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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>School Ager Obsessed with Minecraft
heyhun77 06:58 AM 02-26-2014
I have a school ager that is OBSESSED with minecraft. To the point where I have had to stop all talk of it in my house without exception. It is literally all he talks about and when told to choose something else to talk about can't do it and ends up shouting that he doesn't like it here anymore. It's not really just minecraft but mostly. It's a lot of immature talk from Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, this new show on Nick bread something or anything along those lines. It's literally all he talks about and acts out like it's reality. I do feel badly for not allowing the school agers to choose their own topics of discussion and free play but this one child's play turns realistic and causes the vibe of the whole house to spiral to chaos. I'm not on board with that since I have 4 other kids under the age of 3 that are being influenced.
Any suggestions or is this just the reality of the next generation? My own kids are 9 and 16 and nothing like this. Of course I'm the mean mom. We didn't allow a cell phone for our oldest until this past summer with his own money, don't do a lot of screen time, encourage lots of outside play and reading time along with creative activities like invention with random objects, art, and writing. I'm kind of at a loss for this one because none of those things interest him and he will just sit and pout while here.
Any suggestions or is this just the reality of the next generation? My own kids are 9 and 16 and nothing like this. Of course I'm the mean mom. We didn't allow a cell phone for our oldest until this past summer with his own money, don't do a lot of screen time, encourage lots of outside play and reading time along with creative activities like invention with random objects, art, and writing. I'm kind of at a loss for this one because none of those things interest him and he will just sit and pout while here.
NeedaVaca 07:53 AM 02-26-2014
I have seen many kids in the last year or so that have gotten obsessed with Minecraft too. It's a pretty addicting game. My nephew was around 10, my neighbor's kids are 9 & 10. It's a harmless enough game and actually pretty creative. His parents should be giving him time limits so it's not ALL he does. Honestly, my DD (10) gets a little obsessed over anything new but it subsides when the newness wears off. Latest for her is Pokemon cards-she tells me ALL about it lol.
Why don't you google Minecraft "Crafts", there are a ton of projects he could do-something he is really interested in but he won't be playing the game, he would be using his imagination & creativity and doing craft projects! I think that would be a good thing for him
Not sure how old he is or if he's reading but if he reads you could check out books from the library-yes, they have Minecraft books too-another win-he would be reading. There are ways to make this a positive thing...
Why don't you google Minecraft "Crafts", there are a ton of projects he could do-something he is really interested in but he won't be playing the game, he would be using his imagination & creativity and doing craft projects! I think that would be a good thing for him
Not sure how old he is or if he's reading but if he reads you could check out books from the library-yes, they have Minecraft books too-another win-he would be reading. There are ways to make this a positive thing...
nannyde 08:18 AM 02-26-2014
You are seeing the human child brain raised on screen. Get used to it and know it's going to get way worse. My guess is that he didn't have a screen as a nine month old. The ones coming to you in the future will have a screen brain from newborn on.
KSDC 08:21 AM 02-26-2014
Has my SA been hanging out at your house? 
Seriously, I could have written this post. Mine spends the majority of his waking hours at home playing Minecraft. We don't do electronics here. His toy of choice is Legos, so that he can pretend they are Minecraft. <rolling eyes>
And then he pouts when we go outside because he can't play Legos out there.
We go out anyway.
I think that for alot of parents, it is easier to let them veg out on electronics than to actually interact with their children in the evening.
Here, I do my best to distract him into other things. If he isn't distractable, then he can choose to go by himself and pout until he is ready for for fun.
Seriously, I could have written this post. Mine spends the majority of his waking hours at home playing Minecraft. We don't do electronics here. His toy of choice is Legos, so that he can pretend they are Minecraft. <rolling eyes>
And then he pouts when we go outside because he can't play Legos out there.
We go out anyway.
I think that for alot of parents, it is easier to let them veg out on electronics than to actually interact with their children in the evening.
Here, I do my best to distract him into other things. If he isn't distractable, then he can choose to go by himself and pout until he is ready for for fun.
SilverSabre25 08:36 AM 02-26-2014
While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
daycarediva 09:19 AM 02-26-2014
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
I use the SAME draw/plan idea with my 8yo ds! He also plays legos and makes models of what he plans to build when he gets his computer time. While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
Minecraft is one of the best video games in a long time as far as creativity and imagination use. Ds has spent the last month (in 30 minute increments) building a VERY elaborate dream home, for our family. You should see it, it even has a working train.
I think parents should set limits, but you can't control what the parents do.
I would allow him to play legos, give him art materials to draw blueprints (we even bought DS graph paper, colored pencils to color code things, ruler and a protractor) Ask him open ended questions about it.
If it's something a child really loves, I think we should at least act interested in stead of just refusing to allow any talk of it. IMHO-you're only adding fuel to the fire by banning it.
Cradle2crayons 10:01 AM 02-26-2014
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
totally agree. My daughter loves minecraft also... But I give her limits. It is a very creative game and she loves to do any crafts related to it.
craftymissbeth 11:57 AM 02-26-2014
Silver and DaycareDiva, those are awesome ideas! My 7 yo ds LOVES minecraft. I let him veg for a bit after school and play it. It honestly helps him deschool at the end of the day and I'm happy that it at least still makes him use his brain a little. Where I get annoyed is that he runs up and down the stairs while playing to come tell me all about the new awesome thing he created/discovered. I love listening to him be so knowledgable about something even if it is just a video game... but I don't understand a word he says
SilverSabre25 12:59 PM 02-26-2014
Since we homeschool, I'm treating Minecraft as a "project" like any other deep, deep interest, and after lunch she has pretty free rein until naptime is over. I have to take deep breaths and remind myself that it's temporary until she finds something else to be deeply interested in.
Also, I AM a gamer myself and i don't understand the game, or the appeal. I like open ended games...but maybe not THIS open ended....
(I have been playing Civilization V during naptime myself, and am about to start re-running through the Thief franchise until we can buy a good enough computer to run the newest one!)
Also, I AM a gamer myself and i don't understand the game, or the appeal. I like open ended games...but maybe not THIS open ended....
(I have been playing Civilization V during naptime myself, and am about to start re-running through the Thief franchise until we can buy a good enough computer to run the newest one!)
KSDC 01:08 PM 02-26-2014
I don't have a problem with Minecraft. My own kids play it. My problem comes from the fact that it is an obsession that makes my SA DCB get mad if he is doing anything that isn't Minecraft related. When we go outside, he wants to sit on a bench and pout the entire time because he isn't inside playing Minecraft with the Legos. 
daycarediva 08:37 PM 02-26-2014
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
Since we homeschool, I'm treating Minecraft as a "project" like any other deep, deep interest, and after lunch she has pretty free rein until naptime is over. I have to take deep breaths and remind myself that it's temporary until she finds something else to be deeply interested in.
Also, I AM a gamer myself and i don't understand the game, or the appeal. I like open ended games...but maybe not THIS open ended.... (I have been playing Civilization V during naptime myself, and am about to start re-running through the Thief franchise until we can buy a good enough computer to run the newest one!)
Somebody else plays civilization??? I love that game!!! If I had more time I would definitely play it more often! I'm always Rome (bc I love purple...lol)Since we homeschool, I'm treating Minecraft as a "project" like any other deep, deep interest, and after lunch she has pretty free rein until naptime is over. I have to take deep breaths and remind myself that it's temporary until she finds something else to be deeply interested in.
Also, I AM a gamer myself and i don't understand the game, or the appeal. I like open ended games...but maybe not THIS open ended....
(I have been playing Civilization V during naptime myself, and am about to start re-running through the Thief franchise until we can buy a good enough computer to run the newest one!)
craftymissbeth 07:24 AM 02-27-2014
I'm a gamer also so maybe that's why I can see the benefits of minecraft compared to what he COULD be interested in. I spent my middle school through high school years playing the sims and age of empires. Nowadays it's the sims 3 and tropico, but I haven't had much time lately... If I start playing time flies by and next thing I know it's been 4 hours
KIDZRMYBIZ 07:33 AM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by KSDC:
I don't have a problem with Minecraft. My own kids play it. My problem comes from the fact that it is an obsession that makes my SA DCB get mad if he is doing anything that isn't Minecraft related. When we go outside, he wants to sit on a bench and pout the entire time because he isn't inside playing Minecraft with the Legos.
Middle-schoolers obsess. It's what kids do at that age. Totally normal and healthy. I lived, ate, and breathed NKOTB when I was that age!I don't have a problem with Minecraft. My own kids play it. My problem comes from the fact that it is an obsession that makes my SA DCB get mad if he is doing anything that isn't Minecraft related. When we go outside, he wants to sit on a bench and pout the entire time because he isn't inside playing Minecraft with the Legos.
My middle-schooler is also obsessed with Minecraft. It's the only game he plays for his daily hour of VG time, and he watches some British accent guy on YouTube for his daily hour of TV time. Then he talks my ear off about all things Minecraft. And his 2 younger brothers emulate him.
Annoying? Yes, but I say "YEAH!!!" There are so many bad things that he could be into, like something violent, nasty rap music, or even *****graphy. I will take innocent Minecraft with a smile. And, yes, it is completely innocent-I think I know everything there is to know about it by now.
craftymissbeth 07:49 AM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by KIDZRMYBIZ:
Middle-schoolers obsess. It's what kids do at that age. Totally normal and healthy. I lived, ate, and breathed NKOTB when I was that age!
My middle-schooler is also obsessed with Minecraft. It's the only game he plays for his daily hour of VG time, and he watches some British accent guy on YouTube for his daily hour of TV time. Then he talks my ear off about all things Minecraft. And his 2 younger brothers emulate him.
Annoying? Yes, but I say "YEAH!!!" There are so many bad things that he could be into, like something violent, nasty rap music, or even *****graphy. I will take innocent Minecraft with a smile. And, yes, it is completely innocent-I think I know everything there is to know about it by now.
This guy! If he has the worlds most annoying laugh then my ds watches those videos too Middle-schoolers obsess. It's what kids do at that age. Totally normal and healthy. I lived, ate, and breathed NKOTB when I was that age!
My middle-schooler is also obsessed with Minecraft. It's the only game he plays for his daily hour of VG time, and he watches some British accent guy on YouTube for his daily hour of TV time. Then he talks my ear off about all things Minecraft. And his 2 younger brothers emulate him.
Annoying? Yes, but I say "YEAH!!!" There are so many bad things that he could be into, like something violent, nasty rap music, or even *****graphy. I will take innocent Minecraft with a smile. And, yes, it is completely innocent-I think I know everything there is to know about it by now.
KIDZRMYBIZ 07:56 AM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
This guy! If he has the worlds most annoying laugh then my ds watches those videos too
I used to think British accents were sexy, but not anymore.This guy! If he has the worlds most annoying laugh then my ds watches those videos too
SilverSabre25 08:43 AM 02-27-2014
My 6 yo watches videos WHILE playing MC. She learns how to build really neat stuff from them, but knows that she is NOT to pick up any language from them (she uses headphones and I don't/can't/won't "test drive" the videos first...I just know from my sister that the language is often a bit salty. But so's mine outside of daycare sooooo yeah). But, I know she is actually learning from it so it's all good.
I just got Civ 5 a couple weeks ago and I LOVE it so far. I just wish I had more time for all the video games I love. There are a lot of them, lol
I just got Civ 5 a couple weeks ago and I LOVE it so far. I just wish I had more time for all the video games I love. There are a lot of them, lol
KSDC 01:27 PM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by KIDZRMYBIZ:
Middle-schoolers obsess. It's what kids do at that age. Totally normal and healthy.
Only, mine isn't a middle-schooler. He is a first grader who already doesn't have very good emotional control. So, having a fixation on a game that he can't play at my house causes me problems. I'm not looking for advice. I have had this particular DCB for years and I know how to handle him. It would just be nice if his parents encouraged some interests other than sitting in front of a video game all night. KWIM?Middle-schoolers obsess. It's what kids do at that age. Totally normal and healthy.
Blackcat31 01:58 PM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
I'm a gamer also so maybe that's why I can see the benefits of minecraft compared to what he COULD be interested in. I spent my middle school through high school years playing the sims and age of empires. Nowadays it's the sims 3 and tropico, but I haven't had much time lately... If I start playing time flies by and next thing I know it's been 4 hours
I'm a gamer also so maybe that's why I can see the benefits of minecraft compared to what he COULD be interested in. I spent my middle school through high school years playing the sims and age of empires. Nowadays it's the sims 3 and tropico, but I haven't had much time lately... If I start playing time flies by and next thing I know it's been 4 hours
Sims3I stopped playing a while back because I got hooked on SimCity.
But I love them both and could totally spend and entire weekend (day and night) playing and then looking up and wondering where all the time went.
harperluu 02:09 PM 02-27-2014
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
I am also a gamer. And I do enjoy Minecraft. But I prefer more mature games. I even have a live stream on TwitchTV. I will be in line for Dark Souls 2 release at midnight. But we should treat gaming for our children like any other interest. Moderation. Limited screen time. The gaming industry will be a big employer for our children as they go out into the world. While I wouldn't be okay with him acting it out, Minecraft is just the newest fad. It was pogs and tamagotchis/virtual pets when I was around that age. It's just what it is. My 6 yo and most of her cousins (7-10) are all addicted as well.
There are much, much worse games to be addicted to. It could be Grand Theft Auto, or Call of Duty, or Resident Evil.
One thing that's working, from a parenting perspective anyway, is to get my daughter to write/draw plans for what she wants to do next time she plays. she does a lot of very creative and elaborate building and creating.
And while I didn't have computer games when i was six, I was only a couple years older when I would spend most of my weekend playing Super mario Bros on the SNES, or Donkey Kong, or SimCity or Orgeon Trail on the computer, or Doom...or a variety of other games I went through over the years. And it didn't destroy my brain
jaeru08 11:36 AM 02-28-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Sims3
I stopped playing a while back because I got hooked on SimCity.
But I love them both and could totally spend and entire weekend (day and night) playing and then looking up and wondering where all the time went.
This is hilarious!! This may sound a bit naive and silly, but I am a twenty six year old who hopes to own a home day care and thought I was being immature by still being a gamer! As I was reading this thread, I called my husband and said "Honey, I'm not the only one!" Also Sims3I stopped playing a while back because I got hooked on SimCity.
But I love them both and could totally spend and entire weekend (day and night) playing and then looking up and wondering where all the time went.
Sims 3
craftymissbeth 11:38 AM 02-28-2014
Originally Posted by jaeru08:
This is hilarious!! This may sound a bit naive and silly, but I am a twenty six year old who hopes to own a home day care and thought I was being immature by still being a gamer! As I was reading this thread, I called my husband and said "Honey, I'm not the only one!" Also Sims 3
I'm 29 and honestly don't worry about immaturity anymore.. I am what I am This is hilarious!! This may sound a bit naive and silly, but I am a twenty six year old who hopes to own a home day care and thought I was being immature by still being a gamer! As I was reading this thread, I called my husband and said "Honey, I'm not the only one!" Also
Sims 3I opened a home daycare on the Sims 3... I shut that place down lickity split. Nothing like spending 5 days a week running a real daycare just to run a daycare on a computer game, too
SilverSabre25 01:28 PM 02-28-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
I'm 29 and honestly don't worry about immaturity anymore.. I am what I am
I opened a home daycare on the Sims 3... I shut that place down lickity split. Nothing like spending 5 days a week running a real daycare just to run a daycare on a computer game, too
I LOVE My Sims3 daycare! Everything's clean, there aer never inspections, the parents pay handsomely when they are late, there's no clutter, you don't hve to do "curriculum", and best of all, my daycare provider Sim is single. No kids or husband. She's a writer in the evenings and on weekends. I'm 29 and honestly don't worry about immaturity anymore.. I am what I am
I opened a home daycare on the Sims 3... I shut that place down lickity split. Nothing like spending 5 days a week running a real daycare just to run a daycare on a computer game, too
Blackcat31 01:33 PM 02-28-2014
Originally Posted by jaeru08:
This is hilarious!! This may sound a bit naive and silly, but I am a twenty six year old who hopes to own a home day care and thought I was being immature by still being a gamer! As I was reading this thread, I called my husband and said "Honey, I'm not the only one!" Also Sims 3
I have children of my own your age. This is hilarious!! This may sound a bit naive and silly, but I am a twenty six year old who hopes to own a home day care and thought I was being immature by still being a gamer! As I was reading this thread, I called my husband and said "Honey, I'm not the only one!" Also
Sims 3 You are never too old to play!
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
I'm 29 and honestly don't worry about immaturity anymore.. I am what I am
I opened a home daycare on the Sims 3... I shut that place down lickity split. Nothing like spending 5 days a week running a real daycare just to run a daycare on a computer game, too
I'm 29 and honestly don't worry about immaturity anymore.. I am what I am
I opened a home daycare on the Sims 3... I shut that place down lickity split. Nothing like spending 5 days a week running a real daycare just to run a daycare on a computer game, too
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
I LOVE My Sims3 daycare! Everything's clean, there aer never inspections, the parents pay handsomely when they are late, there's no clutter, you don't hve to do "curriculum", and best of all, my daycare provider Sim is single. No kids or husband. She's a writer in the evenings and on weekends.
I make Sim families that represent my DCF's and then do "not-so-nice" things to them.... I LOVE My Sims3 daycare! Everything's clean, there aer never inspections, the parents pay handsomely when they are late, there's no clutter, you don't hve to do "curriculum", and best of all, my daycare provider Sim is single. No kids or husband. She's a writer in the evenings and on weekends.
Did you know that if you tell a sim to go into a room and then delete the door, all sorts of funny things happen.
Works if you have them go swimming and then delete the pool ladder too.
...okay, and just in case anyone is wondering, this is ALL FANTASY.
SilverSabre25 01:36 PM 02-28-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I have children of my own your age.
You are never too old to play!
I make Sim families that represent my DCF's and then do "not-so-nice" things to them....
Did you know that if you tell a sim to go into a room and then delete the door, all sorts of funny things happen.
Works if you have them go swimming and then delete the pool ladder too.
...okay, and just in case anyone is wondering, this is ALL FANTASY.
I have children of my own your age.
You are never too old to play!
I make Sim families that represent my DCF's and then do "not-so-nice" things to them....
Did you know that if you tell a sim to go into a room and then delete the door, all sorts of funny things happen.
Works if you have them go swimming and then delete the pool ladder too.
...okay, and just in case anyone is wondering, this is ALL FANTASY.
suuuuurrrrrre..... "fantasy" eh? We know you're deleting real doors! Jaeru, I'm 28 and I DO have my own daycare. DH and I are gamers at heart and we play all the time. nothing wrong with playing!
jaeru08 11:23 AM 03-01-2014
Ah yes, torturing the poor pixelated people- shouldn't be that fun (but it is)!
And Black Cat, trust me most of the time I feel weird telling people my age. I've always felt older in most respects. In fact, I'm sure the other twenty-somethings on this site and board will tell you we are pretty much embarrassed by our generation.
I know you're never too old to play, I just don't know any CCP's in my area that are fellow gamers.
But back on topic, when we eventually have kids, there will be TV/video game limits and of course we'll insist they play outdoors. We will encourage other hobbies. Kids rely too much on the screens, it's ridiculous! Have you tried speaking to the parents about maybe cutting down the game time? Not removing it altogether obviously, but redirecting his attention?
And Black Cat, trust me most of the time I feel weird telling people my age. I've always felt older in most respects. In fact, I'm sure the other twenty-somethings on this site and board will tell you we are pretty much embarrassed by our generation.
I know you're never too old to play, I just don't know any CCP's in my area that are fellow gamers.
But back on topic, when we eventually have kids, there will be TV/video game limits and of course we'll insist they play outdoors. We will encourage other hobbies. Kids rely too much on the screens, it's ridiculous! Have you tried speaking to the parents about maybe cutting down the game time? Not removing it altogether obviously, but redirecting his attention?