Survey: 92% Of Parents Play Video Games With Their Kids
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A recent survey finds that more and more parents are playing video games with their kids, but most aren't doing it because they're in to gaming. They say it's more about having quality family time plus the ability to easily control what their kids are seeing.
Most Saturday mornings, 6-year-old Kaitlyn plays video games with her father for an hour or two.
"She looks forward to it at the end of the week, you know, the weekend. Just start off our weekend doing that," father Eduardo Hernandez said.
It's a common trend. The consulting firm Magid interviewed 3,000 parents and found 92% of those whose kids play video games, play alongside them.
"So this is not just a core device for hard-core gamers. This is a family device. We like to think of it as the next new kitchen table in the family," Mike Vorhaus, Magid Advisors president, explained.
The survey also found that more than three-quarters of parents say their primary reason to play games is to spend time with their children.
Kaitlyn's mom agrees, citing busy schedules for everyone in the family. "When we finally have some time together, we like to do things she enjoys. And she enjoys other activities too. But this is one of them and we have fun together. We like it," Julie Babayeva said.
The survey shows the majority of parents prefer that kids play with consoles that are easy to monitor, rather than on computers, smart phones or tablets.