What to do when your kid is eating frosting for breakfast
Imagine walking into your kitchen and finding your kid eating frosting straight from the tub with a soup ladle.
You’d probably say something like, “Whoa, buddy, that’s not breakfast!” And yet, when it comes to what our kids consume in the gaming world, we sometimes don’t even notice when they’re spooning in a steady diet of digital junk food. Or worse. I’m not just talking about too many hours in front of the screen.
Yes, that’s worth talking about. 100%. But let’s look at the content: the storylines, the language, the images, the people they’re interacting with in online spaces.
Just like in real life, not all food is bad, and not all games are bad. But some are the equivalent of a three-day-old gas station hot dog washed down with expired milk.
Our job as parents? To help our gamers spot the difference.
When your kid says, “Can I play this game?”, that’s your cue to peek at the menu. Fortunately, the gaming world comes with its own nutrition label: the ESRB rating. Think of it like the movie rating system, but with more acronyms.
E = Everyone (like toast: safe, reliable, generally harmless)
E10+ = Everyone 10 and up (adds a little more spice)
T = Teen (a mild burrito—mostly fine, but could cause heartburn)
M = Mature (think ghost pepper chili—not for young stomachs)
And don’t stop there. Please read the content descriptors that tell you exactly what’s inside. That’s the fine print where you find out if there’s violence, crude humor, suggestive themes, or language. It’s your cheat sheet. Use it.
Here’s the secret sauce: if you can play the game yourself, do it. Even for ten minutes. You’ll gain more info about a game’s tone, visuals, and online community in that short time that you may not have gleaned from the reviews.
If that’s not your style, YouTube is your friend. Watch a gameplay video, not the shiny trailer put out by the game’s publisher. Look for what happens in regular gameplay and go beyond the marketing fluff.
Because here’s the thing: a game can have an E rating but still have in-game chat that’s as messy as a middle school cafeteria. Yuk.
It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to know that you won’t be there every time your player loads up a game, just like you’re not at school watching everything that they eat at lunch. So the goal is to install a portable filter in them.
A few conversation starters:
“Would you feel okay if your little brother/sister saw this?”
“Could you invite your grandma to watch you play without feeling awkward?”
“Does this help you grow, or does it just… kinda rot your brain?”
Our kids are smart. Sometimes, all they need is to be reminded they have a choice.
Contrary to popular belief, modern gaming systems aren’t just boxes of blinking lights. They, in fact, come with powerful parental control tools so that you can set age limits for games, turn off online chat, limit playtime, and of course require permission for purchases (so no surprise credit card charges for $87 worth of “space crystals”).
Please don’t look at this like it’s about being the “fun police.” It’s not. It’s about keeping the kitchen stocked with healthy snacks so they don’t fill up on frosting. With a soup ladle.
Now, if we binge-watch shows full of garbage and then tell our kids to keep their gaming clean, it’s like scarfing down bags of Doritos in front of them while telling them to go eat their broccoli and brussels sprouts. Kids notice these things.
So, let’s set the tone. If they see us choosing wisely, whether it’s movies, music, or games, they’ll learn that filtering content isn’t about being “boring”, it’s about being wise.
In a world where digital content can shape our kids’ values faster than a Rocket League kickoff goal, guiding them through the gaming landscape isn’t about control—it’s about discipleship. It’s about helping them see that what they watch, listen to, and play can build them up or tear them down.
Philippians 4:8 gives us the ultimate content filter: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
It’s the original “Parental Controls” system, straight from God. And unlike your console settings, it works on every platform.
Bottom line? If we teach our players how to think critically about all of their choices, they’ll not only pick the right games to play, there’ll be plenty of frosting in the fridge for your world famous red velvet cake.
Make the connection:
How might we help our players build a biblically based content filter to guide them to make wise choices they’ll carry into every screen, every stream, every game, and every corner of life?
Connecting gamers • Building communities • Creating champions
You’d probably say something like, “Whoa, buddy, that’s not breakfast!” And yet, when it comes to what our kids consume in the gaming world, we sometimes don’t even notice when they’re spooning in a steady diet of digital junk food. Or worse. I’m not just talking about too many hours in front of the screen.
Yes, that’s worth talking about. 100%. But let’s look at the content: the storylines, the language, the images, the people they’re interacting with in online spaces.
Just like in real life, not all food is bad, and not all games are bad. But some are the equivalent of a three-day-old gas station hot dog washed down with expired milk.
Our job as parents? To help our gamers spot the difference.
When your kid says, “Can I play this game?”, that’s your cue to peek at the menu. Fortunately, the gaming world comes with its own nutrition label: the ESRB rating. Think of it like the movie rating system, but with more acronyms.
E = Everyone (like toast: safe, reliable, generally harmless)
E10+ = Everyone 10 and up (adds a little more spice)
T = Teen (a mild burrito—mostly fine, but could cause heartburn)
M = Mature (think ghost pepper chili—not for young stomachs)
And don’t stop there. Please read the content descriptors that tell you exactly what’s inside. That’s the fine print where you find out if there’s violence, crude humor, suggestive themes, or language. It’s your cheat sheet. Use it.
Here’s the secret sauce: if you can play the game yourself, do it. Even for ten minutes. You’ll gain more info about a game’s tone, visuals, and online community in that short time that you may not have gleaned from the reviews.
If that’s not your style, YouTube is your friend. Watch a gameplay video, not the shiny trailer put out by the game’s publisher. Look for what happens in regular gameplay and go beyond the marketing fluff.
Because here’s the thing: a game can have an E rating but still have in-game chat that’s as messy as a middle school cafeteria. Yuk.
It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to know that you won’t be there every time your player loads up a game, just like you’re not at school watching everything that they eat at lunch. So the goal is to install a portable filter in them.
A few conversation starters:
“Would you feel okay if your little brother/sister saw this?”
“Could you invite your grandma to watch you play without feeling awkward?”
“Does this help you grow, or does it just… kinda rot your brain?”
Our kids are smart. Sometimes, all they need is to be reminded they have a choice.
Contrary to popular belief, modern gaming systems aren’t just boxes of blinking lights. They, in fact, come with powerful parental control tools so that you can set age limits for games, turn off online chat, limit playtime, and of course require permission for purchases (so no surprise credit card charges for $87 worth of “space crystals”).
Please don’t look at this like it’s about being the “fun police.” It’s not. It’s about keeping the kitchen stocked with healthy snacks so they don’t fill up on frosting. With a soup ladle.
Now, if we binge-watch shows full of garbage and then tell our kids to keep their gaming clean, it’s like scarfing down bags of Doritos in front of them while telling them to go eat their broccoli and brussels sprouts. Kids notice these things.
So, let’s set the tone. If they see us choosing wisely, whether it’s movies, music, or games, they’ll learn that filtering content isn’t about being “boring”, it’s about being wise.
In a world where digital content can shape our kids’ values faster than a Rocket League kickoff goal, guiding them through the gaming landscape isn’t about control—it’s about discipleship. It’s about helping them see that what they watch, listen to, and play can build them up or tear them down.
Philippians 4:8 gives us the ultimate content filter: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
It’s the original “Parental Controls” system, straight from God. And unlike your console settings, it works on every platform.
Bottom line? If we teach our players how to think critically about all of their choices, they’ll not only pick the right games to play, there’ll be plenty of frosting in the fridge for your world famous red velvet cake.
Make the connection:
How might we help our players build a biblically based content filter to guide them to make wise choices they’ll carry into every screen, every stream, every game, and every corner of life?
Connecting gamers • Building communities • Creating champions
Comments
Post a Comment