Games consoles

[LakeFlyPie]

I have always stood firm on resisting games consoles and DC (12 + 9) have accepted this. They have access to laptops and spend quite a lot of time on various versions of Minecraft which allows them to 'game' with friends and escape into a virtual world which I feel is at least a bit creative.

Since going back to school DS2 (9) has been getting very upset (which isn't like him) because "all of his friends have a console and it's all they talk about at break time" and he feels very left out.
Is it really so unusual for kids not to have a PlayStation / Nintendo these days? I never hear a parent lamenting that they wish they had got one sooner or they'd like their kids to spend more time on it! It mainly seems to be a bone of contention and creates a platform for trying to get them off screens and outside pursuing less screen based activities.

I'd really like to stand my ground and am loath to give in to what feels like emotional blackmail but he does seem to be genuinely upset by it.

Any advice please?

I'm struggling to see your objection when you say yourself they spend a lot of time gaming on a laptop.

I’ve discussed it with DC, they would like an Xbox, I can’t play those games I am too old and to be frank I can’t be arsed to learn.
We are getting a WII as our Xmas gift to each other so we can play games as a family.

@Smellbellina

I’ve discussed it with DC, they would like an Xbox, I can’t play those games I am too old and to be frank I can’t be arsed to learn. We are getting a WII as our Xmas gift to each other so we can play games as a family.

Fucking hell.

They want an Xbox but will have to make do with a Nintendo because the adults can't be arsed to learn? Are they not allowed something just for them?

Ah some people are properly funny on here man

Gaming on a laptop is no different to gaming on a console. You can still supervise what games they play and make sure it’s age appropriate on a console.

I think (perhaps wrongly) that Minecraft is more creative than Fortnite (which seems to be compulsive and results in lots of arguments between parents and children) and the shoot em up games. He'll want to play the games his classmates play whatever the age appropriateness.
They all seem so mindless and addictive.
I speak from the viewpoint of someone who lost many teenage hours to Sonic the Hedgehog and Tetris - I fear they may have inherited the obsessive / addictive gene from me so feel some duty to save them from thenselves

You can get Minecraft for consoles and fortnite is banned in my house. Not all games are shoot em ups.

I do understand the fortnite thing, it was a hill I was willing to die on. Awful game. My 13 yr old isn't allowed to play online yet either but he has all platforms available to him. There are plenty of games out there that fit your requirements.

Dont see any issue. just make sure the games are age appropriate.

Oh, and make sure he does not add your card details to buy a load of crap.

My ds (13) doesn't play fortnite although he has the game. He prefers football games and rocket league (football using vehicles).

Is the Wii not obsolete now?
We have Wii, xbox (never used really) and 2 PS4s (one for dh and one for ds). Kids had nintendo ds consoles from quite young. Dd (16) has a switch

My DS has a switch, can't see much if a difference in letting them play using a laptop or console, find the Nintendo games more age appropriate.

He isn't on fortnite.

You can play Fortnite on PC and you can play it with your friends on console. They all link up now. PC actually has the advantage with gaming anyway, it's why most of the people who have made a career from gaming play mainly or entirely on the PC.

Yes OP, most children have a console, or some type of gaming platform, and if you decide to get one, your DC need spend no more time gaming on there than they currently do on the PC. However, I'd hold off as the new versions of the PlayStation & Xbox are about to be released, not sure about Nintendo though.

I teach that age group, they always say everyone else has x. Everyone has a phone, everyone has a switch, everyone finished their maths first except me...take it with a pinch of salt.

Having said that, if he's gaming on a computer I don't see much difference to gaming on a console. In fact you can generally access more games on a pc so it's a deeper rabbit hole to go down.

He may as well have a console if he is gaming already. As pp said a new PS and Xbox are coming out so don't buy right now. Switch - no one knows - but wouldn't be surprised to hear of a more powerful Switch in the next year or so. I don't think they will move to a new console for a while.

You can play Fortnite on a PC. So it's Fortnite you're objecting to, not the console as such.

Roblox is on the PC as well, and is also popualr among this age group.

If you've played Sonic/Tetris, I would (seriously) give these games a go and see what you think. Both of them are free and you can always uninstall them before the DC see! Fortnite does take up a ridiculous amount of hard drive space.

Yes Minecraft is creative but Roblox can be as well. Fortnite is based on killing/shooting, so however you feel about that, but DS actually does get loads out of it socially, and it's more like virtual paintball/laserquest than ultra-realistic Call of Duty type things, IMO. And DH (gamer) and me (not really gamer, but do play some things) like the fact that the content you can buy in-game doesn't perform any function except for cosmetic - you can't pay to get the most powerful gun or better armour or faster running. The game is only ever played on skill. Whether or not DS is allowed to spend his money to buy said cosmetic items is a bone of contention! And we don't allow Roblox (even though there is game design potential) because I think it's mostly garbage and DH thinks it's predatory, but I'd have a look and make your own judgement there.

If they enjoy playing games I would introduce them to Scratch as well. It's a free online coding platform where they can make games and share the link to their friends for them to play the games they have made.

@gamerchick make do with a Nintendo 😂

If they want me to play with them it’s gonna have to be Mario Kart, XBox does my head in. Plus they spend more than half their time bossing me about when I do play their games (that don’t make sense!) with them, wait until Mario Kart arrives then I’ll show them

No child over 8 that I know doesn't have an xbox or ps4.

A wii is no comparison. We had one. Got used for a week and never touched.

Yes my teen spent a lot of time on xbox this Yr and yes it causes arguments. But he needs some enjoyment. He's not out doing what he shouldn't be ( not in respects of covid rules but in general he goes to a school in quite a rough area so lots of kids out hanging round shops terrorising people)
He plays fifa mainly and GTA.. I let him as he was left out when his friends talked about it.

We have a 2 hour rule, no gaming after 9pm providing he's showered, homework and tidy room. That's more than fair
.

My son is very smelly lol

I agree that Fortnite is no more a shoot'em up than LaserQuest.
There are also different games: in Creative you don't die and there are no winners and losers. In BattleLab and Team Rumble you respawn. You are eliminated in Solos, Duos, and Squads, however the game is also full of meme-ers and can be very, very funny and entertaining,
I had a very strict mother who didn't let me join in with my peers and it was horrid being left out. I was pitied by some (they taught me Wham lyrics in the playground so I could sing songs I'd never heard) and ridiculed by others. I totally understand where your 9 year old is coming from!

I gave in with my eldest at 10. My younger son (8) plays with his friends online - they talk to each other, play against each other and play with each other. They play Fifa (football), fortnite - although the craze for that is over now, a few other games too.....my youngest doesn't play Minecraft but my older kids do.

I do think with covid and the restrictions on having friends to play that it gives them a way to stay connected. If you went down the route just set your barriers before letting them on....e.g. 1 hour each a day and no fortnite...or whatever you decide.

I would buy a second hand PS4 as there should be some around when people upgrade to PS5.

I have a PS4 and nintendo switch that I allow my 6 year old to play with supervision, she's only allowed to play games listed as Pegi 3 apart from 2 games on Switch which are Pegi 7 (Mario Maker 2- none violent quite creative in you make levels and someone else plays them and Minecraft), she doesn't go online yet (even though I have it). She knows I won't allow games that are higher than Pegi 7 at all until she's older.

Some games are great. I limit it to an hour at a time but none of her friends seem to have one yet (or if they do they've never mentioned it).

I don't have kids that age, but I have discussed it with me wife for when we do. We won't be allowing online games for more than a set time per day, but we will allow that time to be longer if they are in person, ie their friends come round and all play fifa on the same console in the same room doing more normal interactions than shouting down a microphone.

My brother grew up a 'gamer' and my wife has worked with people like that who get hooked on it. They even up being up very late at night because that's when American's they get to know come online and that's when other things start to suffer. I'm not saying everyone gets like that, but I wouldn't like to run the risk.

Most children I know have some kind of computer or console. My DS links up with quite a few of his friends playing various games (mainly roblox, fifa and fortnite) - my DD however isn't really interested.

During lockdown DS even taught me how to play most of them so I occasionally have a game with him too. Some of the games are great to play as a family - just dance, mario kart etc to name a couple.

I think as long as it it monitored and they aren't on it all the time it's fine