In the past 4 weeks, 10 of my friends have announced that they're pregnant. It's an epidemic. Something's in the water. It must be that age.
Hearty congratulations is, of course, due. Three cheers to all you springtime bunnies! You've done the easy bit - now you've got a few decisions to make. First, names. Next, colour schemes. Then (arguably the most important) which will be the little ankle biter's first game.
In this modern era of media panic, you may feel as if this should be the last thing on your mind. In comes the little nipper, out goes the Xbox. But we all know that games are brilliant, that they provide quality entertainment and positive learning experiences to people at all ages, within the boundaries of Age Ratings etc. etc. And so, how do you make the crucial transition from Gamer to Gaming Parent? Greg had a few things to say about his own gaming time when he had his first, and Keith's mentioned it one or two times since the arrive of his own first bundle of joy. Clearly, the onus has been on the expectations of the parents, and the over-use of the pause button.
Yet over on Game Girl Advance, bowler's thinking about how to introduce his daughter to her new favourite pastime. A new twist on an old story. So here is a selection of links for those with one in the proverbial oven. Let's hope they make the most important decision of you're forthcoming child's life a little bit easier.
GamerDad offers loads of information and advice on gaming with kids and gaming for parents. the Parent Gaming wiki is a user-generated review site for games on every console. It's sparse, sure, but offers a good, comprehensive list of platforms and their titles For a first-person perspective of being the odd-gamer out in the hyper-concerned parent tribe, check out this editorial from the Escapist Here's a guide to RPGs for parents, an Xbox Live guide, a parent's guide to online games, the ESRB ratings (via PBS), PEGI's ratings, ELSPA's age ratings examples 2Old2Play has a great piece (also linked here) on the impact of being a gaming parent Several examples of baby gaming fashion
