Tag Archives: video games

Let’s Not Scare Everyone Away from the Online Playground

23 Mar

Let’s Not Scare Everyone Away from the Online Playground

I drove by the playground the other evening.  It was empty.  No kids on the swings, the monkey bars nor ‘shirts v skins’ on the basketball court.  Who took the kids off the playground?

It was after dinner, the time when parents are winding down, preparing for the next day. Kids don’t just run off to the play with friends.  Today’s mom can’t say, “be home by dark”, like our moms did.  Concern for their safety took the kids off the playground.

Let’s think of social media as the new playground where young people go to interact and develop social skills.  Let’s help them develop skills, like you did when you showed them to pump their knees to make the swing ‘go’.

Be in the space so you know what’s happening.  But like the playground, it’s bad form for mom or dad to step in on every kid interaction.  They’ll never be safe to go it alone.

(more…)

Gaming: It’s Probably Your Kids’ Social Network Choice

11 Mar

Gaming: It’s Probably Your Kids’ Social Network Choice

I know I went AWOL for a few days.  My sister and her kids are visiting from Illinois.  It has also prompted frequent weekday visits from my nieces down the street.  Any mom of teens will tell you, given the choice to hug and cuddle with little nieces and nephews or write about digital life, there is no choice.  Life is for living!

But digital life online goes on and I want to talk about GAMING!

Timing:  The Game Development Conference is going on in San Francisco.   Now, I am no gamer.  We need to know about gaming because that’s what our kids are doing.

(more…)