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Make a little child understand how to play...
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ids:
Going back about 15 years....at age 3 my son was doing quite well with Commander Keen.  The second child was not as quick to pick up games, maybe 4 or 5 before taking an interest and showing ability.

I agree with the idea of finding the right game - something with simple controls and a modest pace.
Fozzy The Bear:

--- Quote from: Stormrider on March 15, 2008, 07:50:14 am ---My little niece is almost 3 years old now. She loves watching the screen of my computer when I play videogames and also smashing the control panel and moving the stick. Now I'm trying to make her understand how to play.
--- End quote ---

At three years most children haven't yet developed full spacial awareness and coordination. You can't "make" her understand how to play.  Until she develops the connections in her brain, that allow us to do this with ease, it's simply not possible.

Because we find that easy, we completely forget that what we're doing is actually a very very complex set of coordinated movement and visual interpretation. The amazing and astounding thing is that we as human beings can do this without really thinking about it. That's a skill that develops with time not one you can teach.

Just let her do what she likes to do on there and do it so that she associates it with being fun. If you try to push it too hard she'll get frustrated and bored and asociate it with being a torture more than being fun. Then she'll grow up not wanting to play games at all.

It's a bit like forcing a child to learn to play piano before they want to try it themselves. Most children who grow up with that, go on to never going anywhere near a piano as an adult, because they associate the lessons with being pure torture and not fun at all.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)   
patrickl:
Well you cannot force them to understand the more complex and fast games, but there are games even a 2 year old can play on a computer. But yeah when they die ever 5 seconds they pretty quickly get fed up with the game.

When a kid enjoys watching you play arcade games it might also work to play together. My kid was the same. When you play together you can take over the more advanced part and let the kid "help" you. For instance, playing Galaga with my 3 year old, I would steer the ship and he would fire at the aliens.
ChadTower:

Does she need to play it "right"?  It's a game - she is a child.  If she has fun just sitting at the stick and watching then let her do it.  She'll figure it out in her own time.  There is no need to force it on her.  Let her have her fun her way.



patrickl:
Kids want to play it for themselves. The trouble is it's impossible for them to do so.
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