X Box help

[TrickySparkles]

I’m very unsure whether to get my (almost) 12 year old an Xbox. He started at a new school and I think a lot of friends play together so in one way I don’t want him left out but in another I don’t know if I want him playing games and the whole where does it go (livingroom? Bedroom?) and limits. Any advice on this?

Then which version would he need and what’s the best buys currently?

TIA

We have ours in the living room attached to the main telly. They do a lot of playing online with friends, and a fair bit just by themselves. It makes it inconvenient for us to get to the tv, but I’d far rather that than have them playing more unsupervised. Plus it reduces the play time as we all share access to the tv. Means that bad language is far far less likely (never hear any from ours playing online and they’re 15 and 17 now - I’m sure they swear plenty at other times but it’s not a bad idea to set habits early).
They definitely play less than they would if it was in their rooms. It’s much easier to keep an ear out for inappropriate behaviour. And I actually quite like seeing what they’re up to and being around them.

Can’t advise on console type - ours is an oldish Xbox one. Bought specifically during Covid so he could socialise and play more with friends. Def good to consult with child on type as if all friends are on Xbox it can be annoying to have PlayStation for some cross platform stuff.

Some of the games are really fantastic. Neither of us are gamers. But the boys have been fine with playing all sorts of games, finding what they like. We’ve never had problems with bad behaviour following gaming. We would set limits on how long they can play for when they were younger - it’s not explicit now but basically if they’re fine with homework, and we aren’t using the telly, and it’s not time to eat etc we’re pretty flexible. Key thing is giving them warnings about when to stop / come off - give them notice that dinner is in 20 mins or something, as some games can just be stopped whenever, but others especially if they’re in team games with others, it helps if they know in advance so they don’t start some big team quest, then have to drop out and their team loses. They had to be trained to not start those things if there isn’t enough time to finish them. And in return we are sometimes a little flexible back with them - huge overrunning quest they’ve been talking about all day, taking longer than planned and they’re about to win, maybe once every few months - I’ll keep their dinner warm. But only occasionally- they’re usually great at managing time now, after a lot of training.

Thank you. That sounds like my idea set up - in living room able to be around family and aware of what’s happening. He’s a good kid but I’d like to start as mean to go on. Issue is he has a little sister who loves the tv too so we’ll have to figure that one out (we only have one tv). Think we might take the plunge but will need to work out all logistics. I’m almost certain it’s Xboxes his friends have - I assume any type are able to connect and play together?

You’ll also want to buy a gaming headset and Xbox Live subscription so he can play with his friends online. You’ll need to covertly find out which games they play too.

Thanks!