do you think we could build a fire with just a rock and a piece of steel? Lets try it." As long as you stay engaged, your kids will keep coming back. At this stage they are genetically programmed to seek out your approval (too bad for them, but a critical survival tool in the parental arsenal) Expect more, stay engaged, and if you have the experience I have had you will both enjoy the trip.

alfiejohn_ 13y ago
So far, reading has been passive. I'm liking the idea of prompting for the character's thoughts. That sounds really interesting and positive. Thanks for the suggestions. And you're damn right. Parenting is not easy!