Gamer mom/dad thread

We've had some mental bullying from a few girls at school with my daughter. Thankfully, her teachers have been on top of it and we've hardly been involved. The teacher took it upon herself to contact the girls' parents, explain what was going on, and get it stopped. We only heard about it after it was resolved.

My daughter has a thick skin though, and is very logical. My son is much more emotionally fragile; he started kindergarten this year and we haven't had problems yet, but I fear for that time.

 
Receiving, but both sides are up for discussion. I can see my daughter possibly being mean to other girls since she's very cliquey and sometimes ignores other kids. But she's also very sensitive when people don't include her, but I think most kids her age are.

I asked other parents and the schools/teacher seem to be on top of the whole bully issue. Maybe I'm jumping the gun but it's important to ask these questions as a parent. Never too early.

 
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Equistina said:
So I'm buying christmas presents already for the fambam (trying to use only gift cards I win to dwindle the cost down, so far it's working well :) ), but i'm not sure what to buy my baby for Christmas.

She'll be a year old in January so I know she'll be able to do more by this Christmas, but I'm not sure what one buys a 1 year old?

She doesn't need any more stuffed animals. I was going to buy her one of those cozy coupes, but I at least want a couple of more gifts for her to open (besides clothes, because honestly what kid likes opening clothes?) Any ideas? I was thinking those toddler legos (duplos?), but I think she'll still be to young.
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How did I not see this thread earlier? Cozy coupe is not something she'll be able to use until she's fully mobile. You should think about things like toy pianos/instruments and things that start to move around on the ground so she can follow around with it.

dohdough said:
Thanks dude! :cheers:

I treasure every fart sent my way! :D

I just wish I could predict when she smiles so I can grab a quick pic or vid. The grandparents also keep saying that I shouldn't hold her so much, but I don't care. :rofl:
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Congratulations to you and all the other CAG parents that I missed in the thread above me.

 
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We got a scary call from the pediatrician for my 2 week old last week.  She said the newborn screening came back positive for cystic fibrosis and that he was probably just a carrier but we still needed to go get him tested.  We took him on Wednesday and luckily he's just a carrier.  Unfortunately, he will have to worry about it when he's ready to have a family.  Now both my wife and I need to get tested so we can tell our family if they're at risk too.

 
Wow that is scary, though thankfully it was the more positive outcome of the two possibilities.  I never did any of the genetic screening they recommend before you start having kids, not sure how many people do anyways.

 
I guess it's something they do for all newborns here in Massachusetts.  I thought it was a nationwide thing.  We declined doing the prenatal screening since there was nothing we could do about it at that point anyway.

 
Yeah they do newborn screenings regularly after the birth, I'm talking moreso on genetic counseling for the parents before conceiving.  All the books my wife has read (and forced me to listen to) mention this is important, but I just don't know how many couples actually do that beforehand.

I'm with you on your prenatal screening decision 100%, honestly I felt it would do more harm than good to even consider it.

 
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Oh ok, I see what you mean now.  Yeah, I don't know too many people that have done it, but I wonder if it will be more prevalent in 20 years when the babies that have been screened are ready to have babies themselves.

 
soulvengeance said:
Just had our little guy on August 26th, man, am I tired. :)
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Congrats man! It gets easier and more awesome! Get in your last hours of gaming time because he'll be awake for longer in a couple weeks. That's how I was able to get all the trophies for Ground Zeroes...lolz

Soon, you'll be looking at fancy strollers and bad ass car seats that cost as much as a PS4, if not more! :D
 
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congrats man.

we just found out we are having a boy for our second, my wife is due in january.  2 kids under 15 months at the same time.  KIDS MAY IT BE A LESSON TO YOU WRAP IT UP.  It really does take that one time gentleman.  :whee:

 
irideabike said:
congrats man.

we just found out we are having a boy for our second, my wife is due in january. 2 kids under 15 months at the same time. KIDS MAY IT BE A LESSON TO YOU WRAP IT UP. It really does take that one time gentleman. :whee:
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LOLZ

Congrats, dude! Now that you have one of each, are you taking the frozen pea vacation any time soon? :D
 
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soulvengeance said:
Man, to be honest, I think I'm ready to take the frozen pea vaca. One is enough for me.
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It's only been 2.5 weeks, my man! It gets better*!

*By better, I mean you're too worn out to remember how rough it was the previous day. In matter of fact, you probably won't remember anything 5 hours prior. The loss of short-term memory is awesome! :D
 
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Alright, so my 2YO is showing her true colors of destruction when it comes to anything game related (which I guess is a good thing since she's interested in it?), much more than my firstborn who kept it to a minimum.

So far in the past couple of months she went from complete avoidance to the usual stuff (chewing / slobbering on controllers, I can handle that fine enough), to hiding my Gamecube memory cards deep in her closet (that was a fun hunt), to pulling the whole console down from the EC (thankfully it was a Wii and the cables were able to sustain its light weight without issue).

Last episode was irreversible, she decided to eject the disc and start chewing on it, ruined a perfectly good game that a resurface job didn't fix (thankfully nothing really valuable).  Honestly I take my eyes off her for just a few seconds and she gets right to it.

I've taken steps on all of these to prevent it from happening again, but it's funny how much different she is compared to our first.  If anyone else has a story on crimes against their games, feel free to post them.

 
My now 8 month old baby loves to grab my games from their respective locations and carry them to where she plays. She's done this for about two months now. And she loves my ps3 controller. I tried to give her an extra 360 controller I had since I don't care if she breaks the 360 one, but she of course had no interest in it. I guess I know which brand she's loyal too :lol:

Her favorite games of mine to grab (of the ones that she can reach) are Jak and Daxter, sly cooper, ff tactics, and dragon ball z dvd
 
Billytwoshoes said:
I've taken steps on all of these to prevent it from happening again, but it's funny how much different she is compared to our first. If anyone else has a story on crimes against their games, feel free to post them.
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All kids are different. My daughter never touches my video game stuff unless I say so. She learned her boundaries early and with no difficulty. Can't say if it's the parenting or that's just the way she is. But I explained it in the simplest of terms: "These are daddy's toys"

Right now my daughter loves Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion and Journey. All she wants me to do in Mickey is save Minnie so she can watch the ending. In Journey she just walks around.... thats it.

Got Pikman 3 with hopes of her mom letting me play in front of her every now and then.

 
Any thoughts on babies watching tv? Personally, I'd rather wait until my daughter is 2-3 years old(she's 4.5 months now), but mommy and her parents have been sneaking it in against my feelings on it as I'd prefer not to burn out her retinas before she's able to use a remote on her own. Am I overreacting/overprotective? Cause the kid really likes Curious George and Clifford.
 
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dohdough said:
Any thoughts on babies watching tv? Personally, I'd rather wait until my daughter is 2-3 years old(she's 4.5 months now), but mommy and her parents have been sneaking it in against my feelings on it as I'd prefer not to burn out her retinas before she's able to use a remote on her own. Am I overreacting/overprotective? Cause the kid really likes Curious George and Clifford.
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Overreacting. Let 'em enjoy some PBS Kids (Curious George, Clifford, etc) .. there are much, much worse things in the world they could be exposed to.

 
dohdough said:
Any thoughts on babies watching tv? Personally, I'd rather wait until my daughter is 2-3 years old(she's 4.5 months now), but mommy and her parents have been sneaking it in against my feelings on it as I'd prefer not to burn out her retinas before she's able to use a remote on her own. Am I overreacting/overprotective? Cause the kid really likes Curious George and Clifford.
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My daughter watches tv, she loves Chicca (?) and Pocoyo, I don't let her watch it for more than 1 episode. My husband on the other hand i think sneaks it in for longer when I'm at work :/

 
dohdough said:
Any thoughts on babies watching tv? Personally, I'd rather wait until my daughter is 2-3 years old(she's 4.5 months now), but mommy and her parents have been sneaking it in against my feelings on it as I'd prefer not to burn out her retinas before she's able to use a remote on her own. Am I overreacting/overprotective? Cause the kid really likes Curious George and Clifford.
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Ha, my son has been playing/watching stuff on the iPad since he was about 6 months old.

 
My wife and I were strict with our first born, she had very limited screen time until her second birthday (which is what I've heard is recommended to wait until).

That's all well and good (and manageable) if you only have one kid, but the second one starting watching PBS type stuff earlier since her older sister was watching it, from about 9 months on or so, basically when she could crawl wherever she wanted to (and quickly).

There were only two reasons why I remember limiting the screen time, and one was for language development.  Apparently kids can develop speech patterns much faster by listening to their parents talk (i.e. reading a book instead) rather than the TV.  The other reason is that commercials can affect their attention span early on (which both PBS and shows like it on Netflix don't have commercials anyways).

Then again I find my daughter picking up on alot of good things by watching certain TV shows, so really I don't think its all that important.

 
dohdough said:
Any thoughts on babies watching tv? Personally, I'd rather wait until my daughter is 2-3 years old(she's 4.5 months now), but mommy and her parents have been sneaking it in against my feelings on it as I'd prefer not to burn out her retinas before she's able to use a remote on her own. Am I overreacting/overprotective? Cause the kid really likes Curious George and Clifford.
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Waiting till 2 is a bit strict. 4.5 months is fine as long as it's in moderation. Babies love Elmo so let them enjoy it for a little bit while you cook and do some chores. We watched a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse also.

But at that age their attention span is minimal so you'd be lucky to have them watch anything for more than 10 minutes.

 
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What the AAP says about tv and young kids. They recommend no tv for 2 and under.

http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx

A little faq from PBS:

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-faq.html

Canada Spongebob study:

http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=1ba61229-1f41-4cfd-9758-0afa2a8b10a4

A bit more info from healthychildren.org

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Why-to-Avoid-TV-Before-Age-2.aspx

We have a 4 year old and a 9 month old. The 4 year old got little to no tv for the first 2 years. Now she gets about an hour each night. The 9 month old has basically never seen tv. Maybe an hour or so total time over those 9 months. We practice what we preach though. Out of necessity really though. We just don't have time to watch tv or movies or game right now. We only see a couple hours a week at most. I get to game a few hours a week when the kids are asleep.

It's just a personal choice for everyone. Our reasoning was the child needs more tactile and active interactions with toys, games, puzzles etc. My 4yo daughter spends most of her days drawing and reading/looking at books. I'd much rather her do that right now that watch tv. I'm a stay at home dad with no family in town. It's tough going all day, every day without "breaks" that parents/grandparents or tv or such can give you. If you absolutely need that break then putting a kid in front of a tv isn't the worst thing in the world. I've just been able to manage so far without it. You just do what you gotta do.

I'm not anti-technology (btw I'm reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance right now - anybody read that?). I've been gaming and building my own pcs since forever and ever! I love gadgets of all sorts. I think there will be plenty of time for me to share that love with my girls.

Regarding Ipad - my 4yo gets about 1 hour total a week on it. She enjoys it but it hasn't become "routine" like the tv thing has with her.

For very young children I'd suggest shows with little dialog and as few scene cuts as possible. The Canada study suggests it's rapid scene cuts that can cause the attention problems. Personally, I hate commercials. As I'm getting older it seems I'm hating them more and more and looking at them and seeing awful control and manipulation tactics. We have Amazon Prime so my daughter watches some shows on that. I also record stuff from PBS on my windows media center and stream it to my xbox.

 
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I noticed when we visit my folks they sometimes turn on the TV and set it to Nick or Disney and leave it on while we go about talking or prepping for dinner. Just leaving it on as background noise. I doesn't effect our daughter because she wants to play with grandma and grandpa thus playing little attention to the TV. It's gone unnoticed for a little while but when I realize "Why is the TV on?" My wife or myself will turn it off.

With that said we played a little to much Animal Crossing today. (about 2 hours) I wanted to go to the pool or beach but it's been rainy and our pool is under maintenance. So we sat at home. When I realized we had been playing for 2 hour I was like YIKES.

 
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On that TV topic, I'm surprised your kids like TV so much.  My daughter is a year and will have nothing to do with it.  She looks for 30-45 seconds at it then tries to get my attention to come play with her some more. 

I guess it could be because my wife and I don't watch much TV to begin with, and we never watch it when she is awake.  Not for any specific reason, just don't ever really feel the need to leave it on in the background.  However, when I play pandora on the TV it turns into a dance party for her (mostly bobbing up and down lol).

 
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I remember I used to watch all kinds of TV when I was little.  I also used to stay up till 3 in the morning with my mom playing Lock N Chase and Burger Time on the Intellivision when I was 3 or 4.  I think I turned out alright :lol:

That said, we do try to limit my son's TV/iPad time.  We are guilty of giving him the iPad when he wakes us up at 6 in the morning on the weekends though.    

 
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HydroX said:
Overreacting. Let 'em enjoy some PBS Kids (Curious George, Clifford, etc) .. there are much, much worse things in the world they could be exposed to.
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+1. We've got three kids ranging from 7 to 2yro and there are times when you don't need family time, you need mental health time. And if it means the oldest will pick a Spiderman show from Netflix, then the younger two pick a Disney or PBS show and give mom and dad an hour to finish a cup of coffee, it's well worth it.

My 7yro has always been very into game, but he's also an amazingly active child, so in moderation we're cool with it. The 5yro is the daughter, and she's happier reading books or watching a few Frozen videos on YouTube. The youngest takes shifts interrupting the other two by tackling, hitting, or throwing a ball at them.

Our house is on the move a lot with 2 school aged kids, a handful of extracurricular activities, so screen time doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, I don't have any reservations about it.

Oh, and for any parents that don't know...fuck Caillou. fuck him in his big-ass, round, bald head. fuck Caillou. Worst show on earth that kids ADORE!

 
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Never saw Caillou. The only PBS shows our daughter likes are Super Why and Daniel Tiger which are great shows for kids. She never really got into Sesame Street. I mean we watched it but she would never request it if we gave her the option.

Right now my daughter's all about Strawberry Shortcake and Sofia the First. Damn if I haven't seen every episode of Sofia at least 5 times.

 
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You people are scaring me... :rofl:

Oh and I want to give mad props to bordjon on being a stay-at-home-dad(and every other stay-at-home-parent). It's a TOUGH TOUGH gig and you good people don't get the credit y'all deserve sometimes. This goes for single parents too!
 
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Rodimus said:
Never saw Caillou. The only PBS shows our daughter likes are Super Why and Daniel Tiger which are great shows for kids. She never really got into Sesame Street. I mean we watched it but she would never request it if we gave her the option.

Right now my daughter's all about Strawberry Shortcake and Sofia the First. Damn if I haven't seen every episode of Sofia at least 5 times.
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Daniel Tiger is awesome. It was great when we were having our second and there was a new baby on the show too. My son loved being able to relate to Daniel and helped him understand what was going on.

 
berzirk said:
Oh, and for any parents that don't know... fuck Caillou. fuck him in his big-ass, round, bald head. fuck Caillou. Worst show on earth that kids ADORE!
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Caillou is the worst kids show possible, that kid is so whiny, sets a bad example for how children his age should act.

On the other end of the spectrum, Word Girl is one of my favorite PBS Kids shows, I'll happily watch that with my daughter. Patton Oswalt's (and to a lesser extend Fred Stoller) VO work seals it for me.

 
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dohdough said:
Oh and I want to give mad props to bordjon
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Thanks! It is a tough job. The mental strain is what surprised me. It's so mentally taxing. My wife is totally awesome and really WANTS to take over when she gets home. She feeds them, gets them to bed, etc. every night and does the lion's share on the weekends. We've swapped some traditional duties but she still does most of the cooking and I do the yard work etc. It's wasn't like a total 180 flip which is how many think of it when I tell folks what I do.

Now *I* have a new found respect for the stay-at-home moms. Especially those in traditional/conservative family situations where the husband comes home, asks what's for dinner and plops down in front of the tv. I know many of you modern men are awesomely helpful to your partners nowadays though and we aren't all living in the past. But I live in the deep south - which in some ways *is* kinda like living in the past. I know of too many women who take care of their kids 24/7/365 because the husband just won't. But I digress - I'm heading into the realm of politics here probably ;)

Daniel Tiger is a great show! ( I won't give my opinion on Caillou - I'm just a dirty old hippie anyway ;) )

 
Working a 9-5 is a hell of a lot easier than raising a kid. Respect for bordjon.

I like that dads are becoming more progressive and involved. Props to all you dads.

Daniel Tiger is awesome because it has great messages and catchy tunes for kids to remember. Plus the nostalgia of Mr. Rogers makes me melt.

 
dohdough said:
You people are scaring me... :rofl:

Oh and I want to give mad props to bordjon on being a stay-at-home-dad(and every other stay-at-home-parent). It's a TOUGH TOUGH gig and you good people don't get the credit y'all deserve sometimes. This goes for single parents too!
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I have a hard time getting people to understand this.

They think I stay home and sleep all day

Nvm the fact that I also work part time in the evenings to try and help out more
 
encendido5 said:
Daniel Tiger is awesome. It was great when we were having our second and there was a new baby on the show too. My son loved being able to relate to Daniel and helped him understand what was going on.
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My son and daughter both love this show... clearly because they can relate to the show and the new episodes last month with baby Margaret is awesome! I really like that the lesson is in a little jingle every time. This show has consistently given me the 30 minutes I need to prep meals.

Oh yeah, Calliou sucks... my son started picking up the whiny voice from him. I've removed all evidence of the show from my dvr. While we're bashing pbs shows... I may get flack for it, but curious george is also in the dog house because my son and daughter were using grunts and gestures and pointing at things instead of learning to use words. For a while it was cute that they were mimicking George, but after a while, we had to get those bad habits removed and this was another bad source.

Billytwoshoes said:
Alright, so my 2YO is showing her true colors of destruction when it comes to anything game related (which I guess is a good thing since she's interested in it?), much more than my firstborn who kept it to a minimum.

I've taken steps on all of these to prevent it from happening again, but it's funny how much different she is compared to our first. If anyone else has a story on crimes against their games, feel free to post them.
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I put my coffee table in front of the TV stand/console area to prevent my daughter from getting into it. On days where we have guests, I move it back closer towards the couch and she goes right back up and touches all the buttons. I think the little beeps and dings the ps3/ps4/360 draw her attention when they're turned on. It's funny how little things can amuse kids for so long. She's almost at the point though where she knows not to touch, but like you, once I turn my back, she'll go and make an attempt.

 
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For all you Danial Tiger fans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q__Ds9kXiVM

Not my kid. Mine would be on drums. :lol:
 
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I've been playing Windwaker about once a week and I let my daughter watch (not too much). She's been asking me a lot about the series. It's really cute. She asks things like "Daddy, what's the Triforce?" or "Why does Ganon want to hurt Link?" It's such a simple question but a difficult response for a 4 year old. And for X-Mas she even picked out a Link Amiibo for for me.

She told me she wants to play a Zelda game but she's still to young I think. But I was thinking when she gets older what Zelda game to start her out on? I'm leaning to Link to the Past..... if she's still interested when she's older.

 
Rodimus said:
I've been playing Windwaker about once a week and I let my daughter watch (not too much). She's been asking me a lot about the series. It's really cute. She asks things like "Daddy, what's the Triforce?" or "Why does Ganon want to hurt Link?" It's such a simple question but a difficult response for a 4 year old. And for X-Mas she even picked out a Link Amiibo for for me.

She told me she wants to play a Zelda game but she's still to young I think. But I was thinking when she gets older what Zelda game to start her out on? I'm leaning to Link to the Past..... if she's still interested when she's older.
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My first Zelda game was Orcarina of Time when I was 7(I think that's how old I was). That made my fall in love and the Zelda fanatic I am today.
 
Equistina said:
My first Zelda game was Orcarina of Time when I was 7(I think that's how old I was). That made my fall in love and the Zelda fanatic I am today.
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You just aged yourself there. I got Link's Adventure (Zelda 2) on Christmas when I was 7. Along with the system and a few of other NES games it was the best Christmas ever for me.

With that said I wouldn't dare start my child of with Link's Adventure. It left emotional scars on me. Especially those axe wielding gators in Death Mountain. fuck those guys.

 
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Rodimus said:
You just aged yourself there. I got Link's Adventure (Zelda 2) on Christmas when I was 7. Along with the system and a few of other NES games it was the best Christmas ever for me.

With that said I wouldn't dare start my child of with Link's Adventure. It left emotional scars on me. Especially those axe wielding gators in Death Mountain. fuck those guys.
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I have no shame in my age, in a month I'll be 26. :0

I think you could start her with wind waker since it's more "cute"
 
My 3 year old's favorite movie is now guardians of the galaxy. I was watching it once while he was in the room and now he wants to watch it every day. Now I feel bad for letting him watch it since there are quite a few inappropriate scenes in there.
 
Can't wait to show our 4 yr old some of my personal favorites & classics but I want her to be a little older.

Right now she's been watching this new My Little Pony movie like every other day. That and Sofia the First are among her favorites.

I guess a lot of girls in her class are into this Monster High show. I saw the toys in Target and thought they were pretty ugly. I'll watch a clip and see if I approve. I don't want her to be left out, no kid wants that.

 
Rodimus said:
Can't wait to show our 4 yr old some of my personal favorites & classics but I want her to be a little older.

Right now she's been watching this new My Little Pony movie like every other day. That and Sofia the First are among her favorites.

I guess a lot of girls in her class are into this Monster High show. I saw the toys in Target and thought they were pretty ugly. I'll watch a clip and see if I approve. I don't want her to be left out, no kid wants that.
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I find the Monster High books and show too mature for children. Lots of references to making out, overt discussions about boys, etc.

It's sister title Ever After High has the better role models and stories.
 
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