Hey friends!
Today we get to tackle a topic I have wanted to cover for a long time! I get asked about kids and video games, a lot, and have never felt qualified to give a comprehensive answer. Our family has not used video games very much, but I am not fully anti-video game, either. So, I have always wanted to bring someone on who has an educated, balanced approach. Boy did this conversation exceed my expectations!!
Liz Busby, a researcher and writer for the Protect Young Minds website (which is changing its name to “Defend Young Minds”,) a dedicated mom to four, and an enthusiastic gamer 😯 joins us today to talk all about kids and video games! Liz shares the pros and cons of allowing our kids to use video games, precautions to take, resources to turn to, and so much more (including her top recommendations for games families can play together and how they might work in our favor (!)
While I have not changed my overall stance on video games for my own family (less is more – focus on outdoor activities, physical and academic challenges, etc. and use video games “occasionally”) there is no doubt — THIS was a surprising, fascinating, and really fun conversation. I also just might be trying some new games with my family soon!
More articles by Liz…from the Protect Young Minds Website
Can I Play This? – Video Game Decisions Made Easy in 4 Simple Steps.
Gateway to Porn? Sexual Objectification in Video Games
Popular MMO games: Should You Let Your Kids Play? 4 Guidelines to Increase their Safety
You can find the Boy Mom Podcast on all of the podcast platforms…here are just a few of them:
Apple Podcasts
Google Play
Spotify
–> Or you can listen right here! 😀
Thank you to this episode’s SPONSOR, CANOPY!
Canopy is an app that blocks explicit, adult images on kid’s phones. We’ve talked before about just how important it is to guard your sons from some of the bad content out there. A lot of kids accidentally stumble across explicit images and videos online. One study found that twice as many kids had seen pornography as their parents thought.
Canopy blocks explicit content that other filters miss. How? Because it uses artificial intelligence to detect bad stuff before your kid sees it. Canopy also lets you block and manage apps and websites and works on Apple, Android and windows.
I actually interviewed canopy’s founder, Sean, last week and we had a great conversation about just how big of a deal this is.
Go to canopy.us/boymom to get 30 days for free!
More about Liz…
Liz Busby writes articles about video games and technology for Protect Young Minds, a group dedicated to teaching parents how to protect their kids from pornography. Liz has been a life-long fan of video games and enjoys playing them with her husband and four kids. She just moved from Bellevue, Washington, to Highland, Utah.
Find Liz on her website and social media:
Twitter: @lizbusby
Facebook: lizbusby
Thanks for reading these show notes! If you found this podcast episode helpful, please share it using social media links below!
I’m grateful for my listeners and readers, and would love to connect. You can subscribe to my blog for a weekly update on anything new I’ve published, say hi on Facebook , or find me on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
My book, BOY MOM, was released in August of 2019 (Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers) and is full of practical advice and helpful resources for raising boys. It’s great for personal reading, or to use as a study for small groups!
Order it here: Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You
*I am an Amazon Affiliate and some of the products I share will benefit me if you click through and purchase. Thank you so much!!
Yes, please email me the notes from Liz Busby! This was so good!
Thank you Erika! 🙂 The download is right on the post! Just leave your name and email there and the download will pop up! (Lmk if you don’t see it!) Hope you enjoy the notes!
I really loved this episode. My 8 year old is just beginning to want to play video games. This episode was so helpful with the tips to navigate this!