The Longhorn beetle, mysteriously undone chores, and that big question mark

 It’s so confusing. 

You just want to figure it out but you’re so baffled, you don’t even know what is the right question to ask. 

You wonder how you got yourself into this as you try real hard to keep the question mark from hanging mid air over your head. At the same time, you contort your face to hide the growing signs of confusion.

You raise your antenna like a longhorn beetle, scanning for anything, anywhere that can help you figure out what is going on. Dazed, bewildered, and hustling to keep up, you take your turn and blindly make a play. 

And that was just the first 5 seconds of the game. You have another 3+ hours to go and you are already exhausted.

Let’s be honest—parenting in the digital age can feel like trying to win a game you don’t know the first thing about. Suddenly, your kid’s best friends are gamer tags you don’t recognize, and they’re talking about “clutch revives,” “cracked shields,” and “the squad.” You’re nodding along like, “Yep, totally understand,” while Googling “what is a cracked Fortnite player” on your iPhone under the table.

But here’s the good news: that headset-wearing, keyboard-clicking, snack-fueled human in your living room might be onto something really healthy—something a lot of us as adults actually crave: Community. Connection. Belonging.

Loneliness and isolation isn’t just for kids sitting alone at lunch. It can show up in teens scrolling for hours, in the silence after logging off, or in the awkwardness of trying to make new friends IRL. The truth is, being a young person today can be incredibly isolating, even in a world that's always online.

That’s where team-based gaming comes in, headset first.

When your kid joins a team in a game, whether it’s building a fortress in Minecraft, battling it out in Smash Bros, or coordinating strategies in Rocket League, they’re not just playing. They’re communicating, planning, collaborating, and sometimes gracefully blaming each other for that last-minute loss (because accountability, right?). 😉

They’re learning:

• How to lead and follow
  
  

• How to handle failure and try again
  
  

• That they matter to a group

It’s kinda like those dreaded group projects at school, except people actually want to be there and no one’s faking their way through the PowerPoint. 🙄

You’d be surprised how deep these team chats go.

Yup, there’s the occasional “Bro, why’d you rush in solo?!” But there are also real conversations. Jokes. Encouragement. That one teammate who checks in when someone’s been quiet. These games have become digital campfires: places where friendships spark and mental health gets a bit of a buffer.

Gaming on a team transforms “playing alone in a room” into “being part of something bigger.”

Hold up. Isn’t gaming bad for our kids?

It’s easy to see gaming as a time-suck or a distraction, especially when the chores mysteriously remain undone and homework inexplicably is ignored. 

But the social piece—that’s the part we can celebrate. It’s not about what game they’re playing. It’s about who they’re playing with and how they’re showing up for each other.

When guided well, gaming can be a safe space to open up, a gateway to real-life friendships, and a launchpad for confidence.

And hey, it’s cheaper than therapy and comes with cool dance emotes. 🕺

So, what can you do?

Ask questions like: “Who are you playing with tonight?”, “What’s your team like?”, and “Did you guys win?”. Even if you have that big question mark over your head, they’ll love that you asked.

Encourage them to participate in team tournaments or local gaming events. Some communities (like ours 👋) even host in-person events to blend the best of online camaraderie with face-to-face fun.

You might even find them making real-life friends through a shared digital passion, and maybe, just maybe, being less grumpy when the Wi-Fi lags.

Your gamer isn’t just zoning out, they’re zoning in. On connection. On trust. On learning to be there for others and letting others be there for them.

Because at the end of the day, your kid deserves a team that’s got their back, whether that’s in a game, at school, or just in life.

And who knows? Maybe the next time you hear, “I’m hopping on with my squad,” you’ll smile and think: Yep. That’s my kid. Fighting loneliness with loot boxes and loyalty.

Smile and pat yourself on the back because now you understand the game that you’re playing.

Make the connection:

• How might we create ways to foster team game play as a way to eliminate isolation for our players?

We are #ForTheGamer and help players play with purpose and win for good.