Mary Heston is the Social Media Director for WiredMoms, an organization that empowers Moms to use technology to make their lives easier and more fun.  She’s also a mom to four kids, ages 13-21. We recently asked her some questions about playing videogames together for our The Family Perspective column, and she provided great responses from both a personal and professional viewpoint.

Why do you think it's so important for families to play videogames together?

MH: We are in a new era of technology.  Even though many families still are able to have great conversations around the dinner table, many are rushed at dinner time and kids come to the table with their ipods, smart phones, and wired in portable game devices.   Playing videogames together brings the family together giving them opportunity to have time together and lets the kids know that they can always count on their parents to be there for them when they are facing tough situations.

As parents it is important for us to find things in common with our kids and build those connections. Playing video games together is a great equalizer because many times the kids are better than the parents and can have a lot of fun beating Mom or Dad.  Taking turns playing games that each family member likes the most is a great way to keep the fun going for everyone. 

What steps do you recommend for families to make sure a game is safe or appropriate?

MH: This is much easier than it seems.  First check the ESRB (esrb.org) on a game to determine the age range.  I am a big believer in sticking to the ESRB guidelines.  Your younger kids may have friends that are playing "M" rated games and even, as was the case with my son, be told that they are not a "real" gamer by some of their peers.  But let them know that there are lots of games out there that are in their category and do a little research before even bringing it into your house.

Each family has its own standards of what is appropriate and so some games that are rated E10+ may not be something your family considers safe.  Go to GetGameSmart.com/tools/pact/start and print off the PACT and talk about what works for you as a family.  Having this discussion with your kids before you even go out shopping for the games empowers the kids to make better decisions and definitely prevents confrontations at the video game store.

What console or specific games do you think are best for families to use to play together?

MH: Each different console brings something different to the gaming experience.  It is really up to the family which one will work better for them.  The most important thing is to understand what each console can do and whether it connects online to other gamers or not.  If it does connect then it is important to have a family agreement in place to determine the boundaries with playing video games with people you don't know.

What role does WiredMoms play in the advocacy of safe gaming?

MH: Wired Moms is a division of Wired Safety.  Our founder and founder of Wired Safety, Parry Aftab, works closely with companies such as Microsoft/Xbox, Facebook, Buildabear, Disney etc. to ensure that our kids' safety is one of the key elements in any game development.

How often do you come across moms and families that are intimidated are scared of videogames, and what advice do you have for them?

MH: ALL the Time!  Mostly we hear that parents are tired, or that they don't understand the technology, or they aren't really into killing zombies.  We encourage these moms take baby steps and start out by sitting down with their kids and having them explain their favorite game to their mom.  The next step is to start out with a game that is fun for both Mom and kid and one that is fairly forgiving - so that if you make a bunch of mistakes you are not going to get frustrated too fast.

For more games we love to play with kids visit us at Wiredmoms.com


What types of games does your family like to play together?

MH: We love driving games, dance games, virtual board games and anything Mario (still).  I am learning to appreciate the finer points of zombie games.

Did you grow up playing videogames?

MH: My very first video game was "Pong".  We would sit there for hours batting a virtual ping pong ball from one side of the television to the other.  We also had flight simulator at home which was really really exciting.  Blue sky, green ground and a grey landing strip - the graphics were amazing! I was in college in the 80's and had a hard time parting with my hard earned quarters to play arcade games.  But fortunately I married my college sweetheart and had kids in time to get back into video games with the Nintendo64 in the early 90's.

My kids do not know a time before video games but they were old enough to remember the introduction of the Xbox, PlayStation2 then 3, handheld games and the iTouch with all its apps.  I remember the conversation in the 90's when the two older boys wanted to get the game Turok dinosaur hunter.  My concern at the time was that it was a killing game and therefore there was blood.  The boys argued that one of the game control settings allowed the player to change the blood from red to green making it a little more "fakey" and more kid friendly.  We did finally get Turok but not right away.

What's the first videogame you played together with your kids?

MH: My family was lucky in that our kids were young when video games first really became popular for the home market. We bought the Nintendo64 and played Mario games together.  Xbox came on the scene strong but at the time the decision for us was easy to stay with the Nintendo system upgrading to the Nintendo Game cube because Nintendo was producing more games for the whole family while Xbox was developing games for more mature gamers. 

Today each console has a nice selection for any age gamer.  We love playing Gran Turismo on the PS3 and love that the console can also play blue ray movies.  We have a family challenge going on Wii Fit and we love going "bowling" together at Wii Sports Resort.  We still have our Game Cube from the 90's plugged in - anything Mario is always a good time.  We have a PAL system and US Xbox along with Kinect at Wired Moms west coast headquarters.  We adore Kinect. The dance games are really fun for the entire family (definitely provide lots of laughs for the kids when Mom and Dad get up there to shake their groove thing). 

Anything else you want to mention about WiredMoms or playing together?

MH: There are so many games out there now and we didn't even get to the conversation about online games, social games, or social networking.  It is hard sometimes for moms to know what to do.  It is important to remember that they are not alone.  Join WiredMoms in our effort to empower other moms to use technology to make their lives easier and more fun.  Connect with us on facebook.com/wiredmoms or on twitter @wiredmom.

 
Thanks so much to Mary for taking the time to provide such great answers, and thanks to WiredMoms for providing such a great service!