How to Balance Gaming With Your Family Life

As hobbies go, gaming has a reputation for being able to draw you in. Some parents, especially new parents, find it hard to balance their gaming hobby with their responsibilities as parents. They either stop playing games entirely or, in some unfortunate cases, still play but at the expense of the rest of their family. So, is it possible to balance your gaming hobby with your family life? This article will explore how you can still get the benefits of gaming, but without potentially neglecting your family.

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Why Gaming Matters

So, why not just stop gaming altogether?

One of the hardest things about being a parent is that you can feel as though you’re losing part of your identity. Your life has completely changed, and your priorities are very different. This can make some parents feel like they aren’t a person anymore, just a mom or a dad. 

But we all need time to do things we enjoy, and parents need this time just as much as anyone else. This can prevent you from getting burned out and suffering emotionally and mentally. Gaming can also help you keep in contact with your friends, especially if you’re able to play online with them. 

Set Gaming Times

As a parent, your child is the most important part of your life, but this doesn’t mean you don’t have time for anything else. You can still keep up with gaming without feeling like you’re ignoring them or leaving all the parenting work to the other parent.

One way to do this is to play games when your child is asleep. If possible, choose games that you can pause and play without headphones, so you can still get up and see to them without leaving everything to your significant other.

If you do want to arrange a gaming session with friends, talk to your family about it and arrange an actual time to be relatively unavailable. For some games, like ARK, you can become an ARK server host so you and a larger group of friends can drop in and out when you’re available. 

Involve Your Family

While gaming is a great way to spend time with your friends or by yourself, it can be a bonding opportunity for your family. As your kids get older, you can introduce them to your hobbies, including video games. 

Playing video games with your kids is a great way to grow closer as a family, as you can relax together and do something you both enjoy. Make sure to choose games that work with multiple people, like cooperative games or even party games for larger groups.

As well as introducing your children to age-appropriate games that you enjoy, try to pay attention to their gaming interests as well. Talk to them about the games they enjoy, and don’t disparage certain games just because they don’t interest you as much. Encourage them to develop their own personality and interests, and be willing to let them teach you.