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Almost immediately after Pokemon Go was released I noticed a dramatic change in the parenting landscape. I mean landscape literally. Whereas before Pokemon Go, I was pulling my kids to go outdoors, to get exercise, to be a companion to me as I ran my errands now suddenly all of these things are easy. I wasn’t the only one that noticed that Pokemon Go makes it super easy to get kids to enjoy nature, to get more physical activity and to be more social in a larger community sense. As one mother of four Kiran Berrien Lawrence writes, “Who knew it would take a video game to get my boys to happily roam the neighborhood together, returning only for food. Thanks Pokemon Go for giving my kids a modern version of a 1970s summer!”
The top 5 gifts of Pokemon Go include:
- Activities now are more… active. Not only are kids out chasing down Pokemon, but the game rewards increased activity. One reward is that eggs that players get hatch a new Pokemon after a certain amount of kilometers are traveled. This is highly motivating because not only are players curious to see what will hatch, but they want the advantages of the new Pokemon.
- An ideal summer activity is going to a park and enjoying the nature, the walking paths, wild life and other activities. Of course this can be pretty boring to a tween or teen who is used to constant stimulation on the screen or not wanting to be pulled away from their friends. Almost over night, my kids were eager to go to parks because they heard there were rare Pokemon to be found or water Pokemon or just new Pokemon. I am happy to take their friends along and their friends don’t see this as a boring mom activity anymore.
- I always invite my kids to go with me on errands, whether it be grocery shopping or other mundane tasks. Now my kids eagerly hop in the car hoping to find Pokemon to catch. Apparently shopping centers and other places have an abundance of gyms or lures that create high reward activities and wins for the Pokemon Go player.
- Additionally it encourages more social engagement. Pokemon players see other Pokemon players and start conversations. Instead of teenage boys hanging out with teenage boys, they meet up with other groups in the neighborhood searching for Pokemon. I see them extending their social interaction and providing more opportunities for healthy gathering places, much like an ever-present ongoing party. People ask questions of each other to understand the game or ask which team they are playing on which makes meeting friends and neighbors easier.
- Pokemon Go leads to increased diversity in social interactions. Because there’s not the typical skill differential between a younger sibling and an older sibling or interest differential between genders, brothers and sisters now have an activity that can easily be shared. Friends can bring along older or younger siblings and no one complains and feelings are less likely to get hurt.
While drawbacks to Pokemon Go have been reported on in the news, the benefits of increasing time in nature, physical activity and social interaction seem well worth it-to consider.
