Level UP

  I get too many notifications on my phone. Look at the latest score. Peek at this video. Take advantage of this offer. Aye caramba! I ignore most of them. However, one type of notification that always gets through the defense shield is a shipping update. I like communication from the shipper. I like to know when my precious package has left the building, when it will arrive, and all of its stops along the way. It allows me to trust that they know where my goodies are, that they are being responsible with them, and when to expect delivery. Open communication is the cornerstone of trust. Not only with our delivery services, but with other humans as well. This includes family members for sure. Dialogue with their player allows parents to better understand their player’s world and provides an opportunity to teach important life lessons, like perseverance, cooperation, and handling frustration.  Through open communication, parents who want to parent with trust in a gaming world ca...

I didn’t always despise video games. In fact, I played a lot of games on my Atari 2600 , Nintendo NES , and PS One . In fact, when the kids were younger, our whole family played all types of racing games on the PlayStation 2. But as our kids grew older, I somehow slipped into the thinking that video games are a waste of time and that they will rot your brain. I jumped to conclusions because I saw little to no value in them whatsoever. I became strict about enforcing time limits. I micromanaged game selection. I ignored concerns over lag time. I even disconnected the monitor and the PS4 while our son was playing . 🤦 In short, I lacked empathy and patience. Then, one day, humility took its rightful place and I entered into our son’s world to learn and to listen.  What happened next transformed our relationship, our family, and my life forever. I had missed the obvious. Parenting with trust in a gaming world begins with those two things: empathy and patience. Once we stop jud...