We are faced with additional challenges compared to those that faced our parents. When we were young and we were playing outside of the house, they were most likely worried that we could get hurt while playing, either scrape our knees or get sprained or they were worried that a stranger might talk to us and we will reply. Those are all things that our parents would be forced deal with back in the day. Now that we are parents ourselves, on top of these run of the mill problems, we now face additional worries whenever our children play online games. Playing games online leads to two major concerns that todays parents should be aware of. One is that some online games, since they offer anonymity, can be accessed by pedophiles and can talk to your child. Second is that griefers, also known as cyber bullies, can target and can make your chilled extremely miserable.

Online gaming usually has a chatting option wherein our little one can chat with others. Mainly in strategy or barter based games talking is a huge part of the gameplay, but often talk spills over into the personal sphere. Stick to the basics before you go out and find your kids used street fighter 4

To protect your child form pedophiles and griefers lurking in online gaming sites here are some tips that you can follow before you go out and find halo wars sale or some other games:

1.    Make sure your child understands - When your implement rules and boundaries on online gameplay be sure to let them know the purpose. Let them know that it’s not an issue of trust between you and them, but your skepticism of people online.

2.    Move the gaming system - Make sure that the computer is in the kitchen or the living room area. This will ensure that you can check up on the gaming activities of your child once in a while. Also, if the computer is in a well trafficked area, your child will also be able to interact with people in the real world.

3.    Educate - Ensure your kids know that there is information they can never share with anyone online:
a. Real name
b. Address or phone number
c. State
d. Passwords
e. Credit Card Numbers

4.    Use a fake name while playing online as your login ID, not personal info.

5.    Ignore - Don’t talk to strangers or bullies on the net, just like the real world. Because if there are no responses, no matter how persuasive the stranger is, they will usually become bored and leave you.

6.    Do not stoop to their level - Tell your child that if a griefer is very persistent to never attack him the way they tried to attack your child. This will only make matters worse.

7.    Ask for help - Tell your child that when in doubt, when they do not know what to do and when they are scared, to ask help from you. Let them know that you are never too busy for you and that they shouldn’t be afraid to come and ask or call you to discuss any complex issues.

Follow these tips before you allow your kids to go on the net and play games once you’ve gotten them used resident evil 5

Technorati Tags: boys, computer games, electronics, family, kids, parenting, video games

Tags: boys, computer games, electronics, family, kids, parenting, video games

All my kids talk about getting every year for Christmas is video games if they don’t go downstairs and find Gears of War 2 under our new flocked christmas tree I do not know how they will survive. It makes me a little nuts since I do all I can to get my kids outdoors. I would much rather give them a pair of new skates or golf clubs then some mind numbing thing that will enchant them in front of the television. Alas, I suppose boys will be boys. Fighting with them is just too much work.

After saying that I guess I should get to the point that I’ve developed a few ways to control their television addiction. I do a couple of things in an effort to force them outside. The first way I try to accomplish my goal is by limiting time that can be spent in front of them television to only one hour per day. I find placing a limit is important because then they know that anything above that is a privilege. I do give them some ways to earn more time in front of the television. That leads me into my second trick. They have a few options to earn more television time, either playing outside or doing some chores for me. I like the chores option because it is nice for me to have a few less things to do, and the reward for them isn’t bad either. I set it up so it ends with one hour of chores earning one hour of television time.

The second way they earn time, by going outside, is a little less rewarding. When they go outside and play nice I allow them 15 minutes of gaming to every hour of outside time. Like I say this isn’t a huge payoff, but I also don’t really think asking them to be outside is a huge thing to ask. That option works the best of their long Saturdays where they spend the majority of the day outside anyway. They can play outdoors for the day on Saturday and then spend the night playing video games. Realistically a night of playing games and watching movies isn’t so bad after a full day outside.

That being said I’m ok with one or two ending up under artificial flocked christmas tree this year if it has the effect of getting my brats outside and getting some stuff done around the house for me. They had better like the games they’re getting, because I know I’ll like my “gift” of one more thing to use “against” my boys.

Technorati Tags: boys, computer games, electronics, family, kids, parenting, video games

Tags: boys, computer games, electronics, family, kids, parenting, video games