New Baby & Gaming

[Bad Paper]

We have a four-month-old baby. I have played..hmm...quite a few times in these last four months.

Baby-having cuts into the campaign that I run more than the campaign in which I am a player. Not because it cuts into my prep time, but because his mother plays a 17th-level druid in the party--not exactly a PC that you can play without paying attention.

Yeah, it's only a problem if both parents are in the same game. Otherwise, you can trade off fairly easily.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Our experience was that our gaming, like so much of our lifestyle, was affected much more dramatically by the arrival of the second kid than it was by the first. Having a baby around the gaming table is inconvenient--having a toddler and a baby is closer to impossible.

 

[Eridanis]

Our experience was that our gaming, like so much of our lifestyle, was affected much more dramatically by the arrival of the second kid than it was by the first. Having a baby around the gaming table is inconvenient--having a toddler and a baby is closer to impossible.

Truer words have never been spoken. (They should really put the part about the second child being more disruptive than the first in the manual that comes with the kids. ) We've pretty much been able to stick with our once-a-month game that we both play in, but I haven't DMed since Jon's birth. No time to think!

 

[BOZ]

oh man, my wife's been begging for a new baby, but with our not-yet-two-year-old running around i've been holding out as long as i can.

 

[Larcen]

Naturally little Eleanor rolled an 18 for her Charisma...

I'm kinda curious though, for all of you parents out there... How long was it before you were able to sit down at the gaming table? One of the players in my game joked that it would be the last time they would see me behind the screen.

I figured it would be a couple of months... How long was it for those of you out there in our community?

Congrats on the new baby!

While you are losing some time away from the gaming table, think of this. You can get back all that time and more when she is old enough to play games with! Sure, you will start with Chutes and Ladders (et al.) but eventually she will move up to the likes of Carcasonne, Puerto Rico, Catan, and RPGs. You will be living with a person who is constantly asking you to play games in no time. I know I do. I have two of them, 5 and 6. In fact as mentioned in another thread I have just recently started introducing them to RPGs. They are loving it. So now I can run a session anytime I want to.

 

[Bad Paper]

Yeah, I'm hoping for triplets the next time, so I can finally have a full Axis and Allies game lineup.

 

[Rabelais]

Thanks everybody! I do actually feel a little better about my chance to sit at the gaming table sometime before the end of time.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Our experience was that our gaming, like so much of our lifestyle, was affected much more dramatically by the arrival of the second kid than it was by the first. Having a baby around the gaming table is inconvenient--having a toddler and a baby is closer to impossible.

This hasn't been the case in our family. We have four children, all of them under the age of six. The older three play together while we game. The baby sleeps, or sits on a lap. We schedule game time to start an hour before the older three's bedtime, and then we continue on until perhaps 11 pm. We've played on later than 11pm but it isn't pretty the next morning for Mom and Dad.

I think there's a boomerang effect when it comes to kids and gaming. In our case, we played with an infant, then we took maybe a year off while we learned to modulate being parents, and then we resumed gaming fairly painlessly after things at home settled. Kind of like sex in that regard. All's not lost; gaming might go on hiatus at first but if you want to play, you can easily make it work. The trick is helping the children find things to occupy their time and capture their attention while you play. I cycle through having the kids color w/washable crayons (God's gift to parents), watch a movie, play outside in the backyard (we have 180 degree windows in this funky round house we live in so it makes it easy to watch them), or have them play in their rooms.

I have noticed, however, that in homes where the children are completely disregarded and felt to be more of a nuisance or pest while the parent or parents game, said children will become more disruptive, possibly for attention. I therefore shoot for inclusivity because it seems to help the children be calmer. That, and they're funny little creatures who do the goofiest, oftentimes most amazing things. Blink and you'll miss it...

 

[Nellisir]

My daughter is 2 months, and so far the -much- bigger disruption in my gaming is the class I'm taking, and the homework that goes with it. We'll see how things go when she gets older; my wife is -not- a gamer, but does alot of stuff outside the house: coaching volleyball at the local tech school; dog agility; adult co-ed volleyball league; much gym time (she's the jock; I'm the geek). I expect being able to game either when she's out of the hosue with Kirida, or by running a "I watch her while you're at agility; you watch her while I run my game" trade.

Doesn't hurt that my FLGS is literally 200' from my house; it's almost all the advantages of running a game at home, and none of the disadvantages.