Panic stations! Summer is ending, school is looming, and the once-tame pupils have morphed into wild summer critters, charging through woods and playgrounds for weeks on end. Hair’s a mess, nails could double as talons, and only the bright eyes peeking out of their mud-smeared faces prove they’re the same kids we let loose back in early June.
How on earth do we coax them back into classrooms with washed hair and flossed teeth? And when the bell finally rings and they wander home to an empty house, how do we make sure they don’t sink into TikTok apathy, “rotting in front of a screen,” as the click-bait headline shrieked this summer?
Those headlines help no one. Worse, they spread flat-out myths. A shame, really, because inside that very article child psychiatrist Päivi Ruokoniemi actually offers smart, practical advice on digital parenting.
Let’s Make Gaming a Great Hobby
Dr. Ruokoniemi puts it bluntly:
“The best antidote to screens, regardless of the season, is more community and less loneliness. Problems sky-rocket when a child is left alone without an adult’s presence or guidance. No child under ten should be home alone for long periods.”
Sound familiar? Many parents work late; kids come home to an empty house; there’s no handy grandma or neighbor to step in. So what then?
One answer is guided online gaming. Exactly what School of Gaming does.
Beyond giving afternoons some structure, a guided gaming club delivers a ton of family-wide perks:
- A trusted adult is always on hand
- Predictability, planned content and continuity
- Easier to set (and stick to) healthy play limits
- New friends who share the same passion
- A tribe to belong to
- New knowledge and skills learned through play
- Parents pick up loads about the hobby, too
- Better insight sparks better parent-child bonding
Btw! Our weekly free trial sessions are the easiest way to test-drive our vibe and "Playful Learning" philosophy.
School of Gaming - Always on Team Parent
School of Gaming's service can be one impactful element in managing digital parenting. Another great help might be agreeing rules and limits together as a family. This should include also the parents! Even Dr Ruokoniemi urges families to put the deal in writing.
To make that easier, we’ve made a template called Gaming Safety Deal downloadable right here.
Even if your child never joins the “coolest school on the planet,” our know-how is free for every parent via our channels.
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See you in the coolest school on the planet!