At what age do you introduce a child to gaming?

[Retro Wolf]

My son is 2, he likes to watch me play Sonic Adventure on the ps3.
Today I handed the controller over just to see what would happen, obviously all he can do is spin round and jump.
Does anyone here recommend an age to get them into gaming? What games did you play?
The cool thing is that being an amateur games developer, I could make games for him, one day even with him. That would have been amazing if I could have done that with my Dad as a kid, I'm going to be the coolest Dad at school!

[Adeel]

I've been playing games since I was merely six (when I got my first computer i.e. Pentium II). 12 years have passed since then and I've played hundreds of games belonging to many genres (and still continue to do so). My first ever game (which I recall playing by myself i.e. not with the help of my father) was MS-DOS Based Platformer known as Dangerous Dave.

Imho, there's not any defined minimum age to get a child into gaming (since the children these days are lot smarter). But you'll have to keep an eye as to what type of games are they playing, obviously. Edutainment games are the best for young kids because they not only provide entertainment but education as well (which would help them in their studies too - though admittedly I didn't play any edutainment games but one and I was a bright student in the school ). Retro Platformers such as Dangerous Dave, Super Mario are quite excellent too.

And, yes, the idea of developing games with your children is quite exciting but you'll have to wait for sometime for that to happen. 

[Babar]

I had a computer in my home from before I can remember. Initially I used to sit behind my father and watch as he played adventure games, offering the occasional bit of bad advice. I used to muck about with edutainment titles (Playroom, some Mickey Mouse game, etc.), but I think Prince of Persia was one of the first REAL games I played on my own (well, I also played it with my friend, alternating between one controlling jump and one controlling movement), and that was around 4. It took me a while to complete the first level, and that game was utterly terrifying. After a bit I migrated to playing adventure games mostly on my own.

PS: Which Dangerous Dave, Adeel? The original diamond collecting looks-like-it-was-based-in-a-dungeon black background platformer, or the creepy one with the dude and his shotgun?

[Adeel]

PS: Which Dangerous Dave, Adeel? The original diamond collecting looks-like-it-was-based-in-a-dungeon black background platformer, or the creepy one with the dude and his shotgun?

The original one, of course.

[LRH]

I have particularly fond memories of playing Lemmings with my father on his Packard-Bell DOS pc.  I think I was about 4.  I don't know if there is a properly correct age to begin gaming.  I think it's something that slowly just starts to happen.

[miguel]

I've raised 2 kids and am now raising a third and have different outcomes that I'll try to explain.
There was no "rules" for the first 2, they had consoles and PC's available since they were around 8 years old. I thought I was doing the right thing, not allowing them to get "hooked" on gaming before they've reached a certain age and maturity.
Well, my second son (now 19) got seriously hooked with his PC (gaming and watching movies and tv shows, etc...) when he was around 15. That "addiction" made him quit football and later on indoor football (he was quite talented), he's 100Kg, still finishing high-school, doesn't have a girlfriend and guess what? He spends 80% of his active time gaming or doing stuff in front of a screen.
My first and only daughter (20 years-old) never did give a shit about gaming, she managed to finish high-school but university is out of her plans. I can safely say that exposure to gaming didn't take any effects on her life.
Now, my youngest kid (7 years-old last 26th) has all the exposure to gaming than the other ones but I and his mother try to keep him occupied with several activities:
Mon - Fri: 9am-5.30pm in school;
Tuesdays and Fridays plays football from 6.30pm to 7.30pm;
Wednesday he has church teachings for an hour after school;
Saturday he is a proud boy scout;
On Sundays he plays football before lunch;
He's a happy, motivated kid and when he finally has some time for gaming he's so tired that it never is "too much".

But, honestly, in my opinion kids have strong personalities from the very beginning and exposure to gaming from an early age might not be as bad as some people want to make it.

[LimpingFish]

I played my first video game when I was six...and it was all downhill from there.

[Cassiebsg]

My son's almost three (1 month to go), he wants to play, but can't figure how to use the mouse "slowly", thus can't click where he wants. We've been playing Escape the Barn (thanks BTW for that awesome game!) and he keeps saying "I want to play the cat game". Of course it's me that ends up doing the clicks...

Anyway, that made me think that he needs a "mouse" friendly game so he can learn to master a mouse (I never did managed to teach my mother, so maybe I'm just a bed teacher? )

If you have a tablet, try some easy touch games. I just learned that my kid now can start my tablet, unlock it, open the video program , get his cartoon playing, pause/play it, and turn the tablet off (suspend mode)... And this was all just this weekend, by watching me start it and pause it... However, the way he still thinks everything needs to be thrown, makes me reluctant to give my table to him.

[abstauber]

Did I mention that it is such a great relieve to learn that you all got kids? I thought I would need to cancel my account once my daughter arrives and you guys even manage to release games. Fun ones. Without an educational concept.
THANK YOU

Anyway I agree with Miguel: Kids are all different. If they have an affinity for gaming, they will play, no matter at which age they're introduced to the medium. Of course playing games can also be a way to escape real life and real life problems, but that's a different story

Oh - and I was introduced at 4 and it kind of alienated me, since no of my kindergarten (and elementary school) friends had a computer or even liked playing games. But I bet now they are all hooked up on Playstation 1234 and get drunk by now

[AGA]

I played my first video game when I was six...and it was all downhill from there.

I played Leisure Suit Larry when I was six.  Both my parents work in IT, what can I say...

I still remember getting new boxed versions of LSL6 and Freddy Pharkas for my birthday, which the release dates tell me must have been my eighth.  However, I found the boxes in my parents' bedroom, and started playing the game well before my birthday...

So yeah, video games will make your children naughty ones, who can't wait to get their hands on the age inappropriate games you let them play.

[Stupot]

We got the Atari 2600 before my younger sister was born, and I was six when she was born. We also had the Amstrad cpc464 before she was born. I always think I got introduced to games pretty young, but then I remember... my sister was born into a family that already had an Atari and an Amstrad. So she was playing it with us in no time.  She would watch as we played Dizzy and Rick Dangerous probably before she could even walk.  I think the first game she played herself was some learning game that we called 'The Froggy Game' because it had a frog in it.  But it wasn't long before she was playing proper games too.  She's not really a 'gamer' now but she still plays occasionally.

These days, my nephew and younger niece (aged 4) are already very well-versed in Nanna'a Kindle Fire.  And it's surprising how good kids can actually be at playing games.  My little niece has got crazy reflexes.  And as I mentioned in another thread, my older niece (now 8 I think) was playing Broken Sword with me this time last year, which may or may not have been irresponsible of me considering the amount of murder that actually happens in those games, but it was a great bonding time and she loved it.

[Gribbler]

Few days ago my 1,5-year-old daugher saw me slaughtering demons in the depths of hell in Diablo 3. She seemed eager to try too but I refused and changed the game to Pro Evolution Soccer. She lost interest quickly. I think I should buy something cheerfull, like Rayman maybe.

[dbuske]

Their was no such thing as a PC when I was a kid, even when I was in high school and University.
I think they had some games that could be played on TV's. The controllers lagged horribly and made the games very frustrating.
I am 57.
I wish I had had a PC in college.

[monkey424]

My ~ 1.5 yr old girl plays angry birds like a pro!

I thought I would need to cancel my account once my daughter arrives and you guys even manage to release games.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. But AGS seems compatible to a certain extent.

I've raised 2 kids and am now raising a third.....

Miguel, I knew you had the younger child, but not two others in their late teens! You obviously started early. Was there some scare campaign threatening testicle removal if you didn't procreate pronto?

[Adeel]

I should also mention that most of my relatives' children aren't keen on playing computer games. For some unknown reason, they love playing games on their parents' mobile phones.

I've raised 2 kids and am now raising a third.....

Miguel, I knew you had the younger child, but not two others in their late teens! You obviously started early. Was there some scare campaign threatening testicle removal if you didn't procreate pronto?

Yes, I'm quite surprised as well. So when are you and your son going to release a game together?

[miguel]

I've raised 2 kids and am now raising a third.....

Miguel, I knew you had the younger child, but not two others in their late teens! You obviously started early. Was there some scare campaign threatening testicle removal if you didn't procreate pronto?

Hehehehe! Well some Portuguese grow 3 testicles and... Not true!
The older ones are my wife's. We raise them together since they were 9 and 8.

Adeel, it's funny how he watches me creating games and there's one he particularly likes (about a kid magician in a castle with some cute graphics) to play with me and gives me clues on how the character would solve obstacles and puzzles. He's the boss, if he wants to I'll be a proud father introducing him into game making.

[Retro Wolf]

I think I must have been six when my Dad bought an Amiga 500.

I think my wife wants me to wait as long as possible, though this is a woman who owns a Sega Megadrive, so we'll see.
I just get excited about what I'll be able to do with my son when he's old enough to communicate and understand things more. Bonding and teaching and all that.

[nickherc]

I've played games since I remember. Started out with Duke Nukem 1, Prince of Persia, Prehistorik 2... So just let him play, maybe introduce him to shooters and violent games a bit later, when is old enough...

[mkennedy]

If they are old enough to read, then I would think they are old enough to play games. Though while they are young you may want to start them off with educational titles and make sure all games they play are age appropriate.

[ET3D]

These days touch control offers an easy way for even toddlers to interact meaningfully with a game, and there are many tablet games for 2 and 3 year olds.

Many 3 and 4 year olds can use a controller or mouse effectively (but not for games which require accuracy). My daughter liked the memory game that's part of Super Hero Squad Online when she was 4, and that's mouse controlled, but she mostly plays on my tablet. She enjoyed simple hidden object games for a period of time. At 5-6 she was introduced by her babysitter to Flappy Bird and Temple Run, and got quite good at them. I've also been playing a bit of Enchanted Cave with her over the past few days, which she enjoys. She also likes Wii and Kinect games, as does my 4 year old son.

[Grim]

My little boy Gabriel is already obsessed with games, and yes, it's my fault - for being obsessed with games myself...

He's 4 and a half and he has already completed Journey on PS3, mastered Super Mario on Nintendo DS, cracked Lego Batman, can go for a ride in Watch_Dogs on PS4 (I let him drive under my supervision as long as he promises not to run civilians down). We also played Mirror's Edge together and both since became fans of James Kingston and various parkour experts, Far Cry 3 (but instead of shooting we just rode jeeps and jet skis in non-aggressive way, not using the guns) and Minecraft... but for obvious reason I try to avoid violent games, even though I personally like those the most (I can only play them at night these days). He even likes to listen to me telling him about games I used to play as a kid!;) And despite being exposed this way to games he has never really shown any sings of aggression or behaved badly at school. He's a really good boy actually, sensitive for needs of others and very caring, loves reading and playing with real toys, and I'm hoping that when he grows up we can still share this passion for video games. It would be awesome if he does!;)

[Athabel]

One of my little guys is a year and a half and already is obsessed with my iPhone. I have this little "My Horse" game on it, where you can tap the screen to pet it, groom it and feed it etc. He loves to hear the noise of gaining exp or the horse munching on a carrot. He knows he's the one influencing the gameplay, which makes him very proud of himself (lol). I'm happy to let my kids mess around with little games like that or educational games as well.. might not introduce them to PC stuff til they're a little older. I don't think my laptop would appreciate them pounding on the keyboard

[Adeel]

I just remembered something which is quite appropriate for this topic. Let me share it with you guys:

About an year ago, I was tutoring a kid who was around 12 - 14 years old. The games he used to play (according to him)) were GTA Titles (i.e. Vice City and San Andreas) and Facebook Flash Games. After a while, I found that he was having difficulty in hearing! On interrogation, he revealed that he used to play games with "headset" on. Knowing how careless kids can be, I immediately ordered him to not to use them any longer. I also called his parents to put the headset out of his reach. His hearing got better after a month!

Around that time, I also found drawing of guns and men-carrying-guns in his notebook. This, actually, was worrying for me. He was getting too inspired from such games! Unfortunately, I was unable to do anything in this case. Because I knew that the damage had been done already. He had been playing those game for years. This got me thinking that parents leave their little kids to the computer, thinking that they would keep playing and wouldn't bother them, but they forget that this also puts a negative impact on them.

So, even though I personally believe that video games don't make children violent, it's quite wise to keep them off the violent games till they are 16, at least.

[Babar]

Hahah..I had a similar kid I was tutoring (who was maybe 13? Whatever the age before you start studying for GCSEs). I used to tutor him in his home, and once when I got there he was playing one of the GTA games. After watching him smackdown pedestrians for money for a few seconds, I asked which GTA it was. He said "One of them".

Later while I was tutoring him, he told me it was "Ballad of Gay Tony", which he didn't want to say, because his mother had been in the TV room with him when I asked.

[faerieevenstar]

Well my brother and I literally used computers as soon as we could sit up in front of them... You'd think there's not much you can do when very small, but I learnt how to read and spell on my BBC Micro I'd sit and watch my brother or dad use them and then have a go myself, and they'd tell me which keys to press, it's probably even easier now with the user friendly-ness of modern computing. Of course there are also worse games that kids can be exposed to now too.. though I found the "rude" version of Frak and played Leisure Suit Larry when I was a bit older and turned out ok *twitches* *swats the imaginary bugs crawling on her*. I remember my dad being shocked that we got onto the boat in Leisure Suit Larry 2 because he didn't think we could get that far, and he was really angry that we'd seen the lady with the whips. Heheh. Though we were never allowed to play really violent games then... but in my opinion, violence is more of a concern than sex for children (though neither is good for a little one, but that's a whole other parenting debate)

Sorry I got off topic, but you're never to young to learn, but use caution with what you expose them to I suppose... I have even seen stuff to help little ones learn how to code before now You're more receptive to learn languages of any kind as a child than an adult, so something to remember

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/coding-apps-and-websites
http://www.tynker.com/
(note- I know nothing about these games and apps, just that they exist)

[ChestPecRespect]

I remember when I was 3 I used to just sit and watch my brother play. At age 4 they taught me how to set up the SNES, connecting it to the cable slot and play. At 5-6ish they taught me how to get games to run in MS DOS mode. By the time I was 7.5-8 my brother got me Diablo 1 and I would just bring the cd and install it wherever there was a PC. My mom's office, computer lab...

These days phones double as gaming devices so it's more accessible to kids.
From what I can observe with my nephew and nieces is that at age 0-1.5ish they just like to take your phone and throw it. At 1.5-3 they start to actually open the apps and play.

[TheBitPriest]

For myself, I started programming in general around age 8 on a TRS-80, but I started getting into game development in high school.  Most of my time was spent on technical details like getting sprites on the screen at 30 fps.  That was the late 80s.

Starting with a system like AGS is rewarding for kids.  My four oldest have all put something together (appropriate to their age) after watching the tutorial videos.  Ages 12, 11, 9, and 7. 

[Queen Kara]

I don't remember how old I was when I was first found out about games and stuff. I know I grew up playing Sierra , ascii art games , Infocom , ect. but I don't know what age I was when I really got into it. I know that I didn't try my hand or coding or anything though when I was a kid...it wasn't until I was older that I started trying my hand at making games...like maybe middle or late twenty-something or and all through my thirty-something years I've been interested in and have wanted to make games. I'm just very bad at really getting anything done beyond text documents and maybe some art most of the time.

I think it's important for parents and other adults to take real responsibility if they are going to let kids have games. Of course it all depends on the games themselves, the kids age and how well the kid understands various things , setting down some rules and boundaries , ect. Just because I don't have kids myself doesn't mean I don't ever think about these kind of things and other adults , especially parents...need to understand that about single people / non-parents. Unfortunately people get real defensive and over-react to stuff when people like me start complaining about kids and parents / what's bad parenting and what good parenting is.

I usually don't like it when people blame parents for every little stupid thing their kids say or do. Because...no, it's not always the parents fault. Sometimes parents end up with bad kids , it's not their fault. It's their kids that are making bad decisions and doing or saying stupid things , not them. I try to have sympathy for parents even though I sometimes think poorly of people with kids and blame them for stuff but usually if I am blaming the parent it IS because the parent , in my opinion, should've never been allowed to have kids and obviously don't know how to raise kids up right...blah blah blah...

And then of course there are the parents who mean well but just can't get through to their kids no matter what they say or do because you can't control everybody , not even your own kids, no matter how badly you may want to. I feel for those parents, I really do.

And lastly there are the parents who truly don't deserve to have kids because they are so messed up themselves and don't know the right way to act around other people - ( or they do and don't care )  , let alone their own children and hit them or worse. They are the worst parents in the world...I feel for the children then and hate those kind of people. Then there's certain types of people it's hard to feel sorry for because they are drug addicts or something and when they are on the drugs or drunk they get violent and stuff and that's why they were horrible to their kids...that sort of thing....I am very anti-booze culture and drug culture because it destroys so many lives and people can and usually do lose any goodness in them when they hit rock bottom like that and become addicted to drugs or alcohol. And from what I know and have seen a lot of people who smoke are mean. Not saying they are in the same category as people addicted to drugs or alcohol...but...just saying a lot of people who smoke are mean and it makes me sad when nice people smoke. I'm glad I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol or cigars and cigs.

[vertigoaddict]

I don't exactly remember when I started playing games either, I guess the earliest recollection would be around 4. There was minesweep (I didn't know what I was doing but I liked seeing things "explode"). Pac-man, Pinball and then there were some adventure games I don't remember the name to (Something about a king, 'course that doesn't narrow it down at all), some kind of Cluedo-esque adventure game, Prince of Persia, Casper adventure game based on the movie (one on the PC and then there was a PS version later on in the future) this snoopy/ Peanuts game I'd spend hours on (which were really just a collection of memory and patch the colours sorta game).
When the Playstation came out (from 6-7 ish) the world of gaming just expanded for me (my brother didn't like sharing his Sega  and I only watched my cousins played on theirs), Pandemonium, Oddworld, Earthworm Jim, Tenchu, Resident Evil, Final Fantasies, Legend Of Mana, Valkyrie Profile, Vagrant Story, Suikouden, Shoulin, Parappa the rapper, Bust a groove (Oh my god loved that one), Legend of Legaia, Legend of Dragoon, Tomba, Brave fencer Musashi, Tomb Raiders (of course), yadda yadda, list goes on. I think that was when I conciously played games I knew were probably not suited for my age.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever really completed a game back then, I don't remember the first game I've completed. I either completed Silent Hill at age 10 or 13.
Sorry, goin' off at a tangent here.

My niece and nephews are playing simple app games (like washing or painting a car) age ranges from 2-7 so I'd say 2 is okay (with innocent cutesey, simple, possibly educational games with lots of colours), though if I ever had kids, I'd wait till they're at least around 4 (with simple games), that's just a personal preference.

On another note, it's difficult to prevent children from getting their hands on games (or any other kind of media) you don't want them to, so if I do have children, I'll make it a point to teach them, make sure they understand the difference between fantasy and reality.