PRINTIt’s my turn to play
Video games allow families to play together
Beverly Denny
ABOVE: Tanner and his father, Jeremy Brockman, play Major League Baseball 2007 on their Playstation 2. Jeremy says he often plays the game with Tanner after work or before his bedtime.
July 24, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
"Start a family game night” has been a popular slogan for Milton Bradley to promote playing board games at home. With the new computer and video game systems being created and board games put on the back burner, the phrase could become “Start a family video game night.” Today, instead of sitting at the dinner table playing a rousing game of Scrabble, many parents are playing video games with their children as a new means of bonding.
According to the Web site joystiq.com, a study conducted by market researcher Harrison Group found that 58 percent of parents play video games with their kids. Many parents today have grown up playing video games themselves, so it isn’t surprising that they like to join in with their children. Sandra Steinmetz, 42, grew up playing games such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Frogger without her parents’ involvement.
Neighbors Parker Hartman, 6, and Tanner Brockman, 7, play video games after school as their ...
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Today, Steinmetz enjoys playing all different types of games with her children such as Diner Dash, Guitar Hero and Monopoly.
“I play Guitar Hero sometimes. I mostly watch (my son) because I get booed off the stage,” Steinmetz says with a laugh. “I like time-management games where you have to do a certain amount of tasks in a certain amount of time, anything sort of educational.”
Many parents see the positive attributes such as mental stimulation and even exercise that have been developed in new video games.
“So many games have become more complex,” says Rasheed English, 33. “It increases memory and critical thinking skills. Also, social skills, since a lot of games are online. Thank God for exercise games now, where you actually have to move.”
After being repeatedly asked to play the video games he was purchasing for his sons, English started playing
with them.
“It’s family time,” English says. “When we grew up, our parents liked to do things with us that we liked. It’s a way to spend time with them. We make them do what we want to do 19-20 hours a day so it’s nice to give some time back to them.”
English and his sons play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare together. Although the game has violence in it, English says he tries not to get games that are too vulgar and also knows that his sons can distinguish fantasy from reality and right from wrong.
“There’s a level of education that comes with (playing games), too,” English says.
Jeremy Brockman, 29, plays games such as Major League Baseball 2007 and FIFA Soccer with his son because it teaches him the rules and fundamentals of the sports. Brockman says his son played these two sports in summer league, and that is why they play these video games the most.
Jon Hartman, 27, who plays Wii Sports, a game featuring bowling and golf simulations, with his son, says the time together was the motivating factor for playing video games.
“I just think it’s a bonding experience when you have son, mom and dad sitting around on a Friday night (together),” Hartman says. “It’s kind of like board games just playing on a screen.”
Hartman and Brockman live in the same neighborhood and often have video game parties where each family battles the other in different games.
“We have tournaments where everyone can play and have a light atmosphere,” Hartman says.
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