The Joy of Retro Gaming: A Geeky Parent's Perspective

I'll never forget the day I found my old Atari joystick in storage. It was like a piece of my childhood had been rediscovered, and I couldn't wait to play those classic games with my daughter, Jedi. As she grew up, her love for gaming evolved, but her appreciation for the roots of the industry remained strong. She'd often joke that playing these old games made her better at understanding modern games, and I couldn't argue with that.

As a geeky parent, I've come to realize that sharing my passion for retro gaming with Jedi is essential to our bond. It's not just about passing on my interests; it's about creating memories and fostering a sense of curiosity in her. The old games may not be as complex or advanced as the ones she plays today, but they still hold a certain charm that's hard to find in modern titles.

That being said, I'm more than just a retro gamer – I'm a Renaissance geek. I believe that technology should be an integral part of our lives, and as parents, we have a responsibility to educate our children about its power and potential. Whether it's building DIY projects or exploring the world of coding, I want Jedi to understand how technology works and can be used for good.

One of the most important lessons I've learned is that the internet is a network of people. Without individuals contributing their skills, knowledge, and creativity, the online world would be nothing more than a hollow shell. It's astonishing how many adults fail to grasp this concept, and it's crucial that we set a better example for our children. When Jedi logs onto her computer or tablet, I want her to know that there are real people on the other side of the screen – people with their own stories, interests, and passions.

As parents, we have a duty to teach our children how to navigate the online world responsibly. It's not enough to simply hand them a device; we need to guide them through the digital landscape, showing them how to respect others, avoid cyberbullying, and use technology as a tool for good. By doing so, we'll ensure that our kids grow up with a healthy relationship with technology, one that will serve them well in their personal and professional lives.

Finally, I believe that being a geeky parent means embracing diversity and individuality. Our children may not share our interests or passions, and that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay – it's essential. By accepting and celebrating the unique qualities of each child, we're teaching them to appreciate their own strengths and weaknesses. We're showing them that being different is what makes us special, and that's a lesson that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

In conclusion, being a geeky parent means more than just sharing our passions with our children; it means creating a lifelong love of learning, exploration, and creativity. By embracing technology, respecting others online, and celebrating individuality, we can raise kids who are not only tech-savvy but also compassionate, open-minded, and curious about the world around them. So, if you're a geeky parent like me, or just starting your journey down this path, I say: keep on gaming, keep on learning, and most importantly, have fun!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello world I'm Chris Perillo AKA a geek father and I'm here today to share with you the seven ways you too can be a geeky parent when I said you to I really meant to say you as well but I suppose I could say daddy and mommy daddy and daddy mommy and mommy whatever family you happen to have it can be geeky I'm living proof the first thing you need to do is be yourself that's important share your passions because a life without passion is just not a very interesting life or just imagine your life without things that you love or without being able to share those things that you love with the people that you love you can't be true to your family if you're not true to yourself be yourself that's a geeky thing to do remember your child is going to take cues from you being yourself is very important even if you don't want to say that it's geeky I'm just saying I don't know a single geek out there who isn't proud of his or her fandoms let me put it to you this way some people think I'm Darth Vader the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is illustrate your independence by example you don't think like everybody else you think like yourself don't go along with the flow Geeks usually don't do that despite what Geeks are in today's pop culture we usually March to the beat of Our Own Drum even if we can't keep the beat I'd say I'm sorry for that display but I'm not I'm myself and I'm okay okay with that even though I know that my daughter is eventually going to watch this video and wonder what the hell I was thinking the next thing you need to do is play with toys not just your own toys but your child's toys as well because it's the right thing to do and it's it's fun to do and by the way these aren't really props necessarily they just happen to be on my desk right now just because you get older doesn't mean that you have to abandon the spirit of Youth I can't imagine a time when I'd want to be quote unquote grown up what's the point I still take care of things I'm a very responsible adult I'm sorry kidult I may not be Kawai or on fleek but I do my best to stay in touch with my inner child so that I can better stay in touch with my child and by the way these tips still apply to you even if you don't want to be a geek how can you expect to Foster your child's imagination if yours isn't active as well even if you're someone who brings your work home remember who you're working for and I don't just mean the company that you're working for I mean why are you working so that you can have the family life you always imagined full of fun and toys okay maybe I just imagined that last part the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is reattain all those classic video games that you played when you were their age and if you're still playing with them you're awesome I'm not joking either maybe you don't even need to reattain them maybe they're in storage maybe they're already out and being actively played do you know how much joy this stick brought to my life a lot cuz it's a joystick I can't wait to play those Atari games with Jedi if only because I believe it'll give her a better appreciation of games from the modern era to know where they came from and you know what those old games play just as well today as they did back then now admittedly I am more of a retro gamer but since when was that a problem you really need to do this especially if you're having a difficult time getting in touch with your inner geek you just can't help but become a child again when you play with the games that you played when you were a kid those old games aren't boring they're vintage without them kids these days wouldn't have the games that they have or it's like I've begun to say I'm not middle-aged I'm Renaissance the next thing you need to do as a geeky parent is use technology to educate build and engage there are so many amazingly easyto use tools for parents to be able to show their children exactly how technology works when they come up with an idea find a way to put components together such that they can achieve the goal with technology and even if you don't understand every single thing about the world of technology that's okay because nobody does those beginner kits are usually there to spur on creativity and you might learn a thing or two in the process again the onus is on you to use technology to educate build and engage if you don't teach people how to respect technology at a younger age they're going to use it as a weapon against other people as they get older so that's why the next thing you can do to be a geeky parent is teach your kid that the internet is a network of people yeah I know we got hardware and software and services and all sorts of digital bits but without people the internet is nothing or I'll put it to you another way without people the internet wouldn't be here nor would we you'd be surprised at how many adults don't realize that the person on the other side of the screen is another person you want to stomp out cyberbullying as bad as I do good start at home would you hand your child the keys to a vehicle without teaching them how to drive a car no you probably wouldn't so don't let them get online without teaching them how to be responsible with it okay okay if you detect a little anger in my tone it's because I've had to address adults who haven't quite figured that out yet respect that's it respect and if you're the type of person who respects other people I'm not angry at you I'm happy you're here with me the internet much like most tools out there can be used to build or destroy and remember if you don't teach your child how to respect other people someone else will and I just can't imagine a geek out there wanting that to happen the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is explore multiple fandoms even if you're not interested in those other fandoms well maybe your kid is and as much as you would want your child to be interested in the things that you're interested in well the opposite is kind of true and who knows maybe their fandom will become your new fandom for example let's say Jedi comes home one day and she says I want to start collecting My Little Pony figures and I really want her to watch the latest episode of Doctor Who problem solved but daddy she might claim I really want to start collecting My Little Pony figures right now but I want her to listen to the latest Weird Al Yankovic album again problem solved a big part of being a geek is enjoying life and realizing that everybody's different and if you say that you're a geek but you don't accept other people as being different you're really not a geek at least not according to my definition and if you claim that you're a geek but you don't respect others or understand that everybody's different you're not a geek you're just a jerk even though this particular video is not sponsored I do want you to watch one of our sponsors videos real parents real judgment when you're ready to watch it I've put a link for you in this video's description and even if your parenting decisions are different from our parenting decisions that's okay you're still the best parent for your child just as Diana and I are the best parents for ours don't let any other parents or family member outside your immediate family tell you how to be a parent you know best and that's something I think we can both agree on thanks again for remembering to like comment share subscribe watch even more of our videos right now and at this point I'm going to leave you to your own devices hehello world I'm Chris Perillo AKA a geek father and I'm here today to share with you the seven ways you too can be a geeky parent when I said you to I really meant to say you as well but I suppose I could say daddy and mommy daddy and daddy mommy and mommy whatever family you happen to have it can be geeky I'm living proof the first thing you need to do is be yourself that's important share your passions because a life without passion is just not a very interesting life or just imagine your life without things that you love or without being able to share those things that you love with the people that you love you can't be true to your family if you're not true to yourself be yourself that's a geeky thing to do remember your child is going to take cues from you being yourself is very important even if you don't want to say that it's geeky I'm just saying I don't know a single geek out there who isn't proud of his or her fandoms let me put it to you this way some people think I'm Darth Vader the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is illustrate your independence by example you don't think like everybody else you think like yourself don't go along with the flow Geeks usually don't do that despite what Geeks are in today's pop culture we usually March to the beat of Our Own Drum even if we can't keep the beat I'd say I'm sorry for that display but I'm not I'm myself and I'm okay okay with that even though I know that my daughter is eventually going to watch this video and wonder what the hell I was thinking the next thing you need to do is play with toys not just your own toys but your child's toys as well because it's the right thing to do and it's it's fun to do and by the way these aren't really props necessarily they just happen to be on my desk right now just because you get older doesn't mean that you have to abandon the spirit of Youth I can't imagine a time when I'd want to be quote unquote grown up what's the point I still take care of things I'm a very responsible adult I'm sorry kidult I may not be Kawai or on fleek but I do my best to stay in touch with my inner child so that I can better stay in touch with my child and by the way these tips still apply to you even if you don't want to be a geek how can you expect to Foster your child's imagination if yours isn't active as well even if you're someone who brings your work home remember who you're working for and I don't just mean the company that you're working for I mean why are you working so that you can have the family life you always imagined full of fun and toys okay maybe I just imagined that last part the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is reattain all those classic video games that you played when you were their age and if you're still playing with them you're awesome I'm not joking either maybe you don't even need to reattain them maybe they're in storage maybe they're already out and being actively played do you know how much joy this stick brought to my life a lot cuz it's a joystick I can't wait to play those Atari games with Jedi if only because I believe it'll give her a better appreciation of games from the modern era to know where they came from and you know what those old games play just as well today as they did back then now admittedly I am more of a retro gamer but since when was that a problem you really need to do this especially if you're having a difficult time getting in touch with your inner geek you just can't help but become a child again when you play with the games that you played when you were a kid those old games aren't boring they're vintage without them kids these days wouldn't have the games that they have or it's like I've begun to say I'm not middle-aged I'm Renaissance the next thing you need to do as a geeky parent is use technology to educate build and engage there are so many amazingly easyto use tools for parents to be able to show their children exactly how technology works when they come up with an idea find a way to put components together such that they can achieve the goal with technology and even if you don't understand every single thing about the world of technology that's okay because nobody does those beginner kits are usually there to spur on creativity and you might learn a thing or two in the process again the onus is on you to use technology to educate build and engage if you don't teach people how to respect technology at a younger age they're going to use it as a weapon against other people as they get older so that's why the next thing you can do to be a geeky parent is teach your kid that the internet is a network of people yeah I know we got hardware and software and services and all sorts of digital bits but without people the internet is nothing or I'll put it to you another way without people the internet wouldn't be here nor would we you'd be surprised at how many adults don't realize that the person on the other side of the screen is another person you want to stomp out cyberbullying as bad as I do good start at home would you hand your child the keys to a vehicle without teaching them how to drive a car no you probably wouldn't so don't let them get online without teaching them how to be responsible with it okay okay if you detect a little anger in my tone it's because I've had to address adults who haven't quite figured that out yet respect that's it respect and if you're the type of person who respects other people I'm not angry at you I'm happy you're here with me the internet much like most tools out there can be used to build or destroy and remember if you don't teach your child how to respect other people someone else will and I just can't imagine a geek out there wanting that to happen the next thing you need to do to be a geeky parent is explore multiple fandoms even if you're not interested in those other fandoms well maybe your kid is and as much as you would want your child to be interested in the things that you're interested in well the opposite is kind of true and who knows maybe their fandom will become your new fandom for example let's say Jedi comes home one day and she says I want to start collecting My Little Pony figures and I really want her to watch the latest episode of Doctor Who problem solved but daddy she might claim I really want to start collecting My Little Pony figures right now but I want her to listen to the latest Weird Al Yankovic album again problem solved a big part of being a geek is enjoying life and realizing that everybody's different and if you say that you're a geek but you don't accept other people as being different you're really not a geek at least not according to my definition and if you claim that you're a geek but you don't respect others or understand that everybody's different you're not a geek you're just a jerk even though this particular video is not sponsored I do want you to watch one of our sponsors videos real parents real judgment when you're ready to watch it I've put a link for you in this video's description and even if your parenting decisions are different from our parenting decisions that's okay you're still the best parent for your child just as Diana and I are the best parents for ours don't let any other parents or family member outside your immediate family tell you how to be a parent you know best and that's something I think we can both agree on thanks again for remembering to like comment share subscribe watch even more of our videos right now and at this point I'm going to leave you to your own devices he\n"