undefined | Better HN

0 pointssharkweek3y ago0 comments

Random question for the HN crowd piggybacking off your comment:

What age did you introduce video games to your kids?

My oldest is 5 and I let him tinker on the PS5 when I’m around playing things like Sonic or he really likes Astro’s Playworld.

We limit it to maybe 15-20 min a day but I swear it’s like I tell people I let him watch R-rated movies or something when I mention that I let him play video games at his age.

Curious what people here view as age appropriate.

0 comments

xoxxala3y ago

My youngest son was 3 or 4 when we played Everquest together. He sat on my lap so he could see the monitor and killed snakes in front of Qeynos for 10-15 minutes a night for a few months.

We constantly played console games and board games as a family. The kids got their own handhelds about 7-8. We supervised what games they could play until high school, and limited their game playing/TV until 16 based on their grades and good behavior. After that, they really didn't need limits as they were responsible enough.

I was far more concerned about them having a cell phone. We resisted as long as possible, and then started with dumb phones without a data plan.

elijaht3y ago

Don't have kids yet, but I started playing at age 5, didn't notice any issues (although that may be in the eye of the beholder, ha)

I actually think video games did me a decent amount of good with reading and math skills. Lot of RPGs, minecraft, etc. I would definitely set time limits and try to push towards more "brainy" games

wholinator23y ago

Yeah. Although it was good that I quit when I did, my time with world of Warcraft when I was 9 leveled up my typing and communication skills so fast. Since I'm particularly prone to min/maxing I also got some good experience with math and unintuitive systems and how to guage what was better. (Percent increase vs flat increase, hit speed vs hit damage, etc.)

volfied3y ago

My son has been playing various Mario games since age 5. He can hold his own on Mario Party and has finished Odyssey. When we were kids, I was playing GTA, Mortal Kombat etc, so my childhood wasn't necessarily a good example.

That being said, his reading and math abilities are quite good and we attribute that to videogames, and a healthy dose of Mo Willems books.

low_tech_love3y ago

My kid is 4 and plays a few specific games that I allow. He loves ”fire boy & water girl” for example, and he used to play Super Mario Run but it was not turning well so I cut that. Sometimes we play SNES Mario games together but he usually finds them too hard. Also some Mario Kart on emulators, and some Minecraft.

TehShrike3y ago

We let our oldest start pretty young. He could beat Monument Valley at 3 and beat Shovel Knight at 5.

Our current limits for our 5 and 7 year old kids are one hour, three days a week.

In some ways it feels like letting them read visual novels. The media itself is usually great, I just worry about them getting used to the easiest forms.

duxup3y ago

5 or 6 is when I let my kids start. Limited time, parental supervision.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse