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Learn What They’re Playing
games will allow you to add funds to a player’s account piecemeal or connect a bank account directly. Always choose the first option. That way, your child will never spend an exorbitant amount without you realizing what’s happening.
Both consoles and games have settings that will allow you to adjust which types of chats are permitted and who can access them. If your child wants to set up a private chat with their friends, you can configure it so nobody else can enter. This middle ground allows for the positives of a shared online experience while limiting the negatives. Games are expensive to make, so developers and publishers have to be creative when it comes to monetization methods. One fashionable model uses in-game purchases, called microtransactions, to bolster revenue. At best, these add-ons are optional content that have a minimal impact on the gamer’s experience. At worst, they’re a rapacious play- to-play tactic designed specifically to obtain more money from players. Monitor Microtransactions Horror stories of children spending thousands of dollars on in-game purchases are not uncommon, so it’s important to keep financial information out of your child’s hands. Most
Before we get to the online-specific portion of this guide, here’s some advice that’s as true today as it was when people still called games “the Nintendo:”Learn about the games your kids play. The Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) provides movie-style ratings for all titles, as well as descriptions of what you’ll find in the gameplay. You can also learn more about a game through a quickWikipedia or YouTube search. In doing so, you may learn some hip slang to make yourself sound cool around your tween’s buddies. If even you’re totally confident that the content of a game is appropriate for your child, you can’t protect them fromwhat a stranger may say over chat. Online voice and text chats are notoriously toxic places, full of bigoted comments, bad attitudes, and bullying. Unless you’re okay with your child engaging in trash talk with college boys and 40-year-olds, it’s best to entirely disable the public chat feature for young children. Disable Public Chat
Practice Safe Online Behavior
The same tips that apply to every area of our digital lives also apply to gaming. A username like “bigdog2k19”may sound dumb, but it protects a child’s anonymity. All online accounts should have strong passwords, and children should never respond to unsolicited messages. Teaching your kids these tactics early will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Online gaming can be a pastime parents regard with skepticism or contempt. Whether you think it’s a revolutionary new form of entertainment or a nonsensical pursuit, you owe it your kids to learn a little about online gaming.
WHEN SHOULDYOUR KIDS STARTWORKING? Out of the Game Room and into the Workplace
retail and food service industries, and the numbers have only gone up from there. But work ethic is changing among American teenagers. Just one-third of individuals aged 16–19 had a job lined up for last summer, compared to 51.2 percent for the same age range in 1997. While surviving on minimum wage as an adult is a topic of great debate, raking in around $10 an hour as a 14-year- old can seem like a king’s ransom. A few working hours here and there will do your grown baby a world of good and prepare them for the next chapter of their lives.
In the U.S., most of us have about four decades of working to look forward to. Many start working in late adolescence and continue until retirement age. Now, that’s a lot of work to be had. So why rush it? Well, idle hands often spell disaster. Sitting around all day is a burden on both child and parent, whether they realize it or not. Those few years between hitting puberty and graduating high school are the sweet spot for your child to start their part-time career. There’s no shame in flipping burgers, stocking shelves, or mowing lawns. As of 2014, there were 16 million workers in the
When the dolls and baseball cards get pushed to the wayside for cell phones and movie dates, it may be time to gently nudge your child out from under your wing and into the workplace. It doesn’t have to be pushing shopping carts or spinning signs on the corner; working in any capacity during formative years builds character and gives your child real-world experience. Summer jobs teach the value of a dollar and give kids lasting memories, and after-school gigs lead to more pocket change for the weekends and less worrying for Mom and Dad. The hard part isn’t asking yourself if they should work; it’s asking yourself when they should work.
2 • www.TyWilsonLaw.com
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