Our son loves Legos. He loves building the sets, and then coming up with his own creations and playing with them. Lego has really been marketing their Lego Universe massively multiplayer online game, and have been including fliers with purchases from the Lego Store.
Of course, our son wanted to sign up. We don't feel comfortable with any of our kids playing online. We want to make sure that we know who they are communicating with, and with a MMOG, there is a level of anonymity that the game provides, and I am sure that people take advantage of it. (They do state that they will be moderating the online play experience to make sure that kids stay safe.)
We talked with him about our concerns, and he understands why we won't let him play this game. Maybe when he is older we will let him play online.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fatherhood and Expectations
Father's Day was this past weekend and I had a great time. Nothing really happened as planned, but I still had a good time.
We planned to take the kids to Toy Story 3 as a special treat for the kids. (Of course it was only for the kids, and I haven't been really excited about it since I heard that the movie was coming out last year. :-) ). We bought 5 tickets for the 3D version online so we would be sure that we could get in.
Because of nap time, and how long it took us to get out of the house, we didn't get there until 10 minutes before show time. The only seats that were still available were in the first two rows. The trailers were playing while we walked in, and they were a little loud. One of our daughters is sensitive to loud sounds, and she was very scared. With the combination of the seating and the noise, we decided to leave the theater.
We then went to go for dinner, but every restaurant had about an hour wait. (We should have made reservations.) The kids were pretty restless, and wanted to go home or back to the movie.
We decided to go to a nice park instead. The kids had a good time. The older kids ran and chased each other, while I played with the youngest on the little kid playground.
When I was a new father, I would have wanted to have a "perfect" Father's Day, watching a movie and having a nice dinner. I may have been disappointed or upset that things didn't work out as planned. Honestly, I enjoyed the time that spent with them that day. We had a lot of fun at the park, and I am very lucky that I could spend it with my amazing wife. I can't imagine a better Father's Day.
We planned to take the kids to Toy Story 3 as a special treat for the kids. (Of course it was only for the kids, and I haven't been really excited about it since I heard that the movie was coming out last year. :-) ). We bought 5 tickets for the 3D version online so we would be sure that we could get in.
Because of nap time, and how long it took us to get out of the house, we didn't get there until 10 minutes before show time. The only seats that were still available were in the first two rows. The trailers were playing while we walked in, and they were a little loud. One of our daughters is sensitive to loud sounds, and she was very scared. With the combination of the seating and the noise, we decided to leave the theater.
We then went to go for dinner, but every restaurant had about an hour wait. (We should have made reservations.) The kids were pretty restless, and wanted to go home or back to the movie.
We decided to go to a nice park instead. The kids had a good time. The older kids ran and chased each other, while I played with the youngest on the little kid playground.
When I was a new father, I would have wanted to have a "perfect" Father's Day, watching a movie and having a nice dinner. I may have been disappointed or upset that things didn't work out as planned. Honestly, I enjoyed the time that spent with them that day. We had a lot of fun at the park, and I am very lucky that I could spend it with my amazing wife. I can't imagine a better Father's Day.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
RoboGames
I mentioned RoboGames last year. RoboGames will be at the San Mateo County Fairgound next weekend. I think that the kids would have a blast here.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Kissy Poo
Often our daughters get frustrated while playing video games. The video games often require more manual dexterity than they.Kissy Poo is an independant game that our girls loved. Our 5 year old was able to use the controls. Our 2 year old was able to use another controller to help make sounds.
Extremely Old with You
My wife and I have been married 10 years, this year. I am looking forward to growing extremely old with her.
(Extremely Old with You is a great song by Paul and Storm.)
(Extremely Old with You is a great song by Paul and Storm.)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Get Game Smart
Microsoft, the Entertainment Software Association and others have partnered to create Get Game Smart. This website help education parents and children about the tools that are available to allow kids to be safe while playing video games.
I really like their focus on education about Parental Control settings, ESRB ratings, and finding family friendly games. In addition, this site has tips on how parents can talk to kids about cyber-bullying, and helping kids and parents creating balance with kids screen time.
I hope sites like this one will help prevent the FUD with video games, like stories like I mentioned before.
I really like their focus on education about Parental Control settings, ESRB ratings, and finding family friendly games. In addition, this site has tips on how parents can talk to kids about cyber-bullying, and helping kids and parents creating balance with kids screen time.
I hope sites like this one will help prevent the FUD with video games, like stories like I mentioned before.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kids and video games
This is a pretty bad story about how dangerous video game networks are for kids. According to the story, video game networks are full of predators.
http://kdvr.vid.trb.com/player/PaperVideoTest.swf
All video game consoles have parental control systems that can protect kids. For example, for the few times that our son plays on the Xbox, only people on his friends list can see if he is online and chat with him. If anyone sends him a friends request, I have to approve it before it will be authorized.
Parents need to know about how to protect their kids when they go online. Here are some helpful links for parental control on the various video game systems
Xbox
PS3
Wii
http://kdvr.vid.trb.com/player/PaperVideoTest.swf
All video game consoles have parental control systems that can protect kids. For example, for the few times that our son plays on the Xbox, only people on his friends list can see if he is online and chat with him. If anyone sends him a friends request, I have to approve it before it will be authorized.
Parents need to know about how to protect their kids when they go online. Here are some helpful links for parental control on the various video game systems
Xbox
PS3
Wii
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