Children

In Real Life

Scientists Want To Use Video Games To Help Kids’ Eyes

9:00AM January 24, 2012 | Mike Fahey

When I was a small child my parents would warn me that spending all day in front of the television playing video games would ruin my eyesight. Today researchers at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma have integrated computer games into a device that could be instrumental in saving a child’s eyesight. More »


In Real Life

Police Say Christmas Gaming Drove Woman To Attack Children With Butcher Knife

10:00AM December 29, 2011 | Mike Fahey

Allegedly enraged over her five-year-old son’s playing of a video game he received as a Christmas gift, Jutrina Tillman of Phoenix, Arizona, dragged the young boy into his bedroom and began to strangle him before threatening to kill him and his 13-year-old sister with a butcher knife. More »


Retro

How To Talk To Your Children About Classic Video Games

3:20AM December 14, 2011 | Mike Fahey

It’s a delicate subject but one that will inevitably come up for any parent, and you’ve got to be prepared. In this age of bright and shiny high definition games, how can we force our children to play through the games we grew up on first? This is commenter Balmung‘s question in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Now eat your video games, kids. More »


In Real Life

An Adorable Musical Argument For Legend Of Zelda Fan Procreation

7:20AM December 6, 2011 | Mike Fahey

Three children (with a baby cameo) take on the roles of Link, Zelda and Ganon in what could be the most favourable outcome of Legend of Zelda fans in love, even if they got the musical credit wrong. More »


News

Which Came First, The Hardcore Gamer Or The Bad Parent?

7:20AM September 13, 2011 | Mike Fahey

A recent study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University found that the more time school students spent playing games, the more negative an opinion they held about their parents. It seems like a simple matter of cause and effect, but which is which? More »


In Real Life

It’s Never Too Early To Roleplay

7:20AM September 8, 2011 | Mike Fahey

When I was 12 years old my friends and I attempted to decipher the mysteries of Dungeons & Dragons. As I recall, the game we ended up playing involved us hitting each other with sticks. If only we had James Stowe’s child-friendly D&D character sheets. More »


News

I’m Also Not Allowed To Sell My Children For Gaming Money

6:30AM July 29, 2011 | Mike Fahey

The internet is abuzz with the story of a Chinese couple that’s gotten in trouble for selling their three children for money to spend on online games. As it turns out, that’s not the sort of thing people take kindly to no matter where you live. More »


News

It’s Frightening How Persistent A Child Predator Can Be

4:00AM April 29, 2011 | Mike Fahey

In December of 2010, 18-year-old Alex Trowell of Idaho was on his way to visit his 12-year-old World of Warcraft girlfriend in New Mexico. Alerted by the girl’s mother, New Mexico police called Trowell and had him turn his car around. More »


PC

Teaching First-Graders With Minecraft

8:00AM April 4, 2011 | Owen Good

When his five-year-old daughter built a treehouse by herself in Minecraft, Joel Levin, a computer teacher at Manhattan’s Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, got the idea to try incorporating the PC game into his lesson plan at school. He worried about numerous possibilities that the game would simply be incompatible with students that young, but he was relieved and gratified to discover he was wrong. More »


In Real Life

Goofy ’90s PSA Warns Kids Of The Dangers Of The Internet

1:45AM March 30, 2011 | Marie Bardi

As this 1998 PSA on internet safety reminds us, the web can be a scary place. Remember not to trust strangers on the net – especially if you happen to be talking to them on what looks like Microsoft Word. More »