Parenting Mini Gamers
Caitlin on Jan. 18, 2024
School is out and the holidays are in! Summer makes it a lot easier for whānau to get outside and enjoy the grass, sun, and waves. However, it also means that we have seriously exhausted tamariki and downtime is a must.
We’ve all tried board games, but someone flipped the monopoly board last week, and the kids are bored of or too old for Lego, so it just makes sense that we lean towards some kind of controller. And let’s be real, our brains need a rest from all that fighting.
Parental controls are our hot tip on the best way to let you chill out while your tamariki game safely. Parental controls mean that you can protect your whānau from unexpectedly seeing upsetting content – and this is vital for the gaming world!
It’s hard keeping up with all the stuff they play. I personally am no expert on the gaming world and respect that sometimes kids get this world far more quickly than I do – and we love passionate kids! Setting up parental controls means that while we feel like we are always ten steps behind, the controls are there backing us up while we play catch up.
They might have friends over, playing online with others, or they’re at home with a babysitter – us parents aren’t always around. Parentals are there to back you up so you know they are able to play safely and make informed decisions about how they play.
Make sure to start the process by talking with your whānau about parental controls so that everyone is on the same page. Safety is important and it helps tamariki to understand why boundaries and barriers are needed.
Then you can start looking at your kids’ weapon of choice. PlayStation, Xbox, or PC? Or perhaps something they have on their phone or tablet? Whatever your tamariki prefers it’s key to setup parental controls on devices and accounts to keep them out of harms way. We go into more details about specific consoles here but if yours isn’t on the list you won’t regret diving into google to find out what parental controls options are available.
If your child plays online multiplayer games and lives their life online you can look at the parental controls on their chosen platforms as well. Like social media, online multiplayer games like Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft are all online where you’ll meet and play with different players or just your friends. Although it’s great to cooperate and have fun, it’s still worthwhile exploring the options of your child having a private account, setting age restrictions, and setting boundaries. These tools will help your child avoid those dodgy friend requests, nasty comments, weird messages or seeing something that may be inappropriate.
Whatever your tamariki do during downtime needs to be safe. Sadly, we live in a world that with a click of a button we can see challenging content that can really affect us. That’s why parental controls just make sense. Have a look at what consoles you have in the house and work with your whānau to make a safe gaming environment. Enjoy the summer holidays!
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