The Backseat Gamer Returns

When he was two and a half years old, my son Little Man became interested in computer games. At first, he would play apps for toddlers on the family’s tablet. Shortly after his third birthday, he began visiting websites such as PBSKids.org and NickJr.com to play their games. As he approaches the big 0–4, Little Man no longer needs me to navigate the website. He knows how to click the Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge shortcuts once I turn on the laptop. He finds his favorite websites by looking for their logos in the browser’s bookmarks. Once again, I find myself in a role I played decades ago: backseat gamer.

From high school through my early undergraduate years, I watched as my friends played “Doom,” “Resident Evil,” and “Mortal Kombat.” I would warn them of bombs, snipers, and uppercuts. It was like watching a movie. There were a few times where I played instead of watched, but getting eaten by zombies wasn’t as fun.

Meanwhile, Little Man is more interested in playing “Powersuit Maker” with Wild Kratts or “Dino Dig” with Dino Dan. While he’s playing his games, I ask him about the colors and shapes of the objects on the screen. The games themselves teach him about wildlife and dinosaurs respectively. Someday I may have to tell him to watch out for that radioactive dinosaur-eating tiger as his avatar runs around onscreen trying to survive. Until then, may he enjoy learning new things without having to worry about that.