The expectations of disappointment.

I’ve been a dad for a few years now (nearly 13) and I’ve been a gamer for much longer.  My kids know how much I like games and when a parent is into something the kids get into it also.   

My daughter (12) has always been into games she can ‘get’ right away and do well at.  Games  she can pick up quickly and finish or games she can tootle around on with costumes, mini-games, or just time-wasting behavior (Nintendogs for example).   She rarely re-visits games for a second time and is into the types of games that I wouldn’t even pick up to read the back cover in a store.

My son (7) likes games that he can be good at, make no mistake, but it seems the games he re-visits are the ones that he struggles with initially.  He plays the same games over and over and within those games plays the same levels countless times.  He is into games that are similar to ones I was into when I was a kid, and by and large games that I’m still into.

Now that you have a background on the kid’s differences in game behaviors, they share a common trait as well.  They both believe that I am the supreme authority on all things relating to games.  From ‘knowing’ how to beat things I’ve never played before to knowing every release and what type of game it is.  I do happen to know more than my fair share about these things, but it’s obvious that I can’t keep track of every game out there. 

It’s a situation that has more drawbacks than positives from a Dad’s perspective.     

Of course I want to live up to my children’s expectations of me, because as a parent you are the mold that 'most' shapes their development into adult persons.  There are times I’ll walk through the room when they are playing a game and they’ll hand me the controller to beat a specific  level//area//boss//etc and I’ll whip it out like I’d done it a thousand times before and they get that starry eyed look and it makes me feel like a million bucks and really inflates the ego.  Other times they’ll ask me about a specific situation or encounter in a game I’ve never played and then look at me with shock and disappointment when I tell them I don’t know.

As they get older, they are starting to realize that I’m not as godly as they thought I was, I don’t think they mind this realization, but is sure bothers me.  ;)

-CadDad