Talking to Your Child About Kindness in Online Games
I spend a lot of time thinking about what other kids might do to my kid online. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to start thinking about the other direction.
Why Browser-Based Games Are Safer Than Apps
The app store thing used to feel like a safety net to me. You go to the store, you look at the age rating, you approve the download, and you feel like you did your due diligence. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that the rating on the app store and what actually happens inside the app are two pretty different things.
How Games Help Kids Who Struggle Socially
“Just go make some friends” has never once worked on a shy kid.
You probably know this already. You’ve watched your kid hang back at the birthday party, or circle the edge of the playground for fifteen minutes before committing to anything, and you’ve learned that pushing doesn’t help and waiting doesn’t always help either. What does help, weirdly enough, is shared activity, something to do alongside another person that carries the social weight so the kid doesn’t have to carry it alone.
Which, honestly, is exactly what Imagine Island turned out to be for a lot of kids.
