Shooting games are prohibited. And online chatting is out of the question’
Image: Nine IJf
Jannine Berkelaar is editor-in-chief of Kek Mama. She and her husband Erik have daughter Elin (9) and son Mats (7).
The extensive arsenal that was at the Playmobil police station is still in a bag in the drawer. Mats has no idea it’s part of it. Only the handcuffs came through my balloting. Elin is allowed on Roblox, but shooting games are prohibited. And chatting online is out of the question.
nightmare material
With these kind of house rules I try to keep (online) violence and danger out of the door for as long as possible. I know my influence reaches to the front door, because with a friend Mats learns how long you have to hit to ‘kill’ a beast in Minecraft (really?) and in the schoolyard they imitate Poppy Playtime, a Roblox horror game where you are chased seated by an apparently cute plush beast with the even sweeter name Huggy Wuggy.
This figure features a evil grin showing a dangerous set of teeth that clown IT can suck at. Nightmare stuff I’d rather save them from.
Also read: ‘This is why gaming isn’t just bad for kids’ >
screen time
But of course I also see how useful they are on those screens. Elin quickly takes Kahoot quizzes, edits photos, and finds information almost faster than I can. I’m impressed. And honestly: screen time provides me-time and is therefore already profitable.
“And honestly: screen time provides me-time and is therefore profitable alone”
My job is to inform them about the less pleasant aspects. Tell them that it’s not normal to swear online – just like in real life – or to spread crazy pictures of each other. And that Huggy Wuggy? We leave them in the school yard.
This editorial can be found in Kek Mama 07-2022.
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