Gamer mom/dad thread

My 5 year old likes playing Smash Brothers Wii but not for the actual game. She's going into "My Music" and just listens to the music. Currently her favorite is Ashley's Theme from Wario Ware. 

Also I started playing Mega Man 9 again. She loves just watching me play. Too bad her ol' pop got a little rusty in these past few years. Ugh.....I suck....

 
School starts soon, (or maybe it has started for some). I everyone ready?

Ours is going into elementary. We did Pre-K so she's ready but this is the big leagues. Honestly I'm more worried about my self than her.

 
Rodimus said:
School starts soon, (or maybe it has started for some). I everyone ready?

Ours is going into elementary. We did Pre-K so she's ready but this is the big leagues. Honestly I'm more worried about my self than her.
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Same here. My son begins Kindergarten in a week and a half. He did Pre-K last year, but I'm in the same boat as you.

 
6er said:
Holy cow, if I give one of the twins a cracker that is broken in half.....


And that one about the wrong cup, happens regularly if your Mickey Mouse obsessed kid doesnt have a clean mickey mouse cup ready.
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If I pretend to take a bite out of his banana, or string cheese... (especially if I actually do....) :whee:

 
We've been going to the pool almost everyday. I don't want to spend money and the pool is the best free entertainment you can get in hot ass South Florida. I am getting a nice glow with my tan.

 
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Wow, school already?  When do they get out for the summer, in May?

My youngest son's first birthday was on Tuesday.  He loved his blue cupcake so much, we let him have a red one :lol:

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Daughter went in the potty for the first time this morning to do #1 AND #2. I couldn't believe how much crap came out of her! And cleaning her up was sooo easy...on the otherhand, cleaning the potty wasn't so fun. Pretty good for our second attempt, I think. I'm sure it's still going to take some time though.

 
Busy month for me. My oldest is starting transitional K in a couple of weeks at our local school district. He's been in a Montessori program for a couple of years. But it's time for him to move on to the big leagues. I'm excited but nervous. My daughter's 1st bday party is this weekend. We rented an adult hello kitty looking costume. Guess who's dressing up? Me! Haha! Very little gaming time this week but I hope to get in some 3ds gaming here and there.
 
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I've kinda been looking for a community like this, so I'm gonna toss my hat in here.  My daughter's gonna be four in two months and I'm happy to say that she's absolutely obsessed with video games!  Like almost to the point where it worries me, as it's the first thing she thinks about when she wakes up.  Something that I find puzzling though is all these parents in here who say they don't have time for gaming anymore.  I guess we all lose time, I mean that's absolutely true, but I pretty much just give up most of my sleep to game.  It's a skill I picked up when I was in the Army, (you learn to live without sleep), and it allows me to spend my days being crazy with my daughter and my nights gaming it up as always, though I admit that the Vita has kind of become my main gaming platform.  Oh and before anyone makes any accusations towards the health of my life and parenting style, I should mention that I'm a fitness nutritionist, exercise therapist, and personal trainer so......yeah we're a family of health freaks and outdoor enthusiasts lol.  It's just about how much you love the hobby, if you're passionate about it, it will find a place in your lifestyle.

 
daonlypoo said:
I've kinda been looking for a community like this, so I'm gonna toss my hat in here. My daughter's gonna be four in two months and I'm happy to say that she's absolutely obsessed with video games! Like almost to the point where it worries me, as it's the first thing she thinks about when she wakes up. Something that I find puzzling though is all these parents in here who say they don't have time for gaming anymore. I guess we all lose time, I mean that's absolutely true, but I pretty much just give up most of my sleep to game. It's a skill I picked up when I was in the Army, (you learn to live without sleep), and it allows me to spend my days being crazy with my daughter and my nights gaming it up as always, though I admit that the Vita has kind of become my main gaming platform. Oh and before anyone makes any accusations towards the health of my life and parenting style, I should mention that I'm a fitness nutritionist, exercise therapist, and personal trainer so......yeah we're a family of health freaks and outdoor enthusiasts lol. It's just about how much you love the hobby, if you're passionate about it, it will find a place in your lifestyle.
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You crazy people and your nonsleeping, my friend was in the service and he's the same way. :) Honestly, I think as long as she's not playing for 16 hours a day, I think she's fine, I remember wanting to watch cartoons as soon as I woke up in the morning as a kid, but that didn't last forever. The way I've dealt with gaming is to schedule a night or two a week where I get to play for a few hours with friends, it seems to be working out for now.

[attachment=16558:archer.jpg]

This fool likes to play in the cat tree, he'll be a year old this month!

 
I do my gaming when the wife and kid are sleeping, which starts between 830 and 9. I try to end it at 10 unless the kid is taking up 3/4's of the bed, then I'm up until she moves around 1130-12. DMC4 is already a challenge to plat due to time and Phantom Pain is going to be awesome on that schedule...LOLZ

Then again, most of my gaming is on my phone with Angry Birds: Transformers. I have a love/hate relationship with it...I think it's a gambling simulator.

 
Gamer babies are always the cutest because they smile way more than most children, (my theory, and it's actually kind of well founded haha).  And I can relate to your child taking up the majority of the bed, such is why I sleep on the couch.  We always get weird looks whenever people find that out, as if we have a rocky marriage or something lol.  I lay with my daughter and rub her back every night for about and hour or two to get her to finally go to sleep, (she won't sleep without me....which hopefully doesn't sign a horrible separation anxiety to look forward to when she gets in school here in a couple months, but I digress), then I sneak out of bed and try to squeeze whatever gaming I can in, which usually isn't much as by the time she's in a deep enough sleep for me to roll out of bed it's usually midnight which really only leaves around four hours to game as I try to be in bed by 4 am so I can wake up at 8 or at the latest 9.  I don't know how long I can keep this schedule up for, as it honestly is a bit taxing to the nervous system to get such small amounts of sleep, but honestly I do try to get some naps in when I can throughout the day, (if she's watching an hour long kid's program then I can usually squeeze at least thirty minutes out of that if she's not jumping up and down on my chest.)  I'm hoping I can enforce her going to sleep at an earlier time when she gets in school, but that really is up to my wife as much as me and she's not too big on early bed times as she never had any growing up.  Oh well.....we'll see how it goes lol

 
daonlypoo said:
Something that I find puzzling though is all these parents in here who say they don't have time for gaming anymore.
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Don't think anyone said they have no time for gaming. We have LESS time for gaming. And how is this puzzling? We got kids man. Sacrifices must be made.

There's a balance of gaming in our household. Two or three times a week we play video games for an hour. I don't want her to get obsessed with gaming like I did when I was young. We usually play Animal Crossing, Smash Bros (only for listening to the music), Katamari, and Zelda.

BTW sleep more. You sound like a wreak just by reading your posts. You ramble like you're trying to convince youreself of something.

 
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You misspelled wreck my friend.  I spoke at length because I enjoy writing, it's one of my favorite past times and I believe that's why this thread was invented.  If you're offended at something I said then I assume you're just an extremely defensive person by nature.  Some people are simply built that way, I don't judge you for it.  And I also don't judge your lifestyle or your style of raising your child either, it's no better or worse than mine, only different.  I should also note that your daughter plays all the same games that my daughter does, just an anecdotal comment there.  Sorry am I droning yet?  Would you mind providing me with an acceptable word count of what you consider to be straddling the line between being worthy of a random accusation of sleep deprivation and being a perfectly acceptable poster on a video game forum that's entire purpose is discussion?  I sleep less than you because I require less sir.  Many service members pick up that skill, perhaps you'd have the ability if you would of gotten the training as well.  If you did get the training and you didn't retain the ability, then I feel pity for your inability to retain your training capacity.  It doesn't hinder my life style in any way, and I still spend a great deal of time pursuing hobbies and living a healthy family life.  Considering how apt you seem to argue over something inconsequential I wonder if you require more sleep.  Perhaps you should take up a more regimented fitness program?  If you require services on how to improve your physical and mental health so as to come off less irritable and disrespectful to others then I'd be more than willing to offer my services for a modest fee of course.  But as far as teaching you manners well..... I don't believe my educational institution of choice ever covered basic human behavior, that one's on your parents.  Here's hoping you don't pass your attitude of weakness and insecurity on to your daughter as your parents passed it on to you.  Happy tidings :)

 
I had to have a "discussion" with my 2 year old daughter this morning that it was ok that daddy was getting things out of the cupboard.

I was making a pot of coffee. I didn't realize she was awake, and as I was getting the coffee and filter out of the cabinet, she walks up behind me. This is the convo that followed.

"Dad, what are you getting into?"

"I'm making coffee"

"Get out of the cabinet. That's not for dad stuff. That's for mom stuff"

"I'm the dad, I'm allowed to get stuff out of the cabinet. Willow shouldn't be in the cabinets."

"No dad, MOM can get stuff. You're trouble. Get down now!" Insert pointed finger and evil scowl. 

Some days I cant believe she's only 2.

 
daonlypoo said:
You misspelled wreck my friend. I spoke at length because I enjoy writing, it's one of my favorite past times and I believe that's why this thread was invented. If you're offended at something I said then I assume you're just an extremely defensive person by nature. Some people are simply built that way, I don't judge you for it. And I also don't judge your lifestyle or your style of raising your child either, it's no better or worse than mine, only different. I should also note that your daughter plays all the same games that my daughter does, just an anecdotal comment there. Sorry am I droning yet? Would you mind providing me with an acceptable word count of what you consider to be straddling the line between being worthy of a random accusation of sleep deprivation and being a perfectly acceptable poster on a video game forum that's entire purpose is discussion? I sleep less than you because I require less sir. Many service members pick up that skill, perhaps you'd have the ability if you would of gotten the training as well. If you did get the training and you didn't retain the ability, then I feel pity for your inability to retain your training capacity. It doesn't hinder my life style in any way, and I still spend a great deal of time pursuing hobbies and living a healthy family life. Considering how apt you seem to argue over something inconsequential I wonder if you require more sleep. Perhaps you should take up a more regimented fitness program? If you require services on how to improve your physical and mental health so as to come off less irritable and disrespectful to others then I'd be more than willing to offer my services for a modest fee of course. But as far as teaching you manners well..... I don't believe my educational institution of choice ever covered basic human behavior, that one's on your parents. Here's hoping you don't pass your attitude of weakness and insecurity on to your daughter as your parents passed it on to you. Happy tidings :)
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Just let it go.
By the way, it's "would have," not "would of."
 
Anyone have any idea about how many hours they're playing a week?  I think I normally average about 10 a week, but 20 is what I would like to be at.  Also, my dude is getting his top two front teeth, and he is not happy about it. :(

 
[quote name="soulvengeance" post="12870244" timestamp="1439836221"]Anyone have any idea about how many hours they're playing a week? I think I normally average about 10 a week, but 20 is what I would like to be at. Also, my dude is getting his top two front teeth, and he is not happy about it. :([/quote]

I'm at best getting 5-6 hours per week. Fast play for MLB the show has been my saving grace.

Sorry about your son's teeth. Always fun for all involved. My third (4 months) just started teething last week.
 
Well I'm getting zero hours a week and have been for a few months. We recently moved in to a new house and it seems I'm staying busy with doing house stuff more than anything. Piddly stuff really but it still takes time. Hanging artwork, installing shop lights in garages, hell we are still unpacking stuff here and there.

I have my home theater set up in a rather temporary way. I did finally hang the screen but my pj is sitting on a stack of milk crates as I wait for a deal on a new pj. I do actually have my xbox 360 and ps3 hooked up but haven't played a game on them since we've been here. Thinking I'll probably get an xbone by xmas.

I'm just totally not in a gaming mood lately - it's kinda wild and a bit sad to me! I'm filling the hobby void though (besides new house work) with records/stereo listening, guitar playing, grilling out/leisure time on the deck and as always making art.

My older daughter will turn 5 in just a bit over a month. Hard to believe! My younger is 20 months and we think maybe cutting some teeth. Well, who am I kidding, she's been cutting teeth since she was born it seems! It's making her a bit fussy lately though. She's really pretty easy going but it's making sleep at night tough for us all right now (except my 5 year old who has no problem sleeping!) So I can sympathize with all the teething troubles y'all are having!

 
soulvengeance said:
Anyone have any idea about how many hours they're playing a week? I think I normally average about 10 a week, but 20 is what I would like to be at. Also, my dude is getting his top two front teeth, and he is not happy about it. :(
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I'm at about 5 hours if I'm lucky, but it's super inconsistent. Sometimes I'll get 10 and sometimes I'll only have a couple. I don't really count playing Angry Brids on my phone(it's a gambling simulator!) since I'd rather be on a console.

Girl is 15 months and she has 8 already. One of her molars are coming in too! I think she started around 6 months. We're about to start brushing her teeth with toothpaste soon. Hopefully it'll help her breath...lolz.

 
soulvengeance said:
Anyone have any idea about how many hours they're playing a week? I think I normally average about 10 a week, but 20 is what I would like to be at. Also, my dude is getting his top two front teeth, and he is not happy about it. :(
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It really depends on what I'm playing. With Witcher 3 it was probably around 30 but it's been a long time since I got that involved with a game. Right now it's about 10 - 12. But sometimes if I turn off gaming all together. Maybe a couple weeks at a time. It's hard to think of an average.

Then again I'm not adding the time my daughter and I play. Probably 2 - 3 hours a week. 4 hours if there's a rainy day.

 
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There are certainly alot of variables to the amount of play time per week I get.  If you count times I play with the wife and kids, that alone usually is about 5-8 hours a week.  Then solo time per week can go anywhere from 0 to 10 hours, all depends on what we have going on that week.

This time is not including the short bursts of VC games I play on my Wii U, say I have an odd 10 minutes here or there, usually before work if I can get my oldest to school early enough.  I love the save state features on there, lets me make slow progress in games I normally wouldn't have any time for when I use the feature liberally.

 
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For some reason, I'm not motivated to play major games anymore.  Just thinking about picking a game is enough to deter me from picking up a controller, haha.  It would take me 30 minutes alone to pick something to play.  I've been playing short burst games like Pac-Man 256, Pokemon Shuffle, or Alpha Bear.  I also recently picked up Mario 3D land back up and it is great for playing a couple of levels before something comes up.

No Kindergarten yet, but my two sons are back in daycare this week.  We'll see how they adjust back to it after being out for a month.

 
encendido5 said:
For some reason, I'm not motivated to play major games anymore. Just thinking about picking a game is enough to deter me from picking up a controller, haha. It would take me 30 minutes alone to pick something to play. I've been playing short burst games like Pac-Man 256, Pokemon Shuffle, or Alpha Bear. I also recently picked up Mario 3D land back up and it is great for playing a couple of levels before something comes up.

No Kindergarten yet, but my two sons are back in daycare this week. We'll see how they adjust back to it after being out for a month.
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That's why you should've tried to burn through your backlog before you had kids! I didn't do that cause I'm a trophy whore, but I should've! :rofl:

 
The idea of playing any major game that isn't segmented into distinct levels or save anywhere style has me second guessing it nowadays.  My game time can be short and sporadic, and the worst thing that happens is if you get a chance to set up the game, remember where you were in the game to begin with, and then make close to any significant progress, the time is already up.

So either you make about 10 minutes worth of progress for about 25 minutes of set up / loading / orientation time, or worse you don't get to the next save spot, basically wasting that time (other than maybe playing more efficiently the next time you load it up, and fun? Maybe? Depends on the game...).

 
I finally got a new pj and mounted it and was testing it out. Fired up BL:TPS (BL is my favorite game and I have yet to play the claptrap DLC) and I just *couldn't* get in to it. I felt nothing. Well - actually - I felt this strange fear that I may not be in to gaming anymore. Or at least not for a long while. I've been through a "dormant" stage before that lasted several years while in undergrad of all times. I just had this weird feeling that I had lost something though. Hard to explain.

My daughters are still home with me. Next year will be the big K for my oldest though. So as of now same old same old daily routine basically.

Well - except one of our two chihuahuas got out of the fence last night. It was my fault. I left the gate open. She hasn't come back and hasn't been found. We've got the word out all around the neighborhood, FB and all the vets, humane society and animal control. I've had her for 12 years.

I can totally relate to all the talk about the hassle of fiddly non-game game time. Loading, downloading patches, re-orienting yourself to the game, etc. etc. Almost seems not worth it some times!

I'm hoping to pick up a xbone this fall/holiday season and I'm hoping that sparks some new gaming interest!

My 20 month old seems to have hit some major clingy stage with my wife. My wife says she remembers my 4 year old doing the same thing at this time. I can't remember but man is it annoying!

 
I think I've said this before but I also have phases where I become disinterested in gaming. It could be a couple weeks to months.

Witcher 3 was the first game in years to really have me excited and enthusiastic for my next play session. Usually I play out of boredom, just to pass the time. But with W3 I couldn't wait to get a chance to play again. Reminded me of the hours I spent as a kid playing games like Chrono Trigger & Secret of Mana for the first time. It was a pretty good feeling.

 
With school back in session, I've found myself with much more game time. Both of my children(11 & 6), are at school at 7:30AM. And my wife works 6am-3pm. Myself I usually go into work around 11am or on later days 4pm. Lately I've been able to spend at least 1-3 hours per day gaming, which is great. I use to stay up late to play, and then lay back down after everyone left. But I've found, if I goto bed earlier, I can play more in the AM instead.
 
Bleedingwickedly said:
With school back in session, I've found myself with much more game time. Both of my children(11 & 6), are at school at 7:30AM. And my wife works 6am-3pm. Myself I usually go into work around 11am or on later days 4pm. Lately I've been able to spend at least 1-3 hours per day gaming, which is great. I use to stay up late to play, and then lay back down after everyone left. But I've found, if I goto bed earlier, I can play more in the AM instead.
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I should adapt this trait. I tend to go to bed pretty late which I should really stop.

 
Hey Gamer Moms & Dads I got a question. I'm looking for some good board games to play with my 5 yr old daughter. We've played Uno, Hungry Hippos and bingo. She enjoys them all.

Really looking for something quick and simple to set up. I see a bunch of "Junor" games like: Life Jr, Monopoly Jr, Scrable Jr etc. Also thinking about classics like Shoots n' Ladders & Candy Land. Besides that I'm not sure if there's anything new out for kids. Give me any and all suggestions. Thanks

 
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We don't play a lot of board games but my 5yo daughter likes both candy land and chutes and ladders. Both are very easy to setup and quick to play. We may even play them twice since we have it out since they are so quick. We've tried some of those games like ants in my pants, don't break the ice, don't spill the beans, hungry hippos but they just didn't work for us. We get all our games at thrift stores for dirt cheap so if we don't like them we just donate them back. We do this with puzzles too.

Neither of those games really deal with strategy though. Just luck of the draw. I haven't started her on any type of strategy game yet.

 
bordjon said:
Neither of those games really deal with strategy though. Just luck of the draw. I haven't started her on any type of strategy game yet.
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Yeah, those are the types of games we're looking for. Something that doesn't take much skill so she has a fair chance to win.

I was just curious if anything new and fun came out since I was a kid.

 
Rodimus said:
Yeah, those are the types of games we're looking for. Something that doesn't take much skill so she has a fair chance to win.

I was just curious if anything new and fun came out since I was a kid.
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Pop the pig is something both my kids(6 & 11) have enjoyed. Also my daughter started playing Trouble when she was 5 years old. We also all play Disney Scene It, as a family.
 
Sorry! is a good one. I can't remember many games that I played at that age.

Oh and maybe Battleship?

 
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I would highly recommend Sequence, many different varieties available (one especially for kids), but if she's good at identifying, she can even play the standard version.  Mainly luck of the draw / matching type game, and there is strategy, but even blind placement can still win easy enough.

Between my two girls, Connect 4 is always a classic, and its really easy to let them win for some good old confidence boosting.

I can't wait for my kids to get a bit older to dial up the complexity a bit, I want to try out some Eurogames with them, I think Carcassonne has the best chance of at least introducing the concept.  Ticket to Ride may even be possible too, but I would think 8yo would be the minimum for both of those before I even attempt them.
 
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My son had two friends over this weekend and they got to play Mario Kart on the Wii.  My son is 4 and his friends are 4 and 6.  I was surprised how well those kids were doing.  They only did two races but they came in 1st and 2nd or 3rd each time while my son was in 12th.  They kept commenting how my son was in last place or how he was still on the second lap when they finished, but he didn't seem to mind.

After they left I told him, "we have some training to do."  :lol:

 
Rodimus said:
I think I've said this before but I also have phases where I become disinterested in gaming. It could be a couple weeks to months.

Witcher 3 was the first game in years to really have me excited and enthusiastic for my next play session. Usually I play out of boredom, just to pass the time. But with W3 I couldn't wait to get a chance to play again. Reminded me of the hours I spent as a kid playing games like Chrono Trigger & Secret of Mana for the first time. It was a pretty good feeling.
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Yea this is pretty similar to what I have gone through. I have a few other hobbies so something always has to suffer. my kids are 16 and 13 now so I find I have a lot more time to play.

 
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