Parents – Insane or Frustrated?

If you’re in your 40s or 50s and a parent you’re probably pulling your hair out, frustrated because you just don’t get it. “It” being video games. Listen up! You’re acting crazy. Your ignorance is making you insane. What’s worse is that some parents are total control freaks. We know that control freaks can’t be cured – they are what they are. The only thing a kid can do is weather the storm until he’s old enough to “get the hell away.” 

The times they are a changing and parents have to grow with the times and with their kids. If you continue to stay stuck in the past, you’re going to not only become insane, but drive your kids nuts as well. When they start to slip from your grip you’ll definitely go bonkers. 

In Korea, where video games like Starcraft are considered an “e-sport” and are broadcast on a station comparable to ESPN, parents are confused as to the term “sport.”  But in the U.S. I think parents’ ignorance grows much deeper. 

I read today, jobs that were once “the” positions to hold are near obsolete. I mean, whoda thunk it! Take the U.S. Postal Service, for example. Technology is rapidly putting them out of business. College degrees are a necessity in most cases. But should one be forced to get a degree? Should parents, who controlled their kids lives, control too what their majors should be? Should a kid, who has a dream of becoming a pro-gamer, be discouraged just because the parent has a mind-set that if you don’t work 9 to 5, you’re not working?

I, for one, do not think so! 

The complaint of a lot of parents nowadays is that their kids spend too much time on computer games. But if they’re seriously contemplating pro-gaming, (which is becoming ever more popular as a career choice) isn’t that where they should be spending time? Shouldn’t a parent ask himself, “Does the kid have enough talent to become a pro-gamer?” Instead, parents just view it as “wasting your time playing” and don’t even take enough interest in gaming to make an educated decision. 

Most pro-gamers in Korea spend anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a day practicing. SlayersBoxer, a pro-gamer now in his 30s – old by pro-gamers standards – was fortunate to have parents that supported his ambition - even though they thought he was crazy at the time. Today he is known world-wide in Starcraft as “The best ever.”

Unfortunately, not all parents are as understanding – especially if they’re control freaks who demand their kids do as THEY say, because “I’m right, you’re wrong.” 

I know a man, who IS insane and no matter how logically one argues with him, he’s so stuck in his way of thinking that he cannot see reason. He’s a control freak in the very essence of the word. He doesn’t want his kids to think for themselves; to grow up. He NEEDS to control them. Otherwise, he has nothing. “This is the sport you’re going to play, this is the college you’re going to, this is what you will major in, and this is how to eat a hamburger and what to put on it. Now grow up!” HA! When it is time for them to “grow up” they won’t know how to make life’s decisions. And the parent created the monster. 

He can’t figure out why his son is having so much difficulty in college. Duh! Of course he blames video games. So, after forcing his son (I should say convincing) to major in Computer Science (something his son isn’t really interested in) he basically takes computer privileges away. Double Duh! Isn’t a computer a necessity for CompSci homework? Now that, my friends, is not only insanity, but utter stupidity and it’s caused by the frustration of losing control. 

It’s only my opinion, but if this control freak of a parent would have taken an interest in what his son wanted rather than what HE wanted the son to do, I’d venture to say that this young man would have been well on his way to making a lucrative living as a pro-gamer. Yes, one can make a living at the game. My jaw dropped when one pro-gamer was handed the equivalent of $300,000 U.S. dollars for his win. I’m guessing he didn’t have a parent who sabotaged him every step of the way. 

Advice to parents – be a guide, not a dictator! Be supportive, not controlling! Grow with your kids, don’t stop your kids from growing! Not every kid that enjoys video games is going to grow up to be a major pro-gamer. Of course when you were a kid you wanted to grow up to be a rock star or a star quarter back, that didn’t happen either. It doesn’t happen for everyone, but is that a reason to trample on your kids’ dreams? 

Technology is evolving and it’s possible that with AI (Artificial Intelligence) you just could be replaced as a parent. (okay, I’m joking – or am I?) *hums the Twilight Zone theme song.