Parents avoid video games with kids

David Johnson November 12th, 2007

An AP/AOL poll states that 43 percent of parents never play video games with their children. Another 30 percent say they spend less than an hour a week doing so, adding up to about three in four parents of young gamers never or hardly ever touch games. The poll has some other interesting numbers about which age-groups of parents are more likely to play along and what factors contribute to purchasing decisions. The anecdotal lead of the linked story isn’t sitting well with me: a guy who calls games ‘a waste of time’ has a son who is reportedly spending a dozen hours a week playing. Not to pass any judgments, but shouldn’t parents be keeping track of what their kids are doing through engagement instead of issuing broad condemnations?