Structured Make Believe leads to listening skills

                Make believe was a game I played as a child. With siblings, friends, or even by myself, I would imagine epic battles and fantastical adventures. My siblings and I battled fierce enemies with our martial skills. My friends and I started a Jedi temple and fought to uphold the noble traditions of the Jedi ways. When on my own I would explore untamed and dangerous wilds, armed only with my wits and trusty plastic sword.

                As an adult, social norms dictate that I am not permitted to spend hours in my backyard or a nearby park with a plastic sword or lightsaber, battling invisible enemies or stalking dangerous predators. There is still a part of me that wants to though. There is a desire to conquer, to explore, and to adventure.

                I believe that there are many others who feel this same way. It’s part of why video games are so popular, I think. I also believe this has given rise to the recent popularity of Dungeons and Dragons. And with the 5^th edition rules set being so inclusive, more and more people have begun playing in structured make believe.

                “Structured make believe” makes it sound so boring, but D&D has become a big part of my life. I am currently running two games at home and I play almost every week at a nearby store. I’ve found it a fantastic outlet for some my creativity. Fun characters, dangerous adventures, and elaborate stories have filled my mind these last few years.

                And as a Parent Gamer, I’ve had to schedule my time appropriately. My wife graciously take’s over baby duty during D&D sessions but there are times when I have to play or DM while holding my daughter. She’s cute but she makes rolling dice much more difficult.

Great listening skills

                This part of my life has become such a fun pastime that I cannot wait to share it with my daughter. I’ve purchased several books to read to her, the ABCs of D&D for example, and I spend lots of time telling her story ideas and debating character pros-and-cons with her. She’s a great listener.

                My advice for parents of gamers today is difficult: If you want to connect with your kids and get them to talk to you about things you care about, you have to talk about things they care about first.

                There’s a funny comic, Fowl Language by Brian Gordon, that demonstrates a parent of gamer/gamer dynamic perfectly. It shows a child talking about Minecraft and a parent telling the child to expand his horizons but both only hear “Blah, blah, blah.”

                My parents were very good at this practice growing up. My dad played Pokémon and other video games with me as a child and even now plays D&D with me. This gave us a fantastic connection and allowed him to discuss things he wanted to talk about too. I challenge the parents of gamers to try the same.