Got some Pokemon hunters at your place?
Wondering what it's all about and how to mange the whole craze. Here are some tricks and tips.
1. Don't panic! This is a game that gets our kids outside and interacting with the environment and each other rather than locked to an indoor screen. Excellent!
2. Take time to plan missions with your kids. Just like any excursion in New Zealand, think about the weather, take plenty of water, snacks and make sure you know who they are with. Set a time in advance for them to connect with you. Pokemon Go is battery hungry so, depending on the device, there is a natural limit any adventure. Make sure the time limit is up before the batteries die so you can connect with each other.
3. Hunting the wee beasties is more fun in a group so get your kids to organise a bunch of friends. There is safety in numbers! Remind them to stay off private property and keep an eye on traffic. Safety first! The sites are all in public places but those rascally wild Pokemon don't respect boundaries.
4. Younger players depend on you for transport to interesting locations not accessible by foot, bike or bus. Make the most of this and explore the countryside. There are usually sites at the start of most walking tracks for example and also historic places. As long as there is reception, it seems there will be Pokemon.
5. Take the time to debrief your hunters after the mission. Kids may well be more keen to tell you how many and what they caught but there is also the chance to talk about where the sites are. They will be much more aware of local landmarks but you could encourage them to do some research on local history.Ask them how they others in their group found the experience.
6. Choose your moment but try asking your kids to notice how they feel during and after the game. Younger kids will need help managing themselves, but noticing the impact of any activity on your health and well being is a great skill to master.
7. Be aware there are plenty of frustrations built into the game. It's still freezing and crashing in these early stages. Once players reach Level 5 they can battle at the gym and mostly they are going to lose those in the early stages. Finding elusive and rare Pokemon will happen for some but not others. There are great life lessons about perseverance here.
8. There is plenty happening in the news about the phenomenon. See if you can create some conversation around some of these, for example, what are your thoughts about playing the game in a museum dedicated to the Holocaust?
Wednesday, 13 July 2016
Monday, 11 July 2016
Timaru parents of Pokeman trainers
It's the first day of the holidays in Timaru and odd things are happening.
Groups of kids, from tweenies to twenties are roaming in packs, staring at screens, but outside in the open air. Parents are reporting that their teenagers are ASKING to go on trips around town, outside the house, away from their computer screens, twice in one day on some occasions!
Gadzooks!
It's been a long time coming but finally we are seeing the inter-weaving of TV, computer games and reality. Pokeman Go gets kids out and moving in the same way that Ingress, a well established program produced by the same company gets so called older geeks out and about.
Those Ingress pioneers, and I am one of them, have done the leg work, literally. The sites of 'interest' are the same in both games. For your budding trainer, gyms and Pokestops are near things like statues, museums, libraries, historical plaques and signs. Schools are generally off limits.
There are several ways to enjoy the game. Collecting all the different kinds of Pokeman is harmless enough, and the game is built to encourage walking. Eggs will hatch only if you pound the pavement for 2 or 5 kilometres.
The more controversial side of the game are the gyms. There are three teams who battle for 'ownership' of these sites, using creatures they have captured and trained. Ingress history tells us that this idea of 'ownership' is unhelpful as it is at best a temporary thing. The ownership of a gym is going to change and there is no point being too attached.
If you are in Timaru, Centennial Park is a great place to start. There are a bunch of sites near both main entrances and it is a great to place to be even after the batteries run out. The centre of town is also chock full of sites guaranteed to get wannabe trainers walking but there is traffic to contend with, so be careful. Perhaps the best place to start is Caroline Bay which has no vehicles to worry about and a ton of places to visit.
Groups of kids, from tweenies to twenties are roaming in packs, staring at screens, but outside in the open air. Parents are reporting that their teenagers are ASKING to go on trips around town, outside the house, away from their computer screens, twice in one day on some occasions!
Gadzooks!
It's been a long time coming but finally we are seeing the inter-weaving of TV, computer games and reality. Pokeman Go gets kids out and moving in the same way that Ingress, a well established program produced by the same company gets so called older geeks out and about.
Those Ingress pioneers, and I am one of them, have done the leg work, literally. The sites of 'interest' are the same in both games. For your budding trainer, gyms and Pokestops are near things like statues, museums, libraries, historical plaques and signs. Schools are generally off limits.
There are several ways to enjoy the game. Collecting all the different kinds of Pokeman is harmless enough, and the game is built to encourage walking. Eggs will hatch only if you pound the pavement for 2 or 5 kilometres.
The more controversial side of the game are the gyms. There are three teams who battle for 'ownership' of these sites, using creatures they have captured and trained. Ingress history tells us that this idea of 'ownership' is unhelpful as it is at best a temporary thing. The ownership of a gym is going to change and there is no point being too attached.
If you are in Timaru, Centennial Park is a great place to start. There are a bunch of sites near both main entrances and it is a great to place to be even after the batteries run out. The centre of town is also chock full of sites guaranteed to get wannabe trainers walking but there is traffic to contend with, so be careful. Perhaps the best place to start is Caroline Bay which has no vehicles to worry about and a ton of places to visit.
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