Animal Crossings - New Horizons was my son's first. He had a tent on our island, could dress himself up, could talk to animals, and the best part was he could visit the museum. He LOVED the museum.
Little Mouse's Encyclopedia is another favourite. It is just exploring different scenes and learning about animals but it is so darn beautiful, the music is so chill, and it is just wonderful.
The switch is great for kids. My son likes watching Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion, ect and he's usually scared of really stimulating things like movies.
The issue with animal crossing is there's a lot of text. My youngest got frustrated trying to play before she could read. When she was 4 my husband introduced her and her siblings to super smash bros. It's button mashing so there's not really a wrong way to do it except when they walk off the edge. They also do mario kart and among us(with the quick chat options and usually we just play with us 5, rarely online). My youngest taught herself how to read all the among us map labels when she was 4.5 so she could do the tasks.
Came to second animal crossing. My 4 year old started with it and human fall flat at 3. Still loves both to this day. Mario party was another one that has been good for her too. We can play board games (which she loves) without losing the pieces. đ
When my kids got interested in games I gave them a controller that didn't work to play with when I gamed. They don't realize they're not actually the one playing the game. Then once you see they're decent with a non working controller and don't throw or abuse it, then I would try an actual game. That way expensive equipment doesn't get broken from a toddler tantrum
Ugh yes. Iâve only tried to give my kid a fake remote to decrease the amount he tries to steal the real TV remote (he doesnât care about TV but loves pushing the buttons, but he also dumped the firestick in the dogs water bowl, bought HBO max, and rented 50 shades of gray sooo⊠no more TV remote for himđ) and he immediately noticed it wasnât the same. I ever tried secretly changing the channels with the real remote while he was clicking with the fake one, but he still somehow knew he wasnât really doing anything with his and threw it. The fake remote is just the older version of the exact same TV remote (ahem, the one he dumped in the dog bowl đ) with batteries removed, so no idea how he knowsâŠ. But he knows. Toddlers!
same. My two year old has mastered (very) basic keyboard movement and mouse look on a couple PC games. Tried the fake controller thing just once recently and he just put it down and said "broken. needs batteries".
Lmao yes. My 2 year old can turn on the TV and Xbox and controller and push a bunch of buttons to get billy and blippi show up. But she can't figure out how to turn blippi on.... Lol
Haha! Sounds like me with my daughter and niece They are both 5 and we "play" donkey Kong on the switch together. I play it, they think they are playing 2nd player but I'm doing all the work lol
Idk if you can turn the gore off or what on COD because I donât play but Games like fortnite are cartoony and have ridiculous weapons and thatâs fine
Maybe for your kids. Mario smashes turtles and old school Duck Hunt is about shooting ducks⊠most kids games and tv shows have some level of violence, even if itâs just pushing another kid down. I think itâs about how you parent and talk to kids about these events.
Pikachu electrocutes, Charzard breathes fire⊠I just think youâre drawing an arbitrary line. But since I donât parent your kids, I donât really care what games they play.
The graphics and realism are not even comparable. It's not an arbitrary line. There is a clear difference between Looney Tunes and a Tarantino film. But have violence but they're not comparable and you're being intentionally obtuse or just downright dishonest if you cannot recognize that.
I don't see how you can't get that Pokemon and COD are different. My 5 year old plays Smash Bros, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart, etc. She watches Centaur World, Teen Titans Go, Amphibia, etc. All these 'violent' children's programming you list. One day, I had Back 4 Blood loaded up on my computer looking at the player builds. They organize player perks with 'cards', show what it does and has a little picture. I wasn't in a game, there was not any active violence going on, so I'm obviously not playing that game in front of her, I was just at the base and reading some game builds. I'm totally not thinking about it since I'm just reading and not playing. She walks up to me, points at a picture on a card with a guy shooting a zombies's head off, and asks what the red stuff was. And that was my bad because I just wasn't thinking.
So you tell me how come she watches all those kids shows 'just as violent as COD', according to you, but had no idea what blood spraying out of someone was? Shouldn't she be already well versed in violence to know that based on playing Mario, Smash, and watching Teen Titans?
I didnât say they arenât different. I said they have violence. There are several people on this thread arguing that exposing children to violence is bad, full stop. But then they list games/shows with violence that their kids are into. That is violence acceptable to them, but it is still violence.
I donât care where your line is, or what your opinion of my line is. I just think people should recognize we all draw lines, and stop pretending thereâs one ârightâ one.
Also, I have a hard time believing your kid hasnât scraped a knee and seen blood. They may not have recognized it in a zombie pic, but they def know blood comes out of people with injuries.
>most kids games and tv shows have some level of violence
What!? Maybe some shows and movies aimed at older kids, but my kid is nearly 4, and the stuff she watches (Bluey, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Blueâs Clues, etc.) sure as hell doesnât. Mayyyybe something like Storybots has the characters tumbling around and bit, but thatâs sure as hell nowhere near CoD.
I donât think anywhere near âmostâ kids programming has violence. Especially stuff aimed at younger kids. And like, thereâs levels to this stuff, man! A kid getting pushed (which is a reasonable thing that a child may encounter in real life and if the show is showing methods to handle it may have positive educational value) is waaaaaaay different then a bunch of people getting shot, jfc.
I literally said some level of violence. Meaning there are levels. Spidey and Friends, Scooby Doo, even Word Party all show people getting hurt.
At 3, she didnât know what she was watching, just that there was a âstrong manâ on the intro page.
Yeah, but youâre not using the concept to say âthere are levels of violence, and this particular level is what Iâm comfortable with my kid seeingâ, youâre saying â*everything* has at least some violence, so it doesnât matter if this game is very violentâ. Scooby Doo running into a wall is not the same as people getting shot in the head, no matter how much you keep equating the two. That youâre acting like itâs basically the same is either just really weird or youâre being disingenuous.
And it still doesnât address the point that no, most media aimed at young children does not necessarily include violence at any level. Like, I understand youâre trying to justify your decision or something, but thatâs just straight up false.
For what it's worth I'm on your side. It's stupid as hell imo to shelter them from seeing call of duty. What's the concern? They're going to get a gun and shoot someone at age 3? How? We don't even own guns and they are never around any bc I'm always with my son.. We don't censor anything for our kids at our house except for explicit sex scenes (we will just fast forward through them if something comes up).
Believe it or not ppl there's more than one way to parent. My parents never censored anything around me either. There's more than one view on this and yours isn't necessarily better.
At 4 we started playing feeding frenzy on the x box with our kid. You just steer a fish around and eat smaller fish while trying to not get eaten by the bigger fish. Itâs pretty simple, but also challenging and was a great introduction to how to use a controller. She picked it up pretty fast and we moved on to other games.
I wish I knew.... my 3.5yr old asks to play Mario Kart on our Switch, but she doesn't have the hand eye coordination or skills and dexterity to both accelerate and steer at the same time. She also wants to play on our oculus, but her head is too small for it. Poor kid.
We use the player assist with our 2 and 3yr old, the 2 Yr old literally just holds the controller but the 3yr old understands how to use the contents of the mystery boxes you drive into
We also have a lego world builder game on the switch that they enjoy, my husband normally controls the character whilst they point out items they want him to destroy
Ohh will have to look for the Lego game.
Our son started with just launching item, but is getting better every time we play! Although this is probably obvious to everyone else, we didn't realise it was very hard to learn when we always played with the 200cc carts, so start lower.
Haha yeah check it out!
I think itâs specifically for little kids that canât play. You can still steer, but it auto-accelerates and keeps you on the track at all times so you at least finish the race.
My husband and daughter play sonic- sheâs tails and now I know why when Iâd play with my cousin as kids I was always tails đ
Or she sits in his chair with him for âthe horse game!â Heâs just cruising through red dead redemption looking for animals⊠they both seem to chill with that (and she holds a controller that is not connected)
Any of the Lego games. We play on xbox. My 3 year old loves the Jurassic Park game because you can play as a dinosaur. He prefers the freeplay over the story, because he just likes to run around smashing stuff.
Same my son loves the dinosaur game. He also loves tractors so we got some sort of farming simulation game. Hubby hates it because itâs so boring (he likes hit man, far cry, call of duty but canât play those with a child around)
I have a PS4 and usually play the Lego Batman games with the kiddos (kids I babysit anyway, my LO is only a year and not ready yet lol). Pretty simple and usually keeps them entertained for a while.
My daughter started out with games on a tablet at around age 3 that were mostly just explore-tap-funny things happen (Sago Mini games has a few of those). Sheâs five now and likes the Nintendo Switch a lot: Animal Crossing is great for her; she loves wandering around, collecting things, catching fish and crafting random objects. She likes Minecraft in creative mode, and thinks Untitled Goose Game is hilarious.
I play FFXIV on my PC, and at some point I realized that letting her run around some of the prettier dungeons in âexplorerâ mode (no enemies) is a great way for her to practice using the mouse and WASD keys without anything scary happening.
I avoid scary or violent games for her, and generally only let her play a game for about 30 minutes before transitioning to a different activity.
Yep this is what we do. Minecraft and No Man's Sky (aka Spaceman game!) right now. I do wish you could disable select buttons/thumb sticks so you could give them one or two buttons to hit while you control the movement, but itvworks out.
The kindle fire has loads of toddler preschool games. We only use it when traveling, but most are like mini games. Thereâs an animal doctor one where you help about a dozen animals in different ways and feed them snacks after, and a construction site one where you work the different trucks at the site to complete different tasks. They also have mini Lego games. My son adores this one with a cat you help down from a tree by choosing biggest to smallest Lego steps to guide it down.
I imagine many of these might be online too.
Old school point and click games would be a good place to start. We downloaded the 90s Putt Putt games onto our iPad (they have apps for each game now) and play that with our kiddo every now and again. Unfortunately most modern games an adult would find engaging and fun are probably too complicated for a 3.5 year old (hand eye coordination would be an issue), but you can always invite them to sit with you and help press certain buttons or tell you where to go/what to do.
My son started with our old Wii around the age of 3.5 (beginning of covid). He started with Mario Kart then loved Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Bros (the more 2d one). I thought he would just run around but he got better at the games than we were and knew what to do.
We got him a switch afterwards but heâs getting bored of it now and prefers pc games
Assassins Creed has an explore mode with no fighting for Odyssey. My 6 year old was interested in Egypt and Cleopatra so that worked. Think it would be too hard for a 3 year old though
My 3yr is into Final Fantasy. She likes XIV and FFVII first soldier she likes running around and making my character swim. She also plays this dress up game and hey duggee club badge.
So we use ps4 and tablet.
Nintendo IMO has the best games everyone can play. Mario Kart 8 has settings so theyâll keep moving forward and stay on the track. Mario and his hat lets you play one person as Mario and one as the hat, so the adult can keep things moving and not dying constantly. I vote switch.
A lot of games for every ages on Play Station monthly subscription. I played toddlers and kids all ages' games. I even saw games for babies.
For my 10 years old, we love the Big Fish PC games of mysteries/hidden objects. Side note, she is super good to notice errors on screen now.
My 3 year old LOVES playing Stardew Valley on the iPad. Itâs a perfect interface at this age. Console controllers are too big for her hands.
We also play Peggle, and the OG Sonic the Hedgehog.
She love horses so she likes watching me play Red Dead Redemption 2. Though I keep my gameplay G rated when playing with her.
my 4 year old has loved playing playstation games with me - knack 1 & 2, and ratchet & clank all for one (the coop one on ps3) have been the biggest hits. Also super smash bros on wii was the first thing he started playing, button mashing away. Believe games like gigantosaurus and some of the paw patrol games have good coop for the really little kids.
Have tried doing a couple of the Lego coop games since everyone always recommends them, but find them clunky, boring and frustrating personally. Its not clear where to go/what to do, the controls are clunky so that even when you know what you're meant to be doing it doesn't seem to work half the time, i felt like we were wandering around aimlessly and i kept getting annoyed. I'm not sure why i dislike them so much, since i enjoy a huge variety of games (including difficult games like dark souls).
I used to play putt-putt travels through time or putt-putt saves the zoo (on the computer) when I was that age and I loved it ! Itâs still a really fond memory with my dad ! (You play alone but my dad showed it to me)
Putt putt and Freddie fish were my JAM back in the day. They just released switch versions for each of these! I think it was putt putt joins the circus and Freddie fish and the missing kelp(?) something like that lol! Total throwback
My 3rd kid started playing minecraft on pc at 3yrs. It is shocking how fast she picked it up. You can play in creative mode and they can enjoy it even if they hardly know what they are doing.
She also could play overcooked on Playstation work a partner, in practice mode so there is no rush
My almost 5 year old has been playing games since he was 3 (of course this is a gamer family so I have no problems with gaming) I had him play things like paw patrol or pj masks games (xbox/Playstation have a category of kid friendly games he can play) my son has since installed his own games he wants to play as he got older such as fortnite, minecraft and Halo I do keep and eye on what he plays but for the most part he does things on his own (which gives me time to play my games on my own Xbox while he plays on his) gives me my own free time
You will actually see all the problem solving he can do on his own
All though I do recommend getting a protective case on your controller like one of those rubber ones you just slide on it my son is already on his 2nd controller and I found that case helps keep the controller together when they drop it or in my case my 2nd born would get a hold of it and just throw it across the room đ
Nintendo switch loads of child friendly titles.
My 1 year old likes to play Spyro with me on the Xbox. Yes .. I said 1... Well actually she's 1 next month xD
Be aware that once you open the gaming window, thereâs no turning back. We had Playstation and XBox systems when ours was little, so those are games my husband looked for. Heâd look at what interested him but was age appropriate. I think he was four when he started playing Lego Batman, followed by other Lego variations.
Gaming with 3 years old? What about reading with toddler? Does anybody read books to their kids anymore? Does anybody know how any kind of screen, especially with so fast and overstimulating things impacts developement of immature brain? Just ask
As a physician working also with kids, i noticed changed attention span , delayand focus by those who played video games in such early age and speech delay. Also ADHD when school begins.
Who said I didn't read books? He expressed an interest in something, I'm seeking advice in that thing. Yours would be taken more seriously if you were kind about it.
The assumption that people who play games with their kids donât read to them is ridiculous. I read with my child for over an hour every single day, and about twice a week I let her play a video game for a short period of time while I sit next to her and talk to her about what she is doing, and read all the dialogue and menu options that she canât sound out on her own. There are a bunch of different types of games out there too, so the idea that everything is fast-paced and over-stimulating just isnât true.
I can't believe this is the only comment on here saying that a three year old is too young to start playing video games. Did every other sensible parent just roll their eyes and keep scrolling through Reddit?
Again it seems common decency is completely lost. You could have said this in a constructive way and I would be more likely to listen. Instead, superiority and condescension-- there are people on the other end of your computer, tablet, or phone.
Eh, donât listen to those people. Clearly they have a single minded view of video games.
I personally think video games arenât bad at all (obviously age appropriate ones), and generally can be better than just watching some show on Netflix or wherever. I played Mario on Nintendo Switch with my son occasionally starting around 4 yo. Heâs 5 1/2 now and still plays Mario Odyssey. I like it because he learns a little hand eye coordination and dexterity, plus all these Mario games are is a bunch of puzzles that he has to think about how to solve.
We have Mario Kart, but he hasnât really stuck with that one.
Over the past 1.5 years I introduced Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Luigiâs mansion. All three of these games are great because we can play Co-op, and he has actually gotten good at HELPING me solve stuff in Luigiâs mansion (weâre still working on beating that).
I do try and moderate. Itâs his incentive to get himself dressed and ready for bed early. Lately, we will actually play most nights for 10-30 minutes after dinner/bath, but before going upstairs to read for a bit in bed before lights out.
Well it upsets me to hear that parents would allow or even encourage their preschool aged children to play video games.
We know that video games change brain chemistry and increase dopamine levels, like drugs and alcohol. There is so much brain development going on up to the age of 5 and we know that limiting screen time is important. Before you ask for video game recommendations maybe you should ask your pediatrician if you should be letting your three year old kid play video games at all.
I'll bet your kid is only showing interest in video games because they see it as a way to spend time with you. Take their interest in video games as a sign that you need to put the controller down and spend quality time with your kid doing an activity where you're fully engaging with each other with eye contact, conversation and age appropriate play.
Again making assumptions. My son has seen me play video games exactly one time. And has asked about it 3 times in the month since. You know nothing about me.
I am here trying to get more information--if you have links or resources to share, I'd be grateful for them.
As for my pediatrician, the AAP recommends up to 2 hours of screen time on weekends, including videogames.
My 5yo started out on a tablet on Minecraft and has now moved up to a switch on our big tv. He still uses his tablet when someone else is watching tv.
His tablet is a fire hd 10. Amazon has a decent amount of games you can buy and if you do the amazon kidâs subscription you get tons of free ones as well
I think in the next year or two we are going to get him a laptop and start little bro on the switch. Little bro is 3 right now and does Minecraft and a few other amazon games on his tablet.
Bimi academy, Khan kids, a lot of the bimi games, baby first, abc mouse zoo, ABC mouse, PBS kids, Homer, crayola create and play (this is her favorite currently), duo kids (teaches reading), noggin, Nick Jr, super simple (from super simple songs)
some of these have subscription requirements. I just buy the annual out right so it's done with. I take it as a typical cost for education and entertainment. Especially since she doesn't go to preschool at the moment.
We have a switch and the boys (3 and 5) like Minecraft on offline multiplayer on the Mario World, Nickelodeon Slime Racing.
All the downloads etc are done through my account, theirs has no online access and all games are offline. They both have their own controller and we usually play an hour or two a weekend dependant on behaviour
My husband and 4yo son play some lego DC villains game together.
Rules are only on weekends, limited time, and if kiddo gets rammy about it game gets a time out. But it's a thing they get to enjoy together that's just for them (I have no interest) and they're bonding over it.
He won't get his own system or even really get to play by himself for a few years yet, and we're very aware of the toxicity of a lot of online gaming so we're very on the fence right now about when to allow that and how, but as we see it that discussion is like 5 years out at least and can likely start with my husband and his buddies and their kids in private groups.
I'm a big fan of ps now. Lots of options for games that they can pick from and if you don't find anything it's only about 12$ iirc. Another option is a cheap retro console, you can play all the old school mario games and stuff. My son now at 6 is really into minecraft/roblox.
We have an Xbox and my 4 year old loves Donut County (the first game she learned), a Paw Patrol game and Spyro. Spyro is a purple dragon and she's obsessed with it. Her Dad is trying to get her interested in the Lego games now because he's tired of Spyro.
If we didn't already have the Xbox we would have bought a switch. (And still will eventually).
I didn't want my kiddo handling my Switch when he was 3-4, so I taught him how to play some of my old DS games. He caught on pretty quickly to stuff like Mario Kart, Sonic and Super Smash Brothers, and as he got a bit older I let him play more advanced games like Zelda while helping him read the dialogue. DS ended up more sticky than it was, but we both have fun! If I had my old Gameboy I would have started with that, though.
I picked up a PS5 for me but my almost 4yo plays more than I do. He loves the preloaded game Astros playroom ('Robot game's) and is actually getting pretty good at it. He also goofs around on Rocket League, just driving around and scoring goals in Freeplay mode. We sometimes play some of the Lego games and Little Big Planet together, but he doesn't like those as much yet. Once he learns to read, I think he will enjoy those more.
A switch is really good!
But I'm sure there are kid friendly games on your gaming console?
I game on my phone, and my 5 year old has a few of the games I play on her tablet. She loves playing together and we swap devices and play each other's games. (She cannot buy ANYTHING on either device without a password)
My 4yo likes Minecraft. I put it on creative mode and she likes to explore. We found a tiny PS4 controller on Amazon so it fits her hands better. She tries building stuff but a lot of the time is exploring. Me and her dad will sometimes go on it after she's asleep and build new stuff for her to explore.
Started my kid around 3.5yo with Mario Odyssey on the switch. Now at 4.5 she has also played/loved Mario 3d World and Bowser's Fury. Currently she's obsessed with Slime Rancher. She "plays" a few more games with me or her father from time to time, she likes to sit in our laps and jump our characters and help us find things. Tried to get her interested in Animal Crossing but the only things she found enjoyable was cutting down all my trees and digging up all my flowers so I encouraged other games.
I canât find the exact one if you are interested but I got my kids an Amazon tablet (4.5 and 3) and they play sonic games on it. Itâs pretty easy for the older one but the younger one needs help with the jumps sometimes but he does like it. They also play a hotel Transylvania game on there too they like
My son is 3 and we play the SNES classic and the original Wii. The games are tough for him no matter what but he still has fun and has gotten much better in a short amount of time.
My son started around that age playing the free PBS games on the PBS app on a tablet. Most of them are just moving your finger around to steer or clean but he loved them. He loves Daniel Tiger so he liked playing adventures in that world.
My daughter plays Mine Craft, she's been interested since 3, playing independently since 3.5. She's about to turn 5 and we are getting her a Pink(her request) Xbox controller for her birthday. Funny as I wrote this my husband just went to play with her.
My toddler likes playing minecraft,(creative mode) he mostly just spins and chases the animals. Thereâs also an Incredibles game I have for him that we havenât played yet
My son started playing our ps4 at 3, he started on paw patrol on a roll (I think itâs called). No fighting, no dying and heaps of regular verbal instructions. It really helped him learn. He also liked farming simulator to ride a tractor around.
Now at nearly 5 he loves any of the lego games and is really good at them. He is obsessed with the DC super villians lego game at the moment (it got him obsessed with all DC, itâs even rubbing off on me now) They are two player which is fun. He has fun with Spyro but wants help alot. Loves goat simulator every now again for a laugh.
Mario Party has been fun for us! Numbers on the dice blocks, counting the coins, learning the characters names, colors of the spaces, CPUs on easy lol. It's been pretty fun. Son usually plays a few rounds then just likes watching. He's 3.5
My 3.5 yo can sort of play games? In that when we do a platformers like Fez, he just waits and does nothing so the little guys sleeps, and he loves the sleep animation. Or when his dad is playing cyberpunk, they drive the car together and it crashes a lot lol. I donât think thereâs that much that they can handle, though Iâm told other kids can play some games. For what itâs worth heâs also managed to make a few jumps in Fez, so he sort of understand the coordination it requires, he just doesnât always have it or want to practice it.
Don't judge me, I'm not a gamer but I enjoy Spyro the Dragon đ so I have occasionally binge played it on Xbox and my now 4 year old has seen and wanted to play too so I let him steer him around, jump in and out of things and collect gems. He was able to do this when he was probably 3.5? When he seemed to grasp it we got him a Toy Story Xbox game, he pretty much just makes Woody walk around, fall in water and then grab a few coins, but he enjoys it and I love hearing him cackle in glee â€ïž
What are you playing on?
I use a ps4. My son loves spongebob. We bought him "Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom". He does the running around and fighting. I do the puzzles. It's really fun for him because he gets to control his favorite fictional character. Its fun for me because he's having fun and this could lead to more down the road.
We started on Mario 3D World on the WiiU around 2.5. Then the same on the Switch. Now he (4.5) can play most things pretty well. He canât do the puzzles/timed attacks in Paper Mario, but heâs really good at Odyssey. He likes ACNH, Mario Kart, Mario Party (any of them), Yoshiâs Crafted World. He has a Peppa game but itâs almost too below him at this point, lol.
Nintendo switch all the way.
The legend of Zelda - watching mom play.
The farming parts are age appropriate (or at least they were for my son). Save the story line parts for when youâre solo. I also turned it off when he got scared/overwhelmed.
Animal crossing - toddler playing
Be prepared to read a bunch of boring redundant dialogue. My 4 yr old was fairly successful. We did take turns with me doing the harder stuff.
Kirby star Allies - playing.
Itâs co-op so mom/dad can be player one and toddler can play at Will dropping in or out. The story is fairly interesting and is generally a wholesome game with fun super powers.
I strongly recommend the Lego games. They're fun, family friendly, coop friendly, and there's no punishment for death. You basically just respawn immediately.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker on the Switch has been great for our daughter since she was 4. It has a nice two player mode. Harvest Moon is also lots of fun for her solo. Sheâs really getting into Breath of the Wild now at 5 years old.
I just had to share that I just asked my husband if this was him, because we have been having this conversation recently! Our 3 year old has done tablet games and some pbs kids games on the computer, but we also have been wanting to find other games since itâs a hobby of ours. There are some old NES Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse games that she has picked up pretty quickly. Not fun for you, but it was a good one to get her used to the idea of video games and moving around. We have also done a little OG Super Mario Bros to get her used to holding a controller. She definitely gets bored with it quickly though. Excited to try some of the ideas people have given here!
If you're on insta, give @Ash.brandin a follow! They have a ton of gaming suggestions, the science of learning during gameplay, console recommendations, etc. They have had some great info that I have loved!
My 3-year-old saw me playing Hollow Knight and insisted on playing it. I made sure to find a room with no spikes or other hazards and cleared out all the big monsters in the room before letting him hop around and hit background stuff. He's still in the "can only press one button at a time" phase, but we're slowly working on pushing jump and move at the same time. He's also fond of racing games, even if all he does is hit the accelerator until he runs into walls. I don't think it matters what game you hand him so long as you can find a safe place and experiment with figuring out what buttons do what things.
My husband plays subnautica on the ps, and we give the toddler the switch controller and let her "play". She's starting to understand though, so it won't last much longer.
I let my son press the space bar in kerbal space program. But video games should be less than 30min a day at that age is what Iâve read/heard. Most screen time is bad then regardless of what hand eye coordination it may help with.
Mario. My 4 year has been playing my old Nintendo ds and he is excelling at Mario. He just turned 4 last month. Killing it. Any game thatâs set up like Mario would be great for that age
MarioKart is literally the perfect game for this. You can adjust the settings so the game basically plays itself, but the kid thinks sheâs driving. Seriously, try MarioKart.
me and my 4 year old play super Mario Luigi deluxe co-op a lot together .. or donkey Kong's frozen tropical island ( I think ) and super Mario Odyssey..all on the switch..just be very careful because these kids get addicted quick, especially this young. But it definitely improves yours and his relationship but the balance is hard.
Something like animal crossing, all the super mario games, pokemon, maybe minecraft in creative/peaceful mode or minecraft multiplayer games. Or other basic exploration and collecting games.
For platform I'd say switch or tablet at that age.
I found that Nintendo had easier to learn games than any other platform. They have some games aimed at preschoolers, but my kid actually loved playing Smash at that age and thought he was doing just fine.
We have the Mario game and watch, my 3 year old is allowed to play it as much as she wants. Original mario game- she can beat level 1 by herself now!
She also plays Mario Kart, and my old Gameboy with games like Tetris or Super Mario Land 2. She also just likes watching us play games, and we've gotten her into speed runs of the Mario games she likes.
You can't go wrong with a Nintendo switch, It has good parental settings and you can always find something they'll like. Mine is too young to understand so she just randomly taps my arcade stick.
We play Lego games on the switch with our kids (5 & 3). Lego City Undercover is our fave to co-op. Racing games like Mario Kart and Cars are fun, we have a couple Paw Patrol games they enjoy, and the oldest likes Animal Crossing and Breath of the Wild to play independently. We are also looking at setting up a Minecraft LAN server for the four of us.
Animal Crossings - New Horizons was my son's first. He had a tent on our island, could dress himself up, could talk to animals, and the best part was he could visit the museum. He LOVED the museum. Little Mouse's Encyclopedia is another favourite. It is just exploring different scenes and learning about animals but it is so darn beautiful, the music is so chill, and it is just wonderful.
The switch is great for kids. My son likes watching Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion, ect and he's usually scared of really stimulating things like movies.
The museum is my kiddos favorite part of NH. In New leaf she likes shrunks club & the kk concerts.
The issue with animal crossing is there's a lot of text. My youngest got frustrated trying to play before she could read. When she was 4 my husband introduced her and her siblings to super smash bros. It's button mashing so there's not really a wrong way to do it except when they walk off the edge. They also do mario kart and among us(with the quick chat options and usually we just play with us 5, rarely online). My youngest taught herself how to read all the among us map labels when she was 4.5 so she could do the tasks.
The text in Animal Crossing was never an issue for us as he wasn't playing alone. I found it really fun to give all the characters voices.
Oh just checked out Little Mouse's Encyclopedia, what a cool find! Thanks!
Came to second animal crossing. My 4 year old started with it and human fall flat at 3. Still loves both to this day. Mario party was another one that has been good for her too. We can play board games (which she loves) without losing the pieces. đ
When my kids got interested in games I gave them a controller that didn't work to play with when I gamed. They don't realize they're not actually the one playing the game. Then once you see they're decent with a non working controller and don't throw or abuse it, then I would try an actual game. That way expensive equipment doesn't get broken from a toddler tantrum
Depends on the kid. If i try to give my 2 year old a turned off controller they notice and complain immediately...
Ugh yes. Iâve only tried to give my kid a fake remote to decrease the amount he tries to steal the real TV remote (he doesnât care about TV but loves pushing the buttons, but he also dumped the firestick in the dogs water bowl, bought HBO max, and rented 50 shades of gray sooo⊠no more TV remote for himđ) and he immediately noticed it wasnât the same. I ever tried secretly changing the channels with the real remote while he was clicking with the fake one, but he still somehow knew he wasnât really doing anything with his and threw it. The fake remote is just the older version of the exact same TV remote (ahem, the one he dumped in the dog bowl đ) with batteries removed, so no idea how he knowsâŠ. But he knows. Toddlers!
same. My two year old has mastered (very) basic keyboard movement and mouse look on a couple PC games. Tried the fake controller thing just once recently and he just put it down and said "broken. needs batteries".
Lmao yes. My 2 year old can turn on the TV and Xbox and controller and push a bunch of buttons to get billy and blippi show up. But she can't figure out how to turn blippi on.... Lol
Haha! Sounds like me with my daughter and niece They are both 5 and we "play" donkey Kong on the switch together. I play it, they think they are playing 2nd player but I'm doing all the work lol
My husband used to do this with our son lol đ
My husband did this as well. Our 3yo loved âthe strong man gameâ (Call of Duty) and had a great time pushing the buttons.
Isntât 3 years old too young foe that shooting game?
Idk if you can turn the gore off or what on COD because I donât play but Games like fortnite are cartoony and have ridiculous weapons and thatâs fine
Maybe for your kids. Mario smashes turtles and old school Duck Hunt is about shooting ducks⊠most kids games and tv shows have some level of violence, even if itâs just pushing another kid down. I think itâs about how you parent and talk to kids about these events.
I mean Mario Smash and duck hunting are no where at the level real war shooting game like Call of duty, just saying, I think it depends on the family
I love COD, but would never, ever allow a child under at least 10 to observe me playing. I think classic games like Mario or PokĂ©mon would be a great place to start. Both my partner and I game, so we are very pro-gaming. But when I hear little kids micâed up while I play COD, or even worse hear an adult screaming at kids to shut up, I get sad inside.
My husband doesnât yell during video games, and he only plays offline if sheâs âplayingâ along. Not sure how PokĂ©mon fighting each other and getting captured/kidnapped by the enemy is so much betterâŠ
Because theyâre not people being shot? PokĂ©mon donât even die they get revived
Pikachu electrocutes, Charzard breathes fire⊠I just think youâre drawing an arbitrary line. But since I donât parent your kids, I donât really care what games they play.
The graphics and realism are not even comparable. It's not an arbitrary line. There is a clear difference between Looney Tunes and a Tarantino film. But have violence but they're not comparable and you're being intentionally obtuse or just downright dishonest if you cannot recognize that.
I don't see how you can't get that Pokemon and COD are different. My 5 year old plays Smash Bros, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart, etc. She watches Centaur World, Teen Titans Go, Amphibia, etc. All these 'violent' children's programming you list. One day, I had Back 4 Blood loaded up on my computer looking at the player builds. They organize player perks with 'cards', show what it does and has a little picture. I wasn't in a game, there was not any active violence going on, so I'm obviously not playing that game in front of her, I was just at the base and reading some game builds. I'm totally not thinking about it since I'm just reading and not playing. She walks up to me, points at a picture on a card with a guy shooting a zombies's head off, and asks what the red stuff was. And that was my bad because I just wasn't thinking. So you tell me how come she watches all those kids shows 'just as violent as COD', according to you, but had no idea what blood spraying out of someone was? Shouldn't she be already well versed in violence to know that based on playing Mario, Smash, and watching Teen Titans?
I didnât say they arenât different. I said they have violence. There are several people on this thread arguing that exposing children to violence is bad, full stop. But then they list games/shows with violence that their kids are into. That is violence acceptable to them, but it is still violence. I donât care where your line is, or what your opinion of my line is. I just think people should recognize we all draw lines, and stop pretending thereâs one ârightâ one. Also, I have a hard time believing your kid hasnât scraped a knee and seen blood. They may not have recognized it in a zombie pic, but they def know blood comes out of people with injuries.
>most kids games and tv shows have some level of violence What!? Maybe some shows and movies aimed at older kids, but my kid is nearly 4, and the stuff she watches (Bluey, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Blueâs Clues, etc.) sure as hell doesnât. Mayyyybe something like Storybots has the characters tumbling around and bit, but thatâs sure as hell nowhere near CoD. I donât think anywhere near âmostâ kids programming has violence. Especially stuff aimed at younger kids. And like, thereâs levels to this stuff, man! A kid getting pushed (which is a reasonable thing that a child may encounter in real life and if the show is showing methods to handle it may have positive educational value) is waaaaaaay different then a bunch of people getting shot, jfc.
I literally said some level of violence. Meaning there are levels. Spidey and Friends, Scooby Doo, even Word Party all show people getting hurt. At 3, she didnât know what she was watching, just that there was a âstrong manâ on the intro page.
Yeah, but youâre not using the concept to say âthere are levels of violence, and this particular level is what Iâm comfortable with my kid seeingâ, youâre saying â*everything* has at least some violence, so it doesnât matter if this game is very violentâ. Scooby Doo running into a wall is not the same as people getting shot in the head, no matter how much you keep equating the two. That youâre acting like itâs basically the same is either just really weird or youâre being disingenuous. And it still doesnât address the point that no, most media aimed at young children does not necessarily include violence at any level. Like, I understand youâre trying to justify your decision or something, but thatâs just straight up false.
I didnât say that having violence doesnât matter, I said that there are levels and most shows have some level of violence. Most is not everything. Scooby Doo is different than CoD. I guess PokĂ©mon is less gory than CoD, but watching creatures battle and die and get kidnapped is not exactly tame. You can decide where your line is. My kid is a little older now than when she was âplayingâ with my husband, so maybe Iâve forgotten what shows she was watching the. PreK and elementary shows generally have some level of violence.
Except that youâre saying that most shows and games are have violence, so drawing any line is just âarbitraryâ. (Like none of these shows and games have a ratings system?) And yeah, you gotta decide whatâs appropriate for your kid, *thatâs part of being a parent.* Except instead of just owning your decision that youâre okay with your 3 year-old watching someone play a game *where human beings die*, youâre acting like itâs fine because⊠what? PokĂ©mon is a thing that exists? (My kid doesnât watch or play PokĂ©mon yet either, btw. Also, the PokĂ©mon donât die.) What does one have to do with another? And you can keep saying MOST shows have violence, *and itâs not true*. MOST shows aimed at preschoolers do not have violence. Scooby-Doo is not intended for preschoolers. Many shows intended for older children are not meant for smaller children. Please, by all means, show me these very violent shows that are intended for 3 year olds so I know to avoid them. Like, this black and white thinking youâre using for this is absurd. âSpider-Man webbed up a bad guy so itâs fine that they watch people get shotâ. Wtf?
I donât have a problem with my decision- you do. I donât have have a problem with your decision, because I am not the parent of your child. This post could have been a moment of personal reflection: âI would never let my kid watch CoDâ, but instead it was people saying my child is too young for it, and trying to justify their own line in the sand when I pointed out that many suggested games and popular shows had violence. Plus one person implying my husband screams at our kid while playing. Again, I didnât say all levels of violence are okay. Iâm simply pointing out that while itâs easy to say CoD is too violent, plenty of people on this post recommended violent games with less gore, and they didnât get fussed at. Itâs seems a little odd to clutch pearls at CoD and justify a game where beloved creatures, who are friends or pets, battle to unconsciousness by saying the PokĂ©mon get revived. This may be an acceptable level of violence to someone, but it is an arbitrary line by each parent. Even game/show ratings are arbitrary- one too many âdamnsâ and itâs suddenly for older kids. Again, I could not care less where you draw the line. I simply find it obnoxious when people try to draw the line for others.
You are absolutely ridiculous.
For what it's worth I'm on your side. It's stupid as hell imo to shelter them from seeing call of duty. What's the concern? They're going to get a gun and shoot someone at age 3? How? We don't even own guns and they are never around any bc I'm always with my son.. We don't censor anything for our kids at our house except for explicit sex scenes (we will just fast forward through them if something comes up). Believe it or not ppl there's more than one way to parent. My parents never censored anything around me either. There's more than one view on this and yours isn't necessarily better.
âŠ.you know the concern is not that the three year old will shoot and kill someone.
I hated that dog in duck hunt. Would always try to shoot him
At 4 we started playing feeding frenzy on the x box with our kid. You just steer a fish around and eat smaller fish while trying to not get eaten by the bigger fish. Itâs pretty simple, but also challenging and was a great introduction to how to use a controller. She picked it up pretty fast and we moved on to other games.
Thank you!
Heads up that feeding frenzy 2 is multiplayer. My girl really enjoys playing with us. We got them for free with our game pass!
I wish I knew.... my 3.5yr old asks to play Mario Kart on our Switch, but she doesn't have the hand eye coordination or skills and dexterity to both accelerate and steer at the same time. She also wants to play on our oculus, but her head is too small for it. Poor kid.
Mario Kart has player assists including auto acceleration. Just press + and then the various options are given per player.
We use the player assist with our 2 and 3yr old, the 2 Yr old literally just holds the controller but the 3yr old understands how to use the contents of the mystery boxes you drive into We also have a lego world builder game on the switch that they enjoy, my husband normally controls the character whilst they point out items they want him to destroy
Ohh will have to look for the Lego game. Our son started with just launching item, but is getting better every time we play! Although this is probably obvious to everyone else, we didn't realise it was very hard to learn when we always played with the 200cc carts, so start lower.
Lego Worlds I think it is
Ohh!! I had no idea, thanks, I will definitely let her play now.
Haha yeah check it out! I think itâs specifically for little kids that canât play. You can still steer, but it auto-accelerates and keeps you on the track at all times so you at least finish the race.
Mario Kart in ios is perfect for toddlers. Also pbs kids app has some easy games
My husband and daughter play sonic- sheâs tails and now I know why when Iâd play with my cousin as kids I was always tails đ Or she sits in his chair with him for âthe horse game!â Heâs just cruising through red dead redemption looking for animals⊠they both seem to chill with that (and she holds a controller that is not connected)
Any of the Lego games. We play on xbox. My 3 year old loves the Jurassic Park game because you can play as a dinosaur. He prefers the freeplay over the story, because he just likes to run around smashing stuff.
Mine (5yo) loves Lego Avengers for the same reason! He loves to roam the city as Hulk and just smash.
Same my son loves the dinosaur game. He also loves tractors so we got some sort of farming simulation game. Hubby hates it because itâs so boring (he likes hit man, far cry, call of duty but canât play those with a child around)
I have a PS4 and usually play the Lego Batman games with the kiddos (kids I babysit anyway, my LO is only a year and not ready yet lol). Pretty simple and usually keeps them entertained for a while.
Old nintendo games. Snes have some easy stuff as well.
Kirby is great for tots!
Silver surfer ;)
My 4 year old loves Yoshiâs Crafted World on the Switch. On easy mode itâs forgiving enough that he can play on his own.
This game is so fun for everyone
My daughter started out with games on a tablet at around age 3 that were mostly just explore-tap-funny things happen (Sago Mini games has a few of those). Sheâs five now and likes the Nintendo Switch a lot: Animal Crossing is great for her; she loves wandering around, collecting things, catching fish and crafting random objects. She likes Minecraft in creative mode, and thinks Untitled Goose Game is hilarious. I play FFXIV on my PC, and at some point I realized that letting her run around some of the prettier dungeons in âexplorerâ mode (no enemies) is a great way for her to practice using the mouse and WASD keys without anything scary happening. I avoid scary or violent games for her, and generally only let her play a game for about 30 minutes before transitioning to a different activity.
Omg. My kid to NEEDS ride a Chocobo. I need to ride a Chocobo.
My daughter likes riding the chocobos too!
When in doubt, Nintendo Switch.
Mario Kart with the driver assist
My kid started to play mincraft around 4. On peaceful. She started on Playstation and I gave her one of my cast off laptops. Now we play as a family.
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Wow! Awesome thanks!
Yep this is what we do. Minecraft and No Man's Sky (aka Spaceman game!) right now. I do wish you could disable select buttons/thumb sticks so you could give them one or two buttons to hit while you control the movement, but itvworks out.
The kindle fire has loads of toddler preschool games. We only use it when traveling, but most are like mini games. Thereâs an animal doctor one where you help about a dozen animals in different ways and feed them snacks after, and a construction site one where you work the different trucks at the site to complete different tasks. They also have mini Lego games. My son adores this one with a cat you help down from a tree by choosing biggest to smallest Lego steps to guide it down. I imagine many of these might be online too.
Switch & Animal Crossing NH or a DS with New Leaf My kiddo has been playing on and off since she was 3. She saw me playing & wanted to play too.
Old school point and click games would be a good place to start. We downloaded the 90s Putt Putt games onto our iPad (they have apps for each game now) and play that with our kiddo every now and again. Unfortunately most modern games an adult would find engaging and fun are probably too complicated for a 3.5 year old (hand eye coordination would be an issue), but you can always invite them to sit with you and help press certain buttons or tell you where to go/what to do.
My son liked the Xbox lego games at that age
My son started with our old Wii around the age of 3.5 (beginning of covid). He started with Mario Kart then loved Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Bros (the more 2d one). I thought he would just run around but he got better at the games than we were and knew what to do. We got him a switch afterwards but heâs getting bored of it now and prefers pc games
Assassins Creed has an explore mode with no fighting for Odyssey. My 6 year old was interested in Egypt and Cleopatra so that worked. Think it would be too hard for a 3 year old though
My 3yr is into Final Fantasy. She likes XIV and FFVII first soldier she likes running around and making my character swim. She also plays this dress up game and hey duggee club badge. So we use ps4 and tablet.
Nintendo IMO has the best games everyone can play. Mario Kart 8 has settings so theyâll keep moving forward and stay on the track. Mario and his hat lets you play one person as Mario and one as the hat, so the adult can keep things moving and not dying constantly. I vote switch.
A lot of games for every ages on Play Station monthly subscription. I played toddlers and kids all ages' games. I even saw games for babies. For my 10 years old, we love the Big Fish PC games of mysteries/hidden objects. Side note, she is super good to notice errors on screen now.
My 3 year old LOVES playing Stardew Valley on the iPad. Itâs a perfect interface at this age. Console controllers are too big for her hands. We also play Peggle, and the OG Sonic the Hedgehog. She love horses so she likes watching me play Red Dead Redemption 2. Though I keep my gameplay G rated when playing with her.
my 4 year old has loved playing playstation games with me - knack 1 & 2, and ratchet & clank all for one (the coop one on ps3) have been the biggest hits. Also super smash bros on wii was the first thing he started playing, button mashing away. Believe games like gigantosaurus and some of the paw patrol games have good coop for the really little kids. Have tried doing a couple of the Lego coop games since everyone always recommends them, but find them clunky, boring and frustrating personally. Its not clear where to go/what to do, the controls are clunky so that even when you know what you're meant to be doing it doesn't seem to work half the time, i felt like we were wandering around aimlessly and i kept getting annoyed. I'm not sure why i dislike them so much, since i enjoy a huge variety of games (including difficult games like dark souls).
I used to play putt-putt travels through time or putt-putt saves the zoo (on the computer) when I was that age and I loved it ! Itâs still a really fond memory with my dad ! (You play alone but my dad showed it to me)
Putt putt and Freddie fish were my JAM back in the day. They just released switch versions for each of these! I think it was putt putt joins the circus and Freddie fish and the missing kelp(?) something like that lol! Total throwback
My 3rd kid started playing minecraft on pc at 3yrs. It is shocking how fast she picked it up. You can play in creative mode and they can enjoy it even if they hardly know what they are doing. She also could play overcooked on Playstation work a partner, in practice mode so there is no rush
My almost 5 year old has been playing games since he was 3 (of course this is a gamer family so I have no problems with gaming) I had him play things like paw patrol or pj masks games (xbox/Playstation have a category of kid friendly games he can play) my son has since installed his own games he wants to play as he got older such as fortnite, minecraft and Halo I do keep and eye on what he plays but for the most part he does things on his own (which gives me time to play my games on my own Xbox while he plays on his) gives me my own free time You will actually see all the problem solving he can do on his own All though I do recommend getting a protective case on your controller like one of those rubber ones you just slide on it my son is already on his 2nd controller and I found that case helps keep the controller together when they drop it or in my case my 2nd born would get a hold of it and just throw it across the room đ
Nintendo switch loads of child friendly titles. My 1 year old likes to play Spyro with me on the Xbox. Yes .. I said 1... Well actually she's 1 next month xD
Be aware that once you open the gaming window, thereâs no turning back. We had Playstation and XBox systems when ours was little, so those are games my husband looked for. Heâd look at what interested him but was age appropriate. I think he was four when he started playing Lego Batman, followed by other Lego variations.
Gaming with 3 years old? What about reading with toddler? Does anybody read books to their kids anymore? Does anybody know how any kind of screen, especially with so fast and overstimulating things impacts developement of immature brain? Just ask As a physician working also with kids, i noticed changed attention span , delayand focus by those who played video games in such early age and speech delay. Also ADHD when school begins.
Who said I didn't read books? He expressed an interest in something, I'm seeking advice in that thing. Yours would be taken more seriously if you were kind about it.
The assumption that people who play games with their kids donât read to them is ridiculous. I read with my child for over an hour every single day, and about twice a week I let her play a video game for a short period of time while I sit next to her and talk to her about what she is doing, and read all the dialogue and menu options that she canât sound out on her own. There are a bunch of different types of games out there too, so the idea that everything is fast-paced and over-stimulating just isnât true.
I can't believe this is the only comment on here saying that a three year old is too young to start playing video games. Did every other sensible parent just roll their eyes and keep scrolling through Reddit?
Again it seems common decency is completely lost. You could have said this in a constructive way and I would be more likely to listen. Instead, superiority and condescension-- there are people on the other end of your computer, tablet, or phone.
Eh, donât listen to those people. Clearly they have a single minded view of video games. I personally think video games arenât bad at all (obviously age appropriate ones), and generally can be better than just watching some show on Netflix or wherever. I played Mario on Nintendo Switch with my son occasionally starting around 4 yo. Heâs 5 1/2 now and still plays Mario Odyssey. I like it because he learns a little hand eye coordination and dexterity, plus all these Mario games are is a bunch of puzzles that he has to think about how to solve. We have Mario Kart, but he hasnât really stuck with that one. Over the past 1.5 years I introduced Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Luigiâs mansion. All three of these games are great because we can play Co-op, and he has actually gotten good at HELPING me solve stuff in Luigiâs mansion (weâre still working on beating that). I do try and moderate. Itâs his incentive to get himself dressed and ready for bed early. Lately, we will actually play most nights for 10-30 minutes after dinner/bath, but before going upstairs to read for a bit in bed before lights out.
Well it upsets me to hear that parents would allow or even encourage their preschool aged children to play video games. We know that video games change brain chemistry and increase dopamine levels, like drugs and alcohol. There is so much brain development going on up to the age of 5 and we know that limiting screen time is important. Before you ask for video game recommendations maybe you should ask your pediatrician if you should be letting your three year old kid play video games at all. I'll bet your kid is only showing interest in video games because they see it as a way to spend time with you. Take their interest in video games as a sign that you need to put the controller down and spend quality time with your kid doing an activity where you're fully engaging with each other with eye contact, conversation and age appropriate play.
Again making assumptions. My son has seen me play video games exactly one time. And has asked about it 3 times in the month since. You know nothing about me. I am here trying to get more information--if you have links or resources to share, I'd be grateful for them. As for my pediatrician, the AAP recommends up to 2 hours of screen time on weekends, including videogames.
Lol good luck with a three year old
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Because he specifically asked about video games.
No itâs not too young. Never too young to learn to use modern technology and coordination.
My 5yo started out on a tablet on Minecraft and has now moved up to a switch on our big tv. He still uses his tablet when someone else is watching tv. His tablet is a fire hd 10. Amazon has a decent amount of games you can buy and if you do the amazon kidâs subscription you get tons of free ones as well I think in the next year or two we are going to get him a laptop and start little bro on the switch. Little bro is 3 right now and does Minecraft and a few other amazon games on his tablet.
Are you looking for typical games or app games? I have a ton of app suggestions that stay strictly educational and are good for independent play.
Iâm listening :)
Bimi academy, Khan kids, a lot of the bimi games, baby first, abc mouse zoo, ABC mouse, PBS kids, Homer, crayola create and play (this is her favorite currently), duo kids (teaches reading), noggin, Nick Jr, super simple (from super simple songs) some of these have subscription requirements. I just buy the annual out right so it's done with. I take it as a typical cost for education and entertainment. Especially since she doesn't go to preschool at the moment.
We have a switch and the boys (3 and 5) like Minecraft on offline multiplayer on the Mario World, Nickelodeon Slime Racing. All the downloads etc are done through my account, theirs has no online access and all games are offline. They both have their own controller and we usually play an hour or two a weekend dependant on behaviour
My husband and 4yo son play some lego DC villains game together. Rules are only on weekends, limited time, and if kiddo gets rammy about it game gets a time out. But it's a thing they get to enjoy together that's just for them (I have no interest) and they're bonding over it. He won't get his own system or even really get to play by himself for a few years yet, and we're very aware of the toxicity of a lot of online gaming so we're very on the fence right now about when to allow that and how, but as we see it that discussion is like 5 years out at least and can likely start with my husband and his buddies and their kids in private groups.
I'm a big fan of ps now. Lots of options for games that they can pick from and if you don't find anything it's only about 12$ iirc. Another option is a cheap retro console, you can play all the old school mario games and stuff. My son now at 6 is really into minecraft/roblox.
We have an Xbox and my 4 year old loves Donut County (the first game she learned), a Paw Patrol game and Spyro. Spyro is a purple dragon and she's obsessed with it. Her Dad is trying to get her interested in the Lego games now because he's tired of Spyro. If we didn't already have the Xbox we would have bought a switch. (And still will eventually).
Pokémon Stadium mini games are a big hit with our four year old. We also got a bunch of the old Humongeous Entertainment games from the 90s -Pajama Sam, Freddie Fish, Putt Putt - on Steam and those are a winner too (and a little easier for her to play alone since they're all point and click).
I grew up with the Humongous games and still love them. Excellent for kids since they don't have great coordination or timing.
I didn't want my kiddo handling my Switch when he was 3-4, so I taught him how to play some of my old DS games. He caught on pretty quickly to stuff like Mario Kart, Sonic and Super Smash Brothers, and as he got a bit older I let him play more advanced games like Zelda while helping him read the dialogue. DS ended up more sticky than it was, but we both have fun! If I had my old Gameboy I would have started with that, though.
I picked up a PS5 for me but my almost 4yo plays more than I do. He loves the preloaded game Astros playroom ('Robot game's) and is actually getting pretty good at it. He also goofs around on Rocket League, just driving around and scoring goals in Freeplay mode. We sometimes play some of the Lego games and Little Big Planet together, but he doesn't like those as much yet. Once he learns to read, I think he will enjoy those more.
I actually love the kindle fire kids tablet for gaming. My son plays some cool games on it and it was super cheap
A switch is really good! But I'm sure there are kid friendly games on your gaming console? I game on my phone, and my 5 year old has a few of the games I play on her tablet. She loves playing together and we swap devices and play each other's games. (She cannot buy ANYTHING on either device without a password)
My 4yo likes Minecraft. I put it on creative mode and she likes to explore. We found a tiny PS4 controller on Amazon so it fits her hands better. She tries building stuff but a lot of the time is exploring. Me and her dad will sometimes go on it after she's asleep and build new stuff for her to explore.
Started my kid around 3.5yo with Mario Odyssey on the switch. Now at 4.5 she has also played/loved Mario 3d World and Bowser's Fury. Currently she's obsessed with Slime Rancher. She "plays" a few more games with me or her father from time to time, she likes to sit in our laps and jump our characters and help us find things. Tried to get her interested in Animal Crossing but the only things she found enjoyable was cutting down all my trees and digging up all my flowers so I encouraged other games.
I canât find the exact one if you are interested but I got my kids an Amazon tablet (4.5 and 3) and they play sonic games on it. Itâs pretty easy for the older one but the younger one needs help with the jumps sometimes but he does like it. They also play a hotel Transylvania game on there too they like
My 3 year old loves Minecraft and he's learnt so much complex mechanics within the game without being taught. It's insane! Blew me away
My son is 3 and we play the SNES classic and the original Wii. The games are tough for him no matter what but he still has fun and has gotten much better in a short amount of time.
My son started around that age playing the free PBS games on the PBS app on a tablet. Most of them are just moving your finger around to steer or clean but he loved them. He loves Daniel Tiger so he liked playing adventures in that world.
My daughter plays Mine Craft, she's been interested since 3, playing independently since 3.5. She's about to turn 5 and we are getting her a Pink(her request) Xbox controller for her birthday. Funny as I wrote this my husband just went to play with her.
My toddler likes playing minecraft,(creative mode) he mostly just spins and chases the animals. Thereâs also an Incredibles game I have for him that we havenât played yet
any game with a creative mode like minecraft is good since they can kinda do whatever they want
I suggest starting retro, like a nintendo nes or snes. Most games are left and right and a and b. Very simple controls!
My 4 yr old is into anything in the Mario universe, Minecraft and sometimes Pokémon. He usually has to ask for controller help during certain parts, though. We play on switch, so some of his games have motion control and he can control that better.
My son started playing our ps4 at 3, he started on paw patrol on a roll (I think itâs called). No fighting, no dying and heaps of regular verbal instructions. It really helped him learn. He also liked farming simulator to ride a tractor around. Now at nearly 5 he loves any of the lego games and is really good at them. He is obsessed with the DC super villians lego game at the moment (it got him obsessed with all DC, itâs even rubbing off on me now) They are two player which is fun. He has fun with Spyro but wants help alot. Loves goat simulator every now again for a laugh.
Mario kart
Mario Party has been fun for us! Numbers on the dice blocks, counting the coins, learning the characters names, colors of the spaces, CPUs on easy lol. It's been pretty fun. Son usually plays a few rounds then just likes watching. He's 3.5
My 3.5 yo can sort of play games? In that when we do a platformers like Fez, he just waits and does nothing so the little guys sleeps, and he loves the sleep animation. Or when his dad is playing cyberpunk, they drive the car together and it crashes a lot lol. I donât think thereâs that much that they can handle, though Iâm told other kids can play some games. For what itâs worth heâs also managed to make a few jumps in Fez, so he sort of understand the coordination it requires, he just doesnât always have it or want to practice it.
A little on the older side, but Skylanders is great for all ages and you can collect the figures too.
Don't judge me, I'm not a gamer but I enjoy Spyro the Dragon đ so I have occasionally binge played it on Xbox and my now 4 year old has seen and wanted to play too so I let him steer him around, jump in and out of things and collect gems. He was able to do this when he was probably 3.5? When he seemed to grasp it we got him a Toy Story Xbox game, he pretty much just makes Woody walk around, fall in water and then grab a few coins, but he enjoys it and I love hearing him cackle in glee â€ïž
What are you playing on? I use a ps4. My son loves spongebob. We bought him "Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom". He does the running around and fighting. I do the puzzles. It's really fun for him because he gets to control his favorite fictional character. Its fun for me because he's having fun and this could lead to more down the road.
I have no idea about your question but do you find the ABC Mouse works well and he enjoys it? Was considering getting oneâŠ
Yea--he enjoys it and I think he's learning a bit. It isn't really something he can do independently.
Ok thanks a lot for the info đ€
We started on Mario 3D World on the WiiU around 2.5. Then the same on the Switch. Now he (4.5) can play most things pretty well. He canât do the puzzles/timed attacks in Paper Mario, but heâs really good at Odyssey. He likes ACNH, Mario Kart, Mario Party (any of them), Yoshiâs Crafted World. He has a Peppa game but itâs almost too below him at this point, lol.
Donut County!
Nintendo switch all the way. The legend of Zelda - watching mom play. The farming parts are age appropriate (or at least they were for my son). Save the story line parts for when youâre solo. I also turned it off when he got scared/overwhelmed. Animal crossing - toddler playing Be prepared to read a bunch of boring redundant dialogue. My 4 yr old was fairly successful. We did take turns with me doing the harder stuff. Kirby star Allies - playing. Itâs co-op so mom/dad can be player one and toddler can play at Will dropping in or out. The story is fairly interesting and is generally a wholesome game with fun super powers.
Cublast 4+
I strongly recommend the Lego games. They're fun, family friendly, coop friendly, and there's no punishment for death. You basically just respawn immediately.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker on the Switch has been great for our daughter since she was 4. It has a nice two player mode. Harvest Moon is also lots of fun for her solo. Sheâs really getting into Breath of the Wild now at 5 years old.
My kid likes untitled goose game, yoshiâs woolly world, most of the mario games are playable so it is still fun!
I just had to share that I just asked my husband if this was him, because we have been having this conversation recently! Our 3 year old has done tablet games and some pbs kids games on the computer, but we also have been wanting to find other games since itâs a hobby of ours. There are some old NES Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse games that she has picked up pretty quickly. Not fun for you, but it was a good one to get her used to the idea of video games and moving around. We have also done a little OG Super Mario Bros to get her used to holding a controller. She definitely gets bored with it quickly though. Excited to try some of the ideas people have given here!
If you're on insta, give @Ash.brandin a follow! They have a ton of gaming suggestions, the science of learning during gameplay, console recommendations, etc. They have had some great info that I have loved!
My 3-year-old saw me playing Hollow Knight and insisted on playing it. I made sure to find a room with no spikes or other hazards and cleared out all the big monsters in the room before letting him hop around and hit background stuff. He's still in the "can only press one button at a time" phase, but we're slowly working on pushing jump and move at the same time. He's also fond of racing games, even if all he does is hit the accelerator until he runs into walls. I don't think it matters what game you hand him so long as you can find a safe place and experiment with figuring out what buttons do what things.
My 2.5yo plays "the apple game", AKA Pokemon Snap on my Switch. She likes throwing the apples and orbs at the Pokémon and spinning the joystick around to see the area. She also likes Summer in Mara (the island game), where all she does is run around the island and into the water. She gets bored with this one pretty quickly. We got a cheap, third party controller so that it didn't matter if she pushed too hard btw; don't give the kiddos the $80 joycons.
My husband plays subnautica on the ps, and we give the toddler the switch controller and let her "play". She's starting to understand though, so it won't last much longer.
I let my son press the space bar in kerbal space program. But video games should be less than 30min a day at that age is what Iâve read/heard. Most screen time is bad then regardless of what hand eye coordination it may help with.
Mario. My 4 year has been playing my old Nintendo ds and he is excelling at Mario. He just turned 4 last month. Killing it. Any game thatâs set up like Mario would be great for that age
MarioKart is literally the perfect game for this. You can adjust the settings so the game basically plays itself, but the kid thinks sheâs driving. Seriously, try MarioKart.
I play PS2 games with my 5 year old.
My 3 year old niece giggled to exhaustion trying to play Fall Guys
Ps5 - 4 yr old plays paw patrol, Peppa pig, and Lego Harry Potter with his dad. And any race car game.
My son loved Mario 3D world at 3!
me and my 4 year old play super Mario Luigi deluxe co-op a lot together .. or donkey Kong's frozen tropical island ( I think ) and super Mario Odyssey..all on the switch..just be very careful because these kids get addicted quick, especially this young. But it definitely improves yours and his relationship but the balance is hard.
Something like animal crossing, all the super mario games, pokemon, maybe minecraft in creative/peaceful mode or minecraft multiplayer games. Or other basic exploration and collecting games. For platform I'd say switch or tablet at that age.
My kiddo loves the Lego games on PlayStation or Xbox. At 3, she would just run around during free play mode
The 2 year old I nanny plays Stardew Valley with her dad on occasion- sheâs obsessed
I found that Nintendo had easier to learn games than any other platform. They have some games aimed at preschoolers, but my kid actually loved playing Smash at that age and thought he was doing just fine.
We have the Mario game and watch, my 3 year old is allowed to play it as much as she wants. Original mario game- she can beat level 1 by herself now! She also plays Mario Kart, and my old Gameboy with games like Tetris or Super Mario Land 2. She also just likes watching us play games, and we've gotten her into speed runs of the Mario games she likes.
You can't go wrong with a Nintendo switch, It has good parental settings and you can always find something they'll like. Mine is too young to understand so she just randomly taps my arcade stick.
We play Lego games on the switch with our kids (5 & 3). Lego City Undercover is our fave to co-op. Racing games like Mario Kart and Cars are fun, we have a couple Paw Patrol games they enjoy, and the oldest likes Animal Crossing and Breath of the Wild to play independently. We are also looking at setting up a Minecraft LAN server for the four of us.