You should take an interest in your children's gaming, it's not that
hard to get your head around - but of course, by reading through our
Family Gaming Guide that is exactly what you are doing.
Show an interest in what they're doing, ask questions, you can even play together with your kids, and you never know - you may even enjoy it!
Peripherals and Party Games
One of the best ways to get the family playing together is through the use of what we refer to as a gaming peripheral. Whereas a standard controller or "joypad" might mean nothing to the average parent, we can wrap our heads around innovative controllers which make contextual sense to us. Here are some examples of party games you could play as a family - even Gran can join in!
Buzz / Scene It: Each player gets a TV game show style buzzer, allowing families to take part in a series of brilliant, and educational, quick fire quizzes and other events!
Singstar: Everyone loves a bit of Singstar - grab the mic and rock the house!
Guitar Hero: For older kids really, Guitar Hero gets you jamming along to your favourite rock tracks with the superb Guitar Hero controller.
See a list of other party-style games for enjoying together here!
Everything's Online
All modern consoles have the ability to go online - and many games have online functionality. Make sure you know what the online capabilities of your child's console are and what they're doing online.
Make your children understand that they should approach you if they interact with anyone online who makes them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes parents give the impression the child will be in trouble, or that privileges, such as going online, may be withdrawn if something like this happens - if this is the case, they won't tell you! Make them understand that it's not their fault and that they won't be punished, and they will feel comfortable enough to confide in you.
Take an interest in their online friends, find out where they live, how old they are and how they interact with your children.
Of course, the Internet has applications which stretch far beyond online gaming. It's not our place to talk about general online safety away from the gaming environment, but there are plenty of sites dedicated to giving you advice to keep your children safe online generally.
Further Advice:
Tips from GAME's official charity NCH | Further advice from Thinkuknow