A bNetS@vvy Interview with parent Rich Wood.
Q: You are a father who is savvy about and enjoys online technology, like gaming. Tell us about your tech knowledge and how it compares to that of your sons.A: I’ve spent the last 20 years in front of a computer. I first used Apple Macintoshes when they debuted in 1984. I like digital gadgets of all kinds. iPods, GPS, digital cameras. I’m on Facebook. I really want a supercool smartphone. Yet my two sons, ages 10 and 13, are wired in ways I couldn’t imagine when I was their age, in the era of Pong and Radio Shack TR(a)S(h) 80 computers. If we let them, William and Henry would spend all day dinking around with the iMac. Or the Wii. Or their mom’s iBook. Or my Windows laptop. Or on their iPods, or our Flip camera or my Canon digital SLR. My wife, a kindergarten teacher at a low-income school, says third-graders who don’t have computers at home have their own MySpace pages.Our sons, like the kids at my wife’s school, have been wired since the age of 2. Q: Within limits, you do allow your kids to play games, like on Wii or games they can access via computers and mobile devices. You’re comfortable with giving them some freedom online, so long as you and your wife monitor their activity. In your opinion, what role do parents play in this online, digital world our kids inhabit?A: We’re in a time of transition. I’m a GenXer. We helped invent this stuff, yet it still seems so new. We’re adapting. The new generation, the Millennials, they don’t know any other way. But both generations are learning: Soon, we’re going to talk about appropriate ways to create alter egos in the online, interactive Mii part of Nintendo’s Wii.
Q: You seem so comfortable with your kids’ online activity. You’re informed enough to know that you need to talk to them about what’s appropriate in the world of interactive, online gaming, for example. What some might see as a threat, you see as an opportunity, given responsible parental oversight. A: Yes. Creating alter egos for the Mii part of Wii, that’s a chance to talk about race, gender and stereotypes. With the Wii Mii, you create new people from existing parts, kind of like a digital Mr. Potato Head (PLAYSKOOL actually has an online Mr. Potato Head coloring game for pre-schoolers). And who knows what’s next? Maybe in a few years, William and Henry will become video game programmers or create the next YouTube or Facebook. Q: What advice do you have for parents who want to learn more about helping kids game safely?
Q: Can you please define a few relevant gaming terms for our audience?
Rich Wood’s Gaming Glossary: A former newspaper reporter, Rich Wood is media specialist and an organizer for the Washington Education Association. His wife is a kindergarten teacher and an NEA member. Selected gaming quotations from the author’s sons, William and Henry (ages 10 and 13)
Ed. Note: The article and sidebar above contain references to brand-name devices and games. These references reflect the experiences and viewpoints of the authors and do not reflect any official endorsement or recommendation on the part of bNetS@vvy.