I received a comment on my last post wanting advice on children sharing the PS2 or other games consoles. I can say as a mom of five and only one PS2, this can become a problem at times.
Choosing the Right Games
This is really important. Unless one child plays it more than another, choosing games that they can share easily really helps. One such game is the new one we purchased recently Guitar Hero III. This game allows for one or two players. One person can play in career mode, or two people can play in co-op career mode where they help each other meet their career goals for becoming
the best guitar player. Guitar Hero III also has other two player modes such as face-off and battle.
If more than two want to play, well, the next player plays the winner if they are playing in face-off or battle mode. We have a lot of fun in these two modes.
Time Limits
This one is essential in helping my children share our gaming consoles. We also have a Nintendo Game Cube.
If my son is playing the PS2 (well it is broken right now) or the Game Cube we limit him to say, an hour of game play at most, then tell him. He is pretty good about then handing the console over to another sibling.
If an hour time limit is too long, just give them 30 minutes a piece. Make sure you have a memory card and it is plugged in so they can save their progress. When they can save their progress, they are less likely to complain if they have to share.
Sharing the Same One Person Game
Sharing a one person game can get a bit tricky, but not totally problematic. I normally tell whomever has started playing first, if they die 'x' amount of times, then they need to hand it over to their brother or sister. Once that child dies 'x' amount of times they switch again.
Sometimes no matter what you do there are going to be arguments. If these arguments get out of hand I let them know in no uncertain terms they will get off the game and no one will play. By taking the game away from all of the children it doesn't leave much room for them to try and whine about who's fault it was for getting in trouble.
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4 comments:
Sounds like a fair plan to me!!!
I thought, how strange, when I read you lamenting about having "only one PS2" until one of my son's friends was surprised to learn that we also "only have one" with, "Well, we have 3 Gamecubes!"
DANGIT!
There's some really good advice here and glad to hear the the time thing works for you, too!
Great tips! My boys are still young enough that they need daddy's assistance to play the Wii, but they do share pretty well with the Vsmile. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, before they start fighting over it, though.
Thanks ladies for stopping by! I kind of like it, my boy is having to find other ways of playing since the ps2 broke. :)
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