Tricks and Tips for Parents of Pokemon Hunters

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?