Gamer’s Mom Lesson No. 4: There are Good Guys on YouTube

I know that YouTube gets a lot of criticism from parents because it gives children easy access to age-inappropriate material such as videos that contain violence, sex, horror or foul language. I know that filtering and parental controls aren’t that reliable, especially when children are so tech savvy and know how to get around these barriers. I agree that there are many YouTube channels and personalities that parents would consider the bad guys – the ones that talk with too much cursing, the ones that show too much skin, the ones that display violence, bullying, substance abuse and rebellion as totally cool behavior.

My 10-year-old son, who is an avid gamer, loves watching gaming videos on YouTube. I, on the other hand, know almost nothing about gaming and hardly know anything about the latest trends and personalities on YouTube. However, when I watch alongside my son and talk with him about his favorite YouTube personalities and videos, I am slowly learning about some of the good guys on YouTube.

One whom I learned about recently is Bereghost. He is an adult gamer who posts his own video game commentaries and Let’s Play videos on his YouTube Channel called BereghostGames. What my son and I find unique and interesting about his channel is his series called The FGN (Family Game Night) Crew Plays where he shows Let’s Play videos of himself, his wife and two kids playing video games together. And I recently discovered their weekly Family Q&A videos where they answer questions posted on the channel by their many fans.

My son likes watching their FGN Crew Plays videos simply because they’re fun, and he likes watching the Family Q&A videos because they allow him to know more about these popular gamers, like their favorite games, food, etc. I like their videos because they show how people can play video games without profanities and how parents and children can enjoy video games together. I’m thankful to Bereghost and his family for making it cool for kids to play games and hang out with their parents. (Unfortunately for my son, I don’t enjoy video games, so my next best offer is to talk about video games with him and help him in making is own YouTube gaming channel.)

Today, I’m especially thankful to Bereghost and his family for making my son’s day. My son was so happy and excited to tell me that during the most recent Family Q&A video, his question was picked as their last question for that day. Hearing them call out his gamer name (boomninja1) and hearing each of the FGN Crew members answer his questions made him so happy. Of course, I was also very happy and excited for him.

When there is so much negative and damaging online content that assault the precious minds and hearts of our children, I am heartened to discover the positive and uplifting side of the Internet. While there are many bad guys, I’m thankful to see the good guys on YouTube.

 

 

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