Kids Don't Just Want Video Games — They Want Video Games To Play With *You*

I feel incredibly lucky to be a millennial. My childhood was such an incredible mixture of old tech and new tech, of analog activities alongside digital counterparts... it really feels like we got the best of all the worlds. Video games were always one of mine and my siblings’ favorite ways to play together, and we absolutely loved it when our parents got in on the action. As young adults in the ‘80s, their first tax return after they got married was spent immediately on an Atari console, a fact they love to share. So, having our parents play video games with us is a huge childhood core memory.

And thanks to a recent survey, there’s proof that our kids now want that same kind of bonding. Because while kids are asking for video games for Christmas, what they’re also wishing for is that you would sit down and play with them, too.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a group founded in 1994 to be a voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry, recently conducted a survey that found nearly three in five kids plan to ask for a video game-related gift this holiday season. That seems normal, but among those kids, 58% said they want to play more video games with their parents. For kids ages 5 to 7, that number was 73% of kids. For ages 8 to 9, 66%, and for kids ages 10 to 12, 62%.

I’m not crying, you are!

It’s so easy to forget that even our “big” kids still love us and want to spend time with us, and meeting your kid on their level is always a major quality time enhancer. I can not overstate how much I loved my parents playing video games with us as kids — especially when our mom would finally beat some part of Zelda that had really been holding us back — and there’s something so delightful about kids still wanting their parents to play with them.

When it comes to choosing video games for your kids, the ESA recommends checking out the age recommendations for games, as well as reading the content descriptions and interactive elements. You will have to determine your own boundaries for your family’s video game use, but staying informed about what your children are playing (and how they play these games) is so important.

Luckily, you can get the most information by playing right alongside your child. Below are some games recommended by fellow parents just like you who want to engage with their kids and play with them without anybody losing their mind. (Because like, I’m so sorry, kids, I can not with Minecraft.)

Some of these games are built for multiple players to play together, and some are meant to be single-player games, but parents and kids can take turns. (Like how we used to pass the controller to our mom when we were about to lose our last life in the Aladdin video game.) The idea is to just find something both of you truly enjoy playing. And as you play together, you’ll get to build up these fun memories while logging in some serious quality time. The ESA also has some great resources for finding games for your kids’ ages and for keeping them safe online and in gameplay.

So talk to your kids this holiday season. Ask what kind of things they’re wanting, and if they mention video games, maybe just casually — and oh-so-subtly — ask them if they’d like to find a game you could all play together. You may just be surprised by how much these video games will matter to them — and you.