In Real Life

I Am One Of Those Horrible Neglectful MMO-Playing Parents

Whenever I post a story about a parent neglecting his or her children while playing a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, I can’t hide my disgust for that sort of person, so you can imagine how I felt about myself this weekend when my two 10-month-old children left the house in the middle of a boss fight.


April 3, 2012
News

Study: Kids Spend Less Than 20% Of Their Media Time Playing Video Games

It’s become a well-worn truism over the past few years now that video games, far from being “just for kids”, appeal to a wide and diverse audience. The average gamer is in his or her late 30s and has been at it for many, many years.


February 15, 2012
In Real Life

Child Left In GameStop Leads To Neglect Arrest

Attention parents of the world: GameStop is not a babysitting service. That fact was made abundantly clear to 21-year-old Kethia Dagrin-Francois of Florida when police arrested her for child neglect after her five-year-old son was found wandering the parking lot of Boyton Mall.


January 24, 2012
In Real Life

Scientists Want To Use Video Games To Help Kids’ Eyes

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.


December 29, 2011
In Real Life

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

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.


December 14, 2011
Retro

How To Talk To Your Children About Classic Video Games

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.


December 6, 2011
In Real Life

An Adorable Musical Argument For Legend Of Zelda Fan Procreation

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.


September 13, 2011
News

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

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?


September 8, 2011
In Real Life

It’s Never Too Early To Roleplay

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.


July 29, 2011
News

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

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.