For me, one of the hardest parts of raising my children is when they hit the age where they stop being so gullible. I say gullible, because I lie to them, or rather try to justify to them why it's OK for me to be hypocritical.
I'm not talking nefarious hypocrisy here, just subtle, under-the-radar hypocrisy.
I noticed the other day I have spent the better part of two years trying to keep my daughter, Perla, from watching YouTube videos where people play Minecraft for 30 minutes at a time. It's the same guy and his wife every time. At first Perla's excuse of "I'm watching to learn how to be better" worked for me. Like in a football film study or a DIY video of changing out a toilet, watching how others do things properly can be a great tool.
So, at first, I thought this is great - she's productively learning. But when she would stop playing Minecraft and opt instead to watch other's play the game, I was miffed and bring up my irritation every time I hear those same two annoying voices come out of the speakers and say "Hey guys!"
Gabe, my soon-to-be step-son, doesn't watch people play video games - he watches videos where other families record themselves or their kids playing with Hot Wheels and Legos. Sometimes he wants us to play with him on the floor, other times he wants us to watch other families with him.
"Where are your headphones?" is a question I ask seemingly every day.
The hypocrisy here is that I, too, watch people play games online. Whether it's through Twitch or Facebook, I tune in to watch friends of mine play an old 8-bit video game online against each other with surprising frequency. That game? Tecmo Super Bowl, inarguably the greatest video game in the history of the world. I've met these guys at various tournaments I've attended (yes, I travel to tournaments in various states to play a game that came out 26 years ago), and we've become well acquainted. Just last week I watched my friend Nate (aka RetroNathan, who runs the Tundra Bowl tournament in Green Bay) play 10 different games against various other "big named" players in our retro-gaming sphere.
Video games aside, the kids are starting to pick up on my other habits.
"Eat your carrots," I'll tell them.
"But Dad, you haven't eaten a carrot in seven years," Perla will respond. She's not wrong.
"No, Gabe, it's illegal to eat fast food four times a week. I didn't write the law, so don't blame me," I say, meanwhile knowing one of my largest vices of nutrition maturity is eating out for multiple meals nearly every day of the week.
"Are you playing on your iPad in the bathroom? Gross," are words that have come out of my mouth thrice this week, only to drop the children off at school and take my own phone and iPad into the water closet to catch up on my SimCity challenges and delete spam emails.
I'm not sure what my response will be in a few years when they are teenagers and call me out on every little detail. Maybe it will be "go to your room" or "you're grounded," but most likely it will be "do what I say, because when you're a parent, then you can do what I do. Unless you're in my house."
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and is known as "Super Duper" in the retro-gaming industry. He also dislikes vegetables and can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
I'm not talking nefarious hypocrisy here, just subtle, under-the-radar hypocrisy.
I noticed the other day I have spent the better part of two years trying to keep my daughter, Perla, from watching YouTube videos where people play Minecraft for 30 minutes at a time. It's the same guy and his wife every time. At first Perla's excuse of "I'm watching to learn how to be better" worked for me. Like in a football film study or a DIY video of changing out a toilet, watching how others do things properly can be a great tool.
So, at first, I thought this is great - she's productively learning. But when she would stop playing Minecraft and opt instead to watch other's play the game, I was miffed and bring up my irritation every time I hear those same two annoying voices come out of the speakers and say "Hey guys!"
Gabe, my soon-to-be step-son, doesn't watch people play video games - he watches videos where other families record themselves or their kids playing with Hot Wheels and Legos. Sometimes he wants us to play with him on the floor, other times he wants us to watch other families with him.
"Where are your headphones?" is a question I ask seemingly every day.
The hypocrisy here is that I, too, watch people play games online. Whether it's through Twitch or Facebook, I tune in to watch friends of mine play an old 8-bit video game online against each other with surprising frequency. That game? Tecmo Super Bowl, inarguably the greatest video game in the history of the world. I've met these guys at various tournaments I've attended (yes, I travel to tournaments in various states to play a game that came out 26 years ago), and we've become well acquainted. Just last week I watched my friend Nate (aka RetroNathan, who runs the Tundra Bowl tournament in Green Bay) play 10 different games against various other "big named" players in our retro-gaming sphere.
Video games aside, the kids are starting to pick up on my other habits.
"Eat your carrots," I'll tell them.
"But Dad, you haven't eaten a carrot in seven years," Perla will respond. She's not wrong.
"No, Gabe, it's illegal to eat fast food four times a week. I didn't write the law, so don't blame me," I say, meanwhile knowing one of my largest vices of nutrition maturity is eating out for multiple meals nearly every day of the week.
"Are you playing on your iPad in the bathroom? Gross," are words that have come out of my mouth thrice this week, only to drop the children off at school and take my own phone and iPad into the water closet to catch up on my SimCity challenges and delete spam emails.
I'm not sure what my response will be in a few years when they are teenagers and call me out on every little detail. Maybe it will be "go to your room" or "you're grounded," but most likely it will be "do what I say, because when you're a parent, then you can do what I do. Unless you're in my house."
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and is known as "Super Duper" in the retro-gaming industry. He also dislikes vegetables and can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
