Gamers and Their Kids

[quote name='shieryda']
You know who else is so cute? That Goodnight Show hostess, Nina.:drool:[/QUOTE]

Seconded.

I'm sprouting right now.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Gabi on Sesame Street. She has the cutest feet.
 
Might as well pop in and say hi. I have a 8-month old, obviously quite the time crunch. I've found it's not so much not having time to play, but I'm usually too exhausted when he finally goes to bed.
 
[quote name='shieryda']What? Your library lends out games? That's crazy! I doubt that the CPL does that around here, though. I'll have to check that out next time I'm at a branch.[/QUOTE]

Yup, I love it. Elmhurst is part of the MLS (Metropolitan Library System) so they have all kinds of great benefits like that. In fact, I just received an email letting me know Street Fighter IV has arrived. I'll have to pick it up at their drive-thru on my way home today =)

Works great for kiddie movies too. I'll request them online from work and pick them up the next day or so. Little guy liked his Baby Einsteins so that worked out great. Lately he's been moving on to PBS stuff now. I've been Tivo'ing Sid the Science Kid, Word World, Super Why?, and Martha Speaks (he looooves dogs) for him.
 
[quote name='lordwow']Might as well pop in and say hi. I have a 8-month old, obviously quite the time crunch. I've found it's not so much not having time to play, but I'm usually too exhausted when he finally goes to bed.[/QUOTE]

I'm with you on that. By the time our "after work" routine of dinner, bath, bedtime is done, it's around 8 - 8:30pm and my wife has about 30 minutes left before she zonks out on the sofa. Then I have "me" time to pay bills, catch up on news/email, and possibly play some games. Ever since my son started sleeping through the night our morning schedule has adjusted around him. Now we normally wake up around 5:30am - 6:30am. No more sleeping in on weekends for a looong time :)

lordwow, just curious if your little one is very mobile yet. You think you're tired now, just wait until he starts walking. My little guy loves the outdoors. When we open the door to the outside, the first thing I hear is him saying "ball? ball?" as he searches for his playground ball. Then he comes tearing out of the living room like a bat out of hell so he can get outside before we close the door :) He could run around the back yard for hours if we let him. More fun is Mother Goose story time at the library where he refuses to sit still and I have to chase him around the room for 30 minutes nonstop to keep him out of trouble. Good times!
 
I've got a 3 month old (he's sleeping right now so i can at least cruise the internet). Since he's been born i've played maybe a combined 2 hours worth of console games. Hell, i bought Cross Edge on release day back in May and still haven't played it yet. The DS does get some love but only because i can close it and pick up right where i left off later.

I've pretty much replaced game time with movies, i definitely watch a lot of tv these days.
 
[quote name='mzbagel']I'm with you on that. By the time our "after work" routine of dinner, bath, bedtime is done, it's around 8 - 8:30pm and my wife has about 30 minutes left before she zonks out on the sofa. Then I have "me" time to pay bills, catch up on news/email, and possibly play some games. Ever since my son started sleeping through the night our morning schedule has adjusted around him. Now we normally wake up around 5:30am - 6:30am. No more sleeping in on weekends for a looong time :)

lordwow, just curious if your little one is very mobile yet. You think you're tired now, just wait until he starts walking. My little guy loves the outdoors. When we open the door to the outside, the first thing I hear is him saying "ball? ball?" as he searches for his playground ball. Then he comes tearing out of the living room like a bat out of hell so he can get outside before we close the door :) He could run around the back yard for hours if we let him. More fun is Mother Goose story time at the library where he refuses to sit still and I have to chase him around the room for 30 minutes nonstop to keep him out of trouble. Good times![/QUOTE]

He's not very mobile yet. He can roll, and he kinda moves like a crab on his back by pushing himself with his legs, but doesn't crawl/yet.
 
[quote name='JDN169']I've got a 3 month old (he's sleeping right now so i can at least cruise the internet). Since he's been born i've played maybe a combined 2 hours worth of console games. Hell, i bought Cross Edge on release day back in May and still haven't played it yet. The DS does get some love but only because i can close it and pick up right where i left off later.

I've pretty much replaced game time with movies, i definitely watch a lot of tv these days.[/QUOTE]

Hang in there JDN169, it's gets better. :) Actually, I really enjoyed the first few months when the baby would sleep on me while I played the 360. Baby gets a long nap (he had a hard time sleeping early on), I get 3 hours of game time in. This was usually late nights since I'm the night owl and can function on a few hours of sleep a night for extended periods of time.

For all you parents with young kids out there, definitely invest in a pair of high quality headphones. I now prefer them to my surround setup. I do miss the DEEP bass for action/fps games with explosions (I have a niiiice sub from SVS so I can enjoy my action movies...helicopter scene from The Matrix is mind-blowing and probably damages the foundation...) but letting everyone sleep while I get my game on is worth it :)
 
[quote name='mzbagel']For all you parents with young kids out there, definitely invest in a pair of high quality headphones. I now prefer them to my surround setup. I do miss the DEEP bass for action/fps games with explosions (I have a niiiice sub from SVS so I can enjoy my action movies...helicopter scene from The Matrix is mind-blowing and probably damages the foundation...) but letting everyone sleep while I get my game on is worth it :)[/QUOTE]

I disagree. Keep the TV sound on so they'll sleep through it. If you don't, they'll learn to wake up at the slightest noise.
 
[quote name='shieryda']Any recommendations? I'd like to buy a pair eventually.[/QUOTE]

I'm partial the Turtle Beach X4's because wireless was a requirement for me and I play on the 360 exclusively. I reviewed them here: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=3352

Other than that, a set that emulates surround could be better if you play FPS games. I also have a stereo set of Icemat Siberia's that I picked up on the cheap that are pretty decent..

[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I disagree. Keep the TV sound on so they'll sleep through it. If you don't, they'll learn to wake up at the slightest noise.[/QUOTE]

I do leave the TV on for regular TV watching with my wife in the evenings when the little guy goes to bed. For games I tend to use the headphones since I play late enough that my wife is asleep and she's a very light sleeper.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I disagree. Keep the TV sound on so they'll sleep through it. If you don't, they'll learn to wake up at the slightest noise.[/QUOTE]


This. We were dead quiet when my son would sleep from birth and he would wake up if you breathed heavily. We did the complete opposite with my daughter and she could sleep while a marching band played through her room.


My son just got done playing the Trials HD demo for the last 20 or so minutes. Video games are no match for the slip n slide though....they are outside splashing around...
 
We have a small air purifier running in our son's room. White noise is the best to train a child to sleep. Thunderstorms that wake me up have no effect on him.
 
[quote name='shieryda']Anyone taking their young-uns to see "Ponyo"?



[/QUOTE] Yep , i cant wait . Im seeing it sunday with my 2 year old, my wife and grandma .
 
[quote name='shieryda']Anyone taking their young-uns to see "Ponyo"?
[/QUOTE]

Goes without saying (even though I'm about to say it), but generally Miyazaki/Ghibli movies are highly recommended. Just overflowing with imagination, beautiful art, and wonderful characters. Can't wait for Ponyo.

I wholeheartedly recommend Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Cat Returns, and My Neighbor Totoro. You can also watch Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, but it's more for teens (slightly more mature in terms of how characters talk since it's more "realistic" versus the other more fantasy based films). Didn't really care for Kiki's Delivery Service but I'm sure girls would flip for it.

I try to get my older sisters to let their kids watch them, but I have a feeling they'll throw fits about everything, given that they aren't "safer" (read: boringly normal) like the usual stuff they watch (Madagascar, that CGI Chipmunks POS, Shrek, etc). I'm sure they'd look at a girl messing around with demons in Spirited Away and tear the disc out of the player, or endlessly question "why is this so weird?" during any one of the films...Ugh.
 
[quote name='Sofa King Kool']Yup, having a kid means kissing your "me time" goodbye, which is why I don't plan on ever having any.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='The Crotch']I wish to hear from io on this matter.[/QUOTE]

Well, thanks for thinking of me ;). But anyway, it isn't as bad as you'd think. Once they hit a certain age they can play games with you and even enjoy watching you play games. I spend a lot of time playing games with my 6 year-old in particular. And my 9 year-old is all into the music games. My 12 year-old daughter lost interest long ago (but she did break out Harry Potter OotP to play since she went on a reading rampage this summer and re-read all the books). The baby (now nearly two) always tries to grab everyone's controllers - he makes it pretty much impossible to play Rock Band with drums unless my wife takes him upstairs.

[quote name='botticus']I don't trust his memory to be accurate. Age is a terrible thing.

It's hard enough to find gaming time right now; what will happen in 7 months is terrifying![/QUOTE]

Eh, what? Do I know you? You know what's freaky, botticus - I had you as a suggested friend to add on my Facebook page. How the hell did that happen? Do you know someone I know and it is just a weird coincidence?

But what memory do you think is not accurate? I know what's happening now and can relate that - I'm not that old yet! And since I have a nice variety of ages here in the house I can pretty much cover anyone's questions ;).

But are you talking about what happens when the baby is born? Well, I'll tell you one thing, dealing with a baby isn't all that bad - you will still have plenty of time with just one kid. Try having 4 all at different levels and needs and bedtimes and homework and eating habits.... Also, I wasn't much of a gamer when my first one was born, so I really can't relate how things change.

And what's happening in 7 months? You having a kid? I don't think I've said this anywhere on CAG, but we're having another around then too - actually, in February. The preliminary name for this one is "Oops". See, most people have their oops kid when they are young. We're doing things backwards by having our oops on the tail end ;). But it's cool - we can handle it. It just better be a girl (after 3 boys in a row).

Anyway, probably the biggest impact on gamers would be a loss of lots of online gaming time. I have a really hard time setting aside large blocks of time needed for that. But then I never really was a big online gamer. You also appreciate local multiplayer a LOT more once you get a few gaming-age kids. The 360 is a huge disappointment in that respect because there are all these online coop games that DO NOT have local coop options - asinine! However, one of the big games in my house right now is Star Wars Battlefront II. I was just playing it with my boys before they went to bed. My 9 year-old's friends always want to play that too. That, and Bomberman.

Anyway, it is 4:30 AM and I'm rambling. Since I work from home I'm up late getting my real work done - I can't get jack squat done during the day, especially now that school is out. And apparently I have to be up at 8am to watch the baby while my wife goes to her first big OB appointment. Seriously, by this point these appointments are more of a pain than anything. With the first kid we were all excited to go to them and nearly always went together, listened to the heartbeat, etc. Now they are just a hassle. We can do this baby thing in our sleep :lol:.

[quote name='shieryda']Anyone taking their young-uns to see "Ponyo"?[/quote]

Hell yes!
 
Luckily for me my kids are 10 and 8 and out of the annoying kids shows. I would rather watch icarly, zach and cody, or drake and josh anyday. I did have to put in my time with shows like the wiggles and elmo's world. Those years almost killed me.

And for those that complain about not getting so much gaming time anymore, start them on games as soon as you can. I had mine playing as soon as they could hold a controller, they have their own consoles, and when they're not playing with me they play on their own console. I have to add both are quite amazing at PC FPS's too.
 
[quote name='io']
Eh, what? Do I know you? You know what's freaky, botticus - I had you as a suggested friend to add on my Facebook page. How the hell did that happen? Do you know someone I know and it is just a weird coincidence?[/QUOTE]Thanks for adding me, jerk. :p (I wonder if we have emailed directly in the past and it was pulled from an address book?)

[quote name='io']
And what's happening in 7 months? You having a kid? I don't think I've said this anywhere on CAG, but we're having another around then too - actually, in February. The preliminary name for this one is "Oops". See, most people have their oops kid when they are young. We're doing things backwards by having our oops on the tail end ;). But it's cool - we can handle it. It just better be a girl (after 3 boys in a row).[/QUOTE]Congrats to you then! My wife's younger brother was unexpected as well, so it doesn't seem to be uncommon. I'm sure one day your wife will tell you it was more of an "oops" and than oops.

We're keeping it on the down-low amongst people we actually see regularly for a bit, but we're due in March. Planned in our case, but much easier than I expected it to be. :lol: Now there are many lists to be made and things to do.
 
The Jumparounds, although they are quite possibly the most annoying kids' band to date, does feature Shayna Rose:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2279230/

Changing their name from "The Fresh Beat Band" didn't do anything to change the fact that they still suck. If I see that "Loco Legs" video one more time, I might just do a loco-legs thrashing of my television.
 
My boy's old enough now to play many games with me, and since we don't have anything other than basic network cable, he doesn't often watch most of the popular crappy kids shows. Even when he was younger, he didn't watch the annoying ones, he'd watch Wiggles, Dora, Diego, Backyardigans (a little), Lazytown. When we do watch, we watch DVDs--DangerMouse, Robotech, PeeWees Playhouse, stuff like that. We have watched a couple Miyazaki films together, although I really thought Spirited Away was overrated; either that, or it required a lot of foreknowledge of the Japanese legends, which I did not have.
He's generally always slept well, once he gets to sleep, he's there, unless there's bad thunder or he has a nightmare or something (which isn't often).

I was still able to game a little bit when he was a baby, but I did keep the sound down (not off). Nothing better than relaxing on the sofa with your child snuggled up in your arm.

It's a cliche, but the important thing to remember is that the game will still be there tomorrow, next year, next decade - your child will only be that age once. Enjoy life with him/her and life through him/her. Lots of people forget that, I'm guilty of it sometimes.
 
[quote name='io']And what's happening in 7 months? You having a kid? I don't think I've said this anywhere on CAG, but we're having another around then too - actually, in February. The preliminary name for this one is "Oops". See, most people have their oops kid when they are young. We're doing things backwards by having our oops on the tail end ;). But it's cool - we can handle it. It just better be a girl (after 3 boys in a row).
[/QUOTE]Io, some time, say, a year from now, you're going to be in bed with your wife.

And you'll hear a creepy, otherworldly voice cry out, "Spawn more Overlords!"
 
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