We spoke to a mother and son duo who play online games and stream together. They told us about the beginnings of their gaming adventures together and give tips on what parents should pay attention to when gaming.
Since its inception, gaming has spread rapidly as a hobby and is now part of the mainstream entertainment media. For many kids it is part of their everyday life.
They play themselves, exchange ideas with friends or watch their favorite gaming YouTuber or Twitch streamer. For Christmas or a birthday, you sometimes wish for a new console or that cool new game that everyone else is playing too.
These are wishes that many parents cannot understand at all. For many parents who didn’t grow up gaming themselves, it’s hard to understand their kids’ enthusiasm for gaming. Still, many of them try hard, and that includes Stephie.
In order to be able to better understand her son, Moritz, she got into gaming herself in 2020. We at MeinMMO talked to them about it.
The 2020 lockdown opened new doors
MeinMMO: Hello you two! Introduce yourself briefly to our readers.
Stephanie and Moritz: Hello, we are Stephie (38 years) and Moritz (13 years) from Cologne. Moritz is currently in the 8th grade of a secondary school. Ingame you can find him under the gamertag Evilking_1337. Stephi is a trained office communications clerk and has been a single mother for almost 12 years. Ingame you can find them under the gamertag Nachttreue.
MeinMMO: Stephie, you only started gambling a few years ago. What was the trigger for this?
Stephanie: Junior was sent to homeschool in March 2020. For us, that meant we had to spend time together 24/7. Then one afternoon I grabbed his Nintendo Switch and created an account for Fortnite.
I wanted to know what Junior thinks about the game. And I was looking for a distraction from the very busy media at the time, I thought my junior’s hobby was a good idea.
MeinMMO: Moritz, what did you think of your mother’s decision? Did you try to get her to play before or was that surprising to you?
Moritz: I thought it was great that my mother suddenly took up my hobby and was able to get excited about gambling. I wasn’t really surprised because we often talked about my favorite games.
But from the moment she started playing the game herself, she suddenly understood a lot more of what I had said before. And my buddies at school are still jealous that I have a mother who gambles and now also streams on Twitch.
MeinMMO: What was the early days like?
Moritz: It all starts with Fortnite. At the time, that was my main game alongside Minecraft. I gambled with my buddies or alone almost every afternoon after school. In between, I told my mother which tasks I had just completed in the game. That got her curious at some point.
stephie: I often talked to him about his favorite game, Fortnite. After initially shaking my head, his enthusiasm infected me and one afternoon I sat down at the PC and created my own account for Fortnite. However, I quickly realized that my PC was not suitable for this and from then on I had to borrow the Nintendo Switch from him.
MeinMMO: What were the biggest difficulties for both of you when getting started?
Stephanie: That initially we only had one Nintendo Switch console. We always had to talk to each other. Which wasn’t bad per se, but as a duo we couldn’t play together like that. Then a few months later I bought a second console, a PS4, on Ebay.
After that, the only difficulty was getting used to each other. However, that happened pretty quickly because we tick very similarly. From then on we were a very harmonious gamer duo.
“Today, in-game chats are the new playground meet-ups”
MeinMMO: What advice would you give to parents who want to do more with their gamer kids?
stephie: Show much more interest in children’s hobbies. If possible, play together. In the best case, this creates a new connection with each other. Video games are indispensable today. In the 2020 lockdown, it has kept Moritz in touch with his friends. In-game chats are the new playground meet-ups today. You shouldn’t smile at that, but see it as an opportunity to exchange ideas with one another.
Moritz: Don’t ask stupid questions, but show interest, be patient and keep at it.
MeinMMO: Stephie, in your experience, what is the best way to start gaming?
stephie: Make it easy. In the beginning you will probably be hopelessly overwhelmed, but most of the kids will certainly enjoy helping you with the first steps. Also, I’ve been told that it’s cool to be able to say, “My mum or dad is playing XY with me.”
MeinMMO: Moritz, how can kids design their parents’ first gaming experience so that everyone can have fun together?
Moritz: Be patient with your parents and don’t chase them straight through the game on the hardest level.
MeinMMO: What should non-gaming-affine parents consider?
Stephanie: Show interest! Be sure to seek out a conversation, even if you don’t want to gamble yourself. It’s incredibly important to keep in touch with the kids. So that you can address the negative sides, the dangers that unfortunately also lurk in in-game chats, and reach the kids and be sure that they will let you know if their experiences are not so positive.
11-year-old boy spends $1200 on Fortnite – parents sue Epic
MeinMMO: Many parents are concerned about exposing their children to video games that have a lot of violence and microtransactions. What do you think about this subject?
Stephanie: I can understand. We often have conversations with each other about in-game purchases, what makes sense and how much have you already invested. In my opinion, that is the most important thing: talking and explaining to each other.
Also in terms of the content of the various games. I’m very tolerant, Junior is allowed to play a lot of games that are above his age. But only because I know that he handles it properly and we talk about it.
Moritz: I am aware that the violence in the game can only be acted out there and not in real life. As for in-game purchases: what my mom says! (laughs)
We would like to thank Stephie and Moritz for the interview and wish them lots of fun playing games together!
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