Ever since my daughter was born I've always looked forward to the day when I could teach her how to play video games.
She's now at the age of 2 and a half and I've decided to slowly introduce her to the wonders of video games....
Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to buy her a PS4 and a copy of GTAV and let her get on with it!!!
The way I see it, I am going to introduce her to some of the classic machines from down the years as the games on the retrogaming machines tend to be that much simpler to play.
When I dug out my Megadrive a few weeks back I saw this as the perfect opportunity to introduce her to SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.
I figured that the colourful graphics, the jaunty music and the basic left to right gameplay would be perfect for my little un to grasp.
To my surprise she actually picked this up pretty quickly. She sat on my lap, I held the Megadrive controller whilst pushing to the right and she pressed the jump button repeatedly and somehow we managed to cooperatively complete Green Hill Zone 1 without too much fuss.
The only thing is, a two year old has a limited attention span and we didn't quite get round to trying out Green Hill Zone 2.
The next opportunity to share my love of gaming came at Christmas when the Wii got its annual outing as we played Wii Sports with friends. My little girl took a shine to Wii bowling and even though she didn't really understand the mechanic of swinging her arm forward whilst pressing and releasing the buttons on the Wii Remote, she still seemed to enjoy standing there with the remote proclaiming that it was her go.
A couple of days later she actually asked to play "Bowling Ball" on the Wii after we had taken her to a bowling alley for her first taste of ten pin bowling!
I dusted off the Wii once again and this time we played Wii Sports Tennis, Baseball, Bowling and even Boxing!
She seemed a bit perturbed by the boxing so we didn't play that for long but the other games she really enjoyed.
I'm really looking forward to sharing my video games passion with my daughter and as she grows up I hope she becomes a gamer in one way or another.
There is obviously a part of me as a parent that thinks that I don't want her to become the bedroom loner gamer who sits there for hours and doesn't socialise but I'm pretty sure I would never let that happen as I see video gaming as a social event. Even when I played 1 player games as a kid, 9 times out of ten I'd play them with a friend as we took it in turns to try and complete the next level of Alex Kidd or Super Mario. Yes, I played marathon sessions of Street Fighter and Super Mario World when I was an 11 year oldwhere I'd hole up in my room for hours on end but I'd also play football outside with my mates every Sunday without fail and I think I turned out ok.
As long as I make sure my child approaches things in moderation then I'm sure she will reap the rewards of becoming a gamer and hopefully I'll be a big part of that.
I think that video games are an essential skill for my child to grasp as I think that they really helped me make some great friends and experience some marvellous things both on my own and with a group of mates.
What's YOUR Stance On Teaching Your Kids How To Play Video Games?
What's The Optimum Age For Kids To Start Playing Video Games?
What Video Games Would YOU Recommend That Kids Start With?
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