Have you got your kids playing video games too?

[Everillad]

Me and my fiancée can't help but think out our future together, the other day she asked about our future living situation " shall we get a bigger house?" "what area are we going to live in?" "is moving a viable option?"...yet all I can think about is "are my kids gonna be gamers too...?"

Childish...I know...but she finds it endearing...

I'm serious though, I'd love it for my kids to be gamers too. To share a hobby or passion with your child is probably a parent's dream come true. I wouldn't force them to be gamers, I mean if they want to play sports, or collect stamps or whatever that's fine, but I'd like to at least introduce them to it. Odds are I'd get them to play on my SNES as an introduction, I mean that's what it was for me. A couple levels of Donkey Kong Country should get their tiny thumbs twiddling.

So here's my question:

Do you guys have any kids, and if you do, do you play videogames together? Or do you share another hobby with your children?
And also if you were going to introduce them to video gaming, would you use an older console like the SNES? Let them in on the ground floor showing them videogaming's origins? Or would you crack out the current/next gen consoles like a PS3 or 360 and show then what videogaming has achieved?

 

[Kinokohatake]

I have 3 kids. My older boys love Skylanders but also sit with me during Assassins Creed, Tales of games, and my sons "Old Yeller" moment came at the end of Twilight Princess. Yes i game with my kids. In fact we used Portal 2 to teach them problem solving skills.

 

[Ectoplasmicz]

I'm not old enough to even think about kids yet, but I did introduce my little step-brother to gaming when he was about 3. Hasn't looked back since, he's excellent at gaming. He can give Civ 5 a good go for goodness sake, at the age of 6. God knows how.

 

[TehCookie]

I'm never having kids, but my parents were the ones who got me into gaming. I'd start with the earlier games just because they're easier to learn. My favorite childhood game was Altered Beast and all the controls were punch, kick, jump. I guess it depends on the age of the kid, my parents had me playing as soon as I could hold a controller. If they are really young, don't just hand them a game to play, but find a 2-player game you can enjoy together.

 

[Iwata]

I don't have children yet, but my girlfriend is pregnant and we're having a little girl next July. Considering we're both gamers, it's a fact of life that we'll introduce her to gaming at some stage.

 

[dontlooknow]

Don't have kids yet, but I've thought about that like you, OP. I think I'd show them PS1 and PS2 games first, partly because that's what I started on, but mostly because the good current-gen stuff isn't exactly child-friendly - I'd want to see what they think of Crash Bandicoot, Ico, or Rayman before they meet Niko Bellic.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Introducing my Nephew to Mario was fun, he likes "playing cartoons"

 

[Rawne1980]

I'm never having kids,

If you ever change your mind i'll swap you one of mine for that hat.

On topic....

My kids have PC's and consoles but rarely use them.