We’re Not Asking Our Kids to Turn Off the Game — We’re Asking for a Second Controller.

This is a long one! I grew up as what I call a “bedroom kid.” I was born in 1992 and grew up playing Spyro, Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, Kingdom Hearts, and Mario (yes, I know most of those are one-player adventure games lol). I absolutely loved those worlds, but I was almost always exploring them alone in my room.

One of the exceptions was my brother. He would come into my room and play Super Mario on the Super Nintendo with me. He was always Mario, and I was always Luigi lol. And look at that, I’m 34 years old and I STILL remember it.

Because video games build memories.

I remember the games I played. I remember sitting with my the brother. I remember being Luigi. But I also remember wishing I could be a “living-room kid” playing games with my parents and having them actually take an interest in the worlds I loved.

Instead, a lot of us grew up hearing things like, “What are you doing? Shut that off. It’ll rot your brain!”

Now I’m the parent, and my 8-year-old son, LT, is the living-room kid I wished I could have been.

He loves Grounded 2, and he wants me to play with him. And the funny thing is, I want to play with him just as badly.

I don’t want to sit next to him and just watch. I want my own controller. I want to explore with him. I want to help him gather materials and build things. I want to tame creatures, fight bugs, discover new areas, get completely lost together, and probably have both of us screaming when some enormous bug starts chasing us.

It means even more because LT wants to become an entomologist someday. He genuinely loves bugs and learning about them. Grounded isn’t just another video game to him. It’s a world connected to something he’s actually curious about, and as his mom, I want to be able to explore that curiosity alongside him.

Minecraft has shown how local split-screen can turn a huge world into something a parent and child can experience together from the same couch. I really wish Grounded gave families that same opportunity.

Because there is an entire generation of parents that I think game developers may be overlooking.

Millennials grew up gaming. And now we have kids.

We remember Super Nintendo, PlayStation, memory cards, blowing into cartridges even though apparently we weren’t supposed to 😂, and fighting over who got which controller. Those experiences stayed with us.

Now our kids are growing up with these incredible games and massive worlds, and some of us don’t want to stand behind them saying:

“What are you doing? Shut that thing off. It’ll rot your brain.”

I want to say: “Move over. Hand Mom a controller.”

I want those memories with my son.

Someday LT isn’t going to remember every material he collected or every bug he fought in Grounded 2. But he might remember being eight years old, sitting in the living room with his mom, building a base together. He might remember us getting chased by something ridiculous and both screaming and laughing. He might remember showing me a bug he knew about because he wanted to become an entomologist.

Just like all these years later, I still remember my brother being Mario and me being Luigi.

That’s what couch co-op can create.

And yes, I think there is a business opportunity there too. There are a lot of millennial parents who grew up gaming and would happily become invested in games their children love if we could actually participate from the same couch. We’re not necessarily asking for less screen time.

We’re asking for another controller.

For some people, local split-screen might just look like another multiplayer option.

For parents like me, it’s an opportunity to make memories.

I was the kid alone in my room wishing someone would take an interest in the worlds I loved.

Now I have a little boy sitting in our living room asking his mom to come explore his favorite world with him.

Please give me that second controller. 💚🎮🐜

FYI. WE LOVE THE SPIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🕷️🕸️