Great to see someone trying to keep their kid entertained and stimulated. Despite what many would say, it develops the kid both psychologically by having them learn and physically by the hand-eye co-ordination. It reminds me of watching my nephew playing Diablo II a long, long time ago (he's 13 now) and he was a little stuck because a dialog box appeared (I think it was at character creation from memory). I told him to click the <Whatever it was> button and didn't realise until he turned around with a quizzical look that he was too young to read :D

He'd been playing on a character my older nephew had created for about an hour and had been really getting into it, so my realisation was something of a shock, as he'd picked up how to play so quickly. Would have been interested to sit down and ask him a whole battery of questions (I was trained as a psychologist) about his experience, but I didn't want to spoil his fun :D

I've played WoW and do play GW PvP in RA, and I am genuinely impressed how well that child adapted to situations that popped up before him. He's a credit to his guild, the Alliance, and most importantly his family. My hat's off to the both of you.

Good on you man. That kid at 5 pvp's better than some guildies I used to play alongside, he's not afraid to think ahead or get stuck in. He's shown more prowess there than some Rogue players I knew.

Be proud that you've bred a child that will ace the Hitman games on hardest settings when he's old enough (so save te disks and a copy of xp for him).

I'm just gonna jump on the "its great that you let him play" train here. Making all the usual stops at "a kid his age that can do that is amazing" and of course, "it'll help him develop coordination and teamwork skills". Anyways, ive been playing MMO's since i was a wee lad and i remember it as something great. And some day in the future when i have little ones of my own, i hope and pray they play them too! (i'm only 17, so its not gonna happen anytime soon). I just think its a great thing for a family to get in on.

That's great. I would say something like, "Just be careful about what he's exposed to, in chat for instance," but you seem to be really keen on good parenting according to your video description. Also, at least you're there, and you know what's going on and stuff. Socialization skills can certainly be gained here, like cooperation and building trust and whatnot. I think it's cool, by the time he's 20, he's gonna be a godly gamer lol.

"People who let 5 year old children play World of Warcraft are bad parents."
-Krydon

Yeah well... no. That's just stupid. People that let their 5 year old children play Mortal Kombat, and take their 5 year old children to see 40 Year Old Virgin, are, I think, messed up. WoW is a highly stylized fantasy game, with a very cartoony atmosphere. The only problem I see with it for a 5 year old child would be the chat system. Otherwise, I don't see how it equates to bad parenting.

Thats so awesome! I don't know what those people are talking about. Its best to immerse children into rapidly evolving situations so they will be prepared to handle situations where fast thinking is required. A good friend in City of Heroes lets her 10 year old play and he rocks at PvP (hes a beast in Recluse's Victory). So rock on, and more power to the gamer parents and their PvP demon spawn.

I think this video is REALLY amazing! Your 5 year old is a natural! I mean.. he stayed alive in WSG longer than I ever have! And I'm a grown woman! (That's not an exaggeration either!)

We have a two week old daughter. It will be awhile before she can sit up, but as soon as that hand eye coordination kicks in I plan to start teaching her to play games. I am a firm believer that video games, be it console or computer... boost intelligence in children, and teach them skills they'll need throughout their life.

EDIT* -- Oh yeah, and to Krydon, who seems to be selfish enough to worry about a 5 year old "wasting space" in WSG --- First of all, there are many ADULTS who do that in WSG. I could easily say YOU are wasting space in WSG. It seems to have escaped your attention that this kid was ACTUALLY playing the game. So he may have gotten killed by a troll rogue. So have I. So have you. I bet you completely overlooked the fact that this kid had the presence of mind to frost trap an enemy and then back up, to continue attacking them. You have missed the point that, contrary to what you say, Wow IS a game. Thats ALL it is. Why would you want to deny a child a few moments of happiness? Are you related to the Grinch?

This is great! Proof that MMORPG's can be good family fun!

My 4 yr old plays Wii games - mostly puzzle games like Marble Mania. I hardly think anyone can judge someone as a "good" or "bad" parent based on a *very* short video clip. You do not know that person in real life and judge not lest ye be judged. Parents who allow their children to play *any* video game should also be responsible enough to help the child understand the difference between fantasy and reality, and there is also a good deal of research that has indicated children who play video games to a certain extent develop better problem-solving skills as well as hand-eye coordination. Not talking about pulling an all-nighter of farming, PvP or dungeon-diving...maybe no longer than maybe 30 minutes or so. The poster here seems grounded enough to tell fellow players that a child is online, and on voice chat I can only hope the other players would "keep it clean".
Like Dart, I am a guild leader in GW, and all of my guildies know my kids - in fact, some of our guildies have kids in our guild! Granted, those kids are teenagers, but they all understand the value of family.....spend enough time outdoors and being grounded in reality, but branch out a little also to find other areas of *fun* for the kids, sharing a common interest and staying on top of technology and then you can also better rate what is and is not appropriate for your kids when they start getting into their *own* games!
I just find it sad for someone to immediately label this as "bad parenting" without ever knowing who that person really is - no matter how flat you make a pancake there are always 2 sides!

Awesome, I have 4 children myself, and am a Guild leader of the Shiverpeak Construction Company in Guild Wars. I spend a lot of time playing with my kids, but hotwheels and barbi's are a bit boring to kids when daddy is killing a bunch of Grawl, Charr, or cool looking skellies, lol. My 11 year old used to play with me until we lost our second pc, and she will most definatley be at my side again once we get another. Guild motto is we are helping to provide the next generation of Gamers, lol. So kudos to you and your son, and great that you are showing him what you like to do and he is enjoying it as well.

That's awesome to see that. Yea, my son (who is 3 in December) plays occasionally but more so he enjoys looking at all the things in the game. He can pick out ogres, horses, casas, agua ... but yea, I can see him doing some seriously damage if I actually let him play. lol

I been searching for a while now to see if i am the only "bad parent" that lets their son play WoW. My son started to play Unreal Tournament when he was 3, and WoW when he was 5, now he is 6 and plays Battlefield 2142. My son kicked some serious ass in WSG and AV. I was blown away when he was invited for groups in a quest and people would talk to him, and he would never respond (because he couldnt read) and yet he was doing so well, they didnt care and kept him around! Next time you playing with a "silent" player, it may be a 5 year old. To all you who think we are bad parents, I spend quality time with my son, I spend as much time outdoors with him as I do indoor. Thats more than most parents spend with their children. He loves playing with me in the game (yes I need 2 accounts for that!) and we bond more than most parents do. Do I question myself if Its bad for him.. yes I do.. but he is in the top of his class (1st grade), does all his homework, he only allowed to play on weekends... it has not shown any ill effects, and if it does I will cut it off. Playing online games with my son makes me feel like a kid again and he loves it and I love it.... what can I say.. at least i just learned im not the only one. Bad parenting is letting your kid play xbox all day without supervision so you can do your own selfish things.. When my son plays online its with me.

Cute! Keep us updated as to how his gaming his going

Oh and Krydon, WoW = serious business?

- Grarghsies (On test account)

OK... this is what I think: Your son rocks!! Some people need to take some lessons from him. Well done!

There's nothing wrong with letting kids, YOUNG kids, play WoW.

What BS to say that he can't communicate with his fellow players... I know what I saw and I saw the kid wearing a headset. So what if he got pwnd by a Troll Rogue? As if you - as in YOU Krydon - never got pwnd in the whole game. And what BS to say WoW is for adults. Oh please, get real!! I've been playing with teens and pre-teens, some of them with a much better idea about stuff than the hard core WoW gamer.

And another thing - Don't judge people if you don't even know them. You're just a sad little someone sitting behind a computer monitor flexing your muscles... "Krydon flexes the muscles!! Oooooooooooooh so strong!!"

lol

That is very impressive. My son is also a gamer and has been since a young age ( I have a picture of him at about 9 months). My concern is that playing an MMO is not what he will do, but rather what he will see. If he was 5 maybe I would not worry but what about when he gets to be 6 or 7 and can read really well and starts to understand more of what is being said.

Now I am not going as far as Krydon and saying you are a bad parent, because no bad parent would be that proud of his skills. It is the bad parents that do not know what the kids are doing that should concern Krydon not one that is right there all the time.

Wow a PvP video where someone edited out a death, that is shocking.

I find it funny how she cut out the part where the kid was killed, easily mind you, by a troll rogue. This video makes my mind cry because here is a kid running around doing pretty much nothing but wasting space in Warsong Gulch and helping his team lose. He can't even communicate with the other members on his side. This is probably a good thing. Who knows what he'd read if he was able to. This is bad parenting at its worst and I find it disgusting. It isn't just a game...he can go play a console game for that. This is interaction with adults. It's really sad that his parents are so irresponsible.

Amethystrose, there is nothing wrong with children playing video games. There is something wrong with children playing online games with adults, especially when they aren't even out of pre-K.

I'm not even going to go into how children playing MMORPG's hurt the game itself as a whole because, right now, I am more concerned with the game and its other inhabitants hurting the child. That's the more important issue here, and it seems like some people just don't see that from a mature person's point-of-view.

I have been watching this, debating if I wanted to comment on this or not. I don't play WoW my husband, 8 year old son and myself play DAoC. He has to earn his time in the game though, by completing his school work, keeping his grades up etc. We play along side him as well as members of our guild who are all close friends of ours (it's a small guild). We do limit his time on the game and he knows right from wrong, he has actually asked me to turn off his alliance chat as it distracts him from the game, so I don't worry in the issue of if our /as chat has content he doesn't want need to view as all of his toons have /as chat turned off. The running joke in our guild is he is better in PvP then I am (I hate PvP lol) he loves to run in the low level battle grounds as well as in New Frontiers. So I have to agree with you Digitaldiva, if it's a controlled enviroment let the kids enjoy the game.

As for you Krydon, I ask you have you ever been around a kid playing the game with his mother or father? Especially if the parent is a die hard gamer? Most parents that are die hard gamers the kids are going to eventually end up playing the game they grew up watching their parents play. My son plays other MMORPG's and he loves them, he's actually pretty good at them and I feel they teach him alot weather you see it or not. To them it's more about the game itself not the politics behind a guild or an alliance it's the pure enjoyment of the game, something that once you get going in the game and get into guilds and alliances that seems to dwindle. So let the kids enjoy the game while they can, while it's still JUST A GAME to them ! Before they have the headache of running guilds etc to keep up with the game.

Ametheyst
GM - Blue Knights - Gaheris
GM - Brocolitian Guard - Lance
Alliance CoLeader - Legends of Lancelot - Lance

People who let 5 year old children play World of Warcraft are bad parents.

yeah just cause he's 5 doesnt mean is not cappable of this at 5 years old its perfect cause lil kids are smarter than u think at that age there senses are developing there for more fresh and not wearing away like us my nephew is actually 2 years old and able to play pranks on me

Thats outstanding, I dont understand why someone would go so far as to say you have bad parenting skills? Maybe they are just upset because your child beat them down? I wouldn't take anyone's advice on how to raise your own children (hence the "your own" part) He seems to be enjoying himself as do you. I don't have children, but I play WoW in Iraq with a ping of over 4000 ms, I find it hard to keep up with the other players. . . maybe ol' Alex can hook it up with a lesson or two? Take it easy, I like seeing things like this. You made my day.

PFC Howard

My 4 and 6 year old also play. I love the people that refuse to believe (dueling) that they were just owned by a 6 year old girl....

That is too cool for school. Your son is awesome and so are you

The kid plays better than your average alliance noob Pickup, who are probably 15-20 ish - Gratz on having such a gifted child!

As a former educator, I have to tell you that level of situational awareness and the ability to manipulate keyboard and mouse at the same time is pretty unusual for a kid that age. Most 5 year olds are barely ready for a Wii much less a fairly complex control scheme like wow. I'd be seeing if I could get him into a gifted program at your local school district asap. You likely have a very rare mind there. I guarantee you most of the parents watching that would be saying to themselves no way in hell my kid would have been doing that at 5.

Is he able to keep up with the chat? I wouldn't think his reading skills would be that strong yet.

Let the kids play. It gives you something to take away from them when they don't clean their room :D

I think that he could beat me at WoW :D. But anyways, I liked the video and his victory dance at the end. People who think it is "bad parenting" probably don't spend a lot of time with their children. I know that while he is playing this game you were probably there with him teaching him how to play and have fun. I think the fact that you are spending time with your child is great. And you both have a common interest now that you can enjoy together. When he gets older he is gonna be a awesome gamer, he already shows signs of it. I loved the video .

Ive gotta say nice job, and i hope when i have kids they're just like that, im an 18 year old who has a 70 mage...lemme tell you when i was five i could match colors, not have the comprehension to Warsong gultch...let alone stragedy...Ps: i LOVE the dance at the end (i kinda do the sam thing...keep on pwning kid. :D

I genuinely enjoy the parenting perspectives in the comments here. But in my case, being childless and single, I spent the entire video trying to make out the icons and see what powers he was using.

I wonder if the parents who say you're bad are sitting their kids down in front of Teletubbies and trying to justify it?

We've all seen extremely young kids exceeding at this or that sport or activity...it is, in my opinion, more odd that people find this strange. Is a 5yr old being proficient at WoW and more or less amazing than a 5yr old who is an excellent gymnist or piano player? I don't mean to undermine the fact that obviously this kid is beyond his years in terms of play ability, but is it really that strange?

Physical Age takes a back seat to Emotional Age when it comes to the internet...wouldn't you agree?

You might like the pictures up in my profile.

I think I'll make some bumperstickers like the kind that say "my child is an honor student" except mine will say "my kid pwns your kid in PvP."

And the point you make about parents praising their successful gamer kids in other cultures may not be entirely true. I've spoked to gamers from several different Asian countries and when I mention my age (36) to them and that I have kids, they're response has always been "but you're so cool, my parents don't understand."

All the kids in our house are gamers just like us. Everything from FPS to MMO's I see nothing at all wrong with children enjoying agmes as long as they are taught ethics of playing online and safety. Kudos to you and give your son a thumbs up for being a wonderful player. I am just glad hes alliance I won't be comming up against him in wsg lol.

Velaria
One of two Guild Leaders of Black Knights of Armageddon (Shadow Militia on WoW)

As a guild leader in a fairly new guild, i found it strange at first that some of the people i invited into my guild were younger than me (im a 17 year old high school grad) by 9 or even 10 years. The shock eventually gave way to surprise: thse young kids are better gamers than most of the people 2 and even 3 times their age! I love the idea of parents gaming with their kids: it allows them to bond over a common interest, and it also allows for either a little bit of healthy competition, but also helping one another out (i.e levelling characters for each other or pvping against one another). I also noticed, in previous guilds that i was in twice before, in both cases, the leader and their significant other (gf/bf or husband/wife) played together. They could easily go out to a night of theatre or to a nice restaurant, but they decided to stay home and play together.

All in all, i think the idea of families in general gaming together is a wonderful thing. It's a parallel to thousands of years ago, when father and son would go hunting together. Only this time, they hunt for n00b blood!

Definately a subject i'll cover in one of my gaming podcasts. Very worthy of discussion.

Cheers!

Evan
Triumvirate Guild Leader
Artificial Draconians

Ive recently taken up gaming with my 4 year old daughter. For a year she has sat on my lap watching me play eq2 (she loves the fairies). Last month, I went out and bought a PS2 for her and she loves Champions of Norrath. Together we pwn... We also play the disney games of course.

I intend of letting her play pirates of the caribbean MMORPG if it ever comes out.

Gaming with your kids is fun. Just as fun as doing other things.. in moderation.

My daughter is an active outdoors lover who plays soccer and does gymnastics and spends pretty much spends her summer at the park, beach or in the pool. Instead of sitting her down in front of Cartoon Network or Toon Disney, I think games are an excellent alternative.

Most parents don't even spend enough time with their kids. If you can sit together and game and have a great time its better than passive entertainment (movies, tv, etc).

There are always some people who fear new and foreign things. I think if you and your husband were skiing fanatics, you'd be out on the slopes with your kids and people would think that was nice. If you loved golf, you'd be buying tiny little clubs for your kids and taking them out to the driving range as soon as they could manage a swing. Same with tennis, baseball, soccer, gardening, cake decorating or any other pastime. Each one would use different set of mental and physical skills, but all would be considered healthy family fun.

Your kids are learning to enjoy what you enjoy and admire what you admire. The family that plays together, stays together.

This issue has actually come up between my wife and I (both avid gamers without children). I love your perspective on it. Thank you for sharing this.