D&D with my 4 year old daughter

[Pyoor]

I like it! It reminds me of the old Dungeon! board game.

My son will be 2 in February and is fascinated by my mini's. I've been wondering when is it age appropriate to introduce kids to RPG's.

He's a little too young for games with strict rules, but does seem to have an imagination and will sit and play with my mini's for quite some time.

We're starting to work on his counting and I figure dice would be an excellent tool to enhance the learning experience. He learned his colors because of his Matchbox cars, so why not D&D for counting?

 

[Mercurius]

I've also got a 4-year old daughter (5 in April) and have thought about introducing her to RPGs, but will probably wait another 2-3 years, especially when her younger sister is older (who is a little over 1). She does like to play with my dice, though, although doesn't like to clean them up!

I will check out your game, though, and maybe give it a whirl with her. I thought I'd start more with "choose your own adventure" type narratives that don't use dice but involve her interacting with a story. I'd also probably leave the combat out for at least a few more years, or at least not involve killing.

 

[_NewbieDM_]

Technically, in this game the enemies get "knocked out"....
There's no killing. But I know what you mean....

 

[Pyoor]

Are you sure that a game where the main objective is to "kill things and take their stuff" is suitable for 4 year olds?

The attached link is Ed Greenwood's recollection about a run in with a close minded/politically correct librarian when he was asked to run a D&D game:

Friday Funny: The Dungeon Librarian « Kobold Quarterly Magazine: Monsters and Magic for D&D Gamers

I don't see the harm of kids reading, using math, using their imagination, learning how to read maps and tables and generally having a good time.

 

[Fifth Element]

Are you sure that a game where the main objective is to "kill things and take their stuff" is suitable for 4 year olds?

The main objective is to have fun. Most children have a good grasp of the difference between fantasy and reality. Better than many adults, really. Do you have kids perchance?

 

[davethegame]

I started playing RPGs when I was around 5. Of course I went to science fiction conventions and watched horror movies too. I don't have kids, but I would think that as long as the parent is in the picture to explain the difference between killing things knocking things out in a game and in real life I wouldn't see the harm.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Good job!

& thanks for sharing it!

My own three year old is keen on playing the game I play with my older two!

RC

 

[Pyoor]

Jonathan Tweet created some short games for kids using dice.

They can be found here:JoT KID GAME HUB.