For over a decade, the world seems to have been controlled by the soccer moms of the world. Politicians and advertisers all reach out to appeal to this group. Not only do they control the powerful purse strings of the home, but also are responsible for molding the society of tomorrow. Now, I am not knocking soccer moms. I am married to one. I am the son of one. Soccer moms play an important role in a family. However, it is time that another group rise up and take their place on the world stage. It is the dawning of the age of the Gamer Dad!

What is a Gamer Dad? At first mention, one might conjure up the image of a character from Revenge of the Nerds a decade later. However, the Gamer Dad is not a geeky wimp who spends all of his time playing video games because he has been banned from the D&D games down at the local comic shop because he is too old to not seem creepy. No, the Gamer Dad works hard to support his family. He is involved in his children’s lives. Not only does he help them with homework, but also coaches soccer, baseball, softball, and other sports. He may go on camp outs with his sons or sell Girl Scout cookies at work. In addition to these many activities, what sets the Gamer Dad apart from other men is that he enjoys playing video games.

Gamer Dad can get in there and shoot it up with other gamers online. But more than that, he is responsible for nurturing the gamers of tomorrow. Gamer Dad shows his children the correct way to hold a controller and makes sure the next generation knows the proper way to handle a game disc—don’t smear it with fingerprints! Gamer Dad plays games with the kids he normally would not on his own—games with a rainbow of colors and cheerful, repetitive music. However, these are the training wheels for future gamers. As the children get older, the games get tougher until their skills have approached those of the Gamer Dad.

How many of you are Gamer Dads? There are also Gamer Moms out there and we welcome you to our ranks as well. Our purpose is the same—to enjoy gaming and spend quality time with our family as the same time. This is the first in a series of blogs focused on Gamer Dad (and Gamer Mom) for the purpose of sharing not only what I have learned as father with gaming kids, but also to learn from your experiences as well. So stay tuned for next week’s blog on Gamer Dad.