Times Your Parents got Mad That You played Videogames

Lost my parents early, don't want to be too negative here, they were awesome and I have so much to thank them for ❤️

BUT…
My mom often said: "You've been playing games almost all day now! Go out and play instead or you'll get square eyes!"

She was right. I now have square eyes.
Glasses Wow GIF by Originals
 
Last edited:
I'll never forget learning the sub zero finisher in MK.

"HEY MOM COME LOOK"

"ok watch....... Oh woah see that?! I pulled his head right off and his spine is there and everything, look at the blood dripping off!!!

What a stupid idea that was. She yanked it out of the genesis and took it away. I can't remember what happened after that...
 
Basically never. But i was poor as a kid. I think the only console they ever bought me was a sega master system.

however my lady has gotten angry many times at me as an adult.
 
My parents are and have always been very supportive of my gaming habits. My mom got me a PS1 on her first trip to the US from Haiti. My dad Shipped me a PS2 at launch... it felt like I was dreaming.. I could not believe it despite it being on the table(He complained about the pricetag for years tho).

When I came to the US, I became a deadbeat pseudo-adult who only smokes weed and played games... My dad offered me his Lexus for my birthday near the Switch launch and I told him I don't want that crap... please get me a Switch... he did...

Also got me a PS4 when my gaming PC broke.... My bother offered the PS4 but bailed... my dad stepped in and bought me every game I asked for despite being like 28 at that point.

By the time the PS5 came I figured my shit out and was able to buy it myself and a 4k TV... I was splitting rent half and half and paying bills.

Still today he burst into my room and ask me if I am beating the Brazilians(I complain to him about them sometimes) on Pro evo. Or how my German Path of Exile "Girlfriend/Mentor" is doing.

Mom is always very supportive too.

The people I have gotten crap from are:
My game dev friend who insists games are for kids and that they are his target demographics and that adult should not play games and smoke weed all day and very vocal.... Even took a fellow game and weed guy's girlfriend with through doing that.

My Albanian very close friend... almost a sister who insist games are a waste of time.. and is obsessed about raising he twin boys the "correct" way.(I feel so sorry for those boys)

My current Girlfriend who was like... you play games? games are for kids lol... but she is from a very poor background and I can understand that gaming is very foreing to her... I try not to mention gaming to her much... but it might become a problem at some point.

I do have a gamer lady friend I am quite fond of... and she is the next person I'll try to get with if things to wok out with the current relationship... but things are going ok... and I am really attached to this anti-gaming girl... we will see
 
My parents never really cared about me playing video games. The closest example I can think of is them not letting me play M rated games until I was about 15.
 
They tried to keep me from playing, but they soon had to realize that this was an goal, they would never be able to archive.
It was absolutely pointless, because the moment they looked away I was right back at my sega genesis.
 
My mother says if she would be in my age she would also play games. Infact she plays Bejeweld and she loved my DS with some games (Meteos DS, minigames from Mario DS, Peggle)
My father is not very fond of videogames.
 
Last edited:
My whole childhood.

My mother used to hide my Commodore 64 quite often, because I wouldn't do anything else - including my studying and my homeworks.
But I just always found it and played anyway - boy, was I in trouble when she realized I did.
 
My Mom never liked video games and my Dad never really spent much time with me.
I saved up all my money and bought Tecmo Super Bowl. Got to fire it up about 10 minutes before bed time. My Dad is a football fan so had some interest in it and ended up playing with me.
Mom: "It's Bedtime"
Dad: "Give us 5 minutes"
hoots and hollers
Mom: "Time for Bed"
Dad: "turning it off"
More Hoots and Hollers
Mom Screaming: "Time for Bed"
Dad: "Yeah"
Extreme hoots and hollers as Bo Jackson runs for a 96 yd touchdown
Dad: "shhh"
Mom screaming "It's fucking bedtime. Send Chix to bed now!"

Went on like this all night. Seriously a fond memory. Most of my bonding times with my Dad were the few times he decided to play games with me. And my mom hated it every time.
 
I feel like it all boiled down to priorities. If I didn't focus on what was important or if my parents really wanted to teach me their lesson they'd make me feel bad about enjoying video games.

Both my parents and step father criticized it. I was going to tech school for game design (didn't work out for me) and years later they'd throw my enjoyment of games to some 20-year old hobby. My father passed away. He really didn't care towards the end of his life. He bought me the Japanese version of Crisis Core months before he passed away as a present.

I look back and think it was just one big giant mess. My dad and mom enjoyed getting me games. My dad bought me M rated games when I was 15/16. I had Silent Hill, MGS, GTA, and RE at launch. I had Babbages call and say I needed to have an adult with me to pick up the game and it was no big deal.

I think my parents wanted me to do more with my life than sit alone playing games. I totally understand the value of building your life. You have to prioritize what's important. What I disagree with is ageism and degrading video games. I hear and see other people talk bad about video games. I don't like that and I feel like a lot of people are not aware of how giant this medium is. I also feel like lots of people don't consider it as an acceptable form of entertainment for all ages. They just see it as something kids do or that's it's just a senseless toy.
 
I was so in to Final Fantasy 3 that I refused to leave the house for Scouts. My mom tried to take the game away from me but I was borrowing it and she had thrown my things away before. I talked her down, but she didn't even remember who my best friend was despite us callling each other every night. She insisted that I wasn't going to interact with this Rob (his name was Bob) character anymore. Similar thing happened a few years later when I had my own PS1. She took the door off of my room because I just didn't interact with her anymore. I moved out less than a year later.
 
Yeah, my dad was very anti-videogame. However, I was fortunate to get NES when i was like 7 or 8. Back then, I was a very timid and excitable kid.

I remember playing Super Mario Bros back then and made it to 1-4 (bowsers castle) for the first time and got very excited/nervous. Videogames up to that point were basically Donkey Kong/Space Invaders/Pac Man, etc. so the whole concept of a boss level and a fire breathing dragon-guy boss to defeat was about the most intense thing I experienced back then. My dad, seeing my excitement, felt my heartbeat, which was racing, and basically freaked out and immediately took the Nintendo away from me, because that "wasn't healthy".

I eventually got it back in a few weeks, but from then on, gaming was always a very sneaky thing I did as a child, because of all the dumb ways my dad would react to things. I would play very quietly, volume down real low, because I really didn't want to attract his attention in any way that I was playing games and get some dumb reaction. If I bought games (even when I was a young adult prior to moving out), I always snuck them in to avoid a "comment" being made. I snuck in new consoles as I got older (he got pissed when he first saw I had GameCube, LOL) and with absolute disgust in his voice, was like "You're 23, aren't you EVER going to outgrow that garbage?" I'm 44 now, and the answer is nope, lol.
 
Last edited:
When I was growing up, playing videogames past age 12 was seen as some sort of moral failing or source of shame, as though you were shooting heroin into your toes. After all, these were merely "children's toys," why are you still playing with them? What's wrong with you?

Thankfully, that has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, in no small part because today's parents (and grandparents) grew up playing videogames themselves.
 
I had my ps1 hooked up to the living room TV. Both my parents worked night shift for a job, and normally when they would get ready for work they'd watch TV and I'd turn off my game.

Well this one night I had finally beaten Final Fantasy 7… and I wanted to see the ending. As it's trying to play out my mom gets mad and told me to turn it off, right now. I explained I just beat it and just wanted to see the ending, but she wasn't having it and pulled the cord on it.

I cried like a little bitch.

Long story short I haven't talked to her in years now as an adult and have her blocked from any communication. Same with my sister. She did a lot of psychological damage (far beyond this) to me and my sister. She needed and still needs therapy and meds to deal with the trauma.

Sephiroth > mom.

Side note— when I first ever beat Mario 64, my dad asked me to beat it again so he could see the ending with me as he sat by me. He was not at all a gamer, but he was always supportive.
 
My parents didn't care whether I played games all day or not. But other than the Pong system my dad got at an auction in 1974 when i was 6, they never bought any game systems, I had to find a way to get the money to buy them myself. So between 6 and 14, I played games at friend's houses. At 14 I got a paper route to afford games. I've pretty much always had a job after that. So yeah, they let me game all I wanted.
 
Shifty1897 said:
Every time Dateline ran a child shooter story my parents would hide my gaming shit for a few weeks. Being a gamer kid post-Columbine was a fucking nightmare.
Click to expand...

Old post, but holy shit this SO HARD. It was ridiculous. Religious parents back then were treating Doom/II the same way the wokies are treating Hogwarts Legacy now, even though the games were like 6 years old at that point.

On a lighter note, I remember being able to convince my mom to buy me Resident Evil 2 for one of my birthdays. I had to tell her that the zombies in the game were the result of biological chemicals, and had nothing to do with demons, Hell, or religion.
 
Wasn't really an issue for me growing up. Though one time right before Xmas, where I was super excited for Driver 2 on PSX, I convinced my grandmother to rent it for me so I could play before so I didn't have to wait. I asked my mom to rent it for me numerous times and she declined as it was her gift to me. I was ultra excited for it, obviously. Anyways, my mom found out I went behind her back to play it and spoiled my Xmas present.. she was furious. Took my PS away until right before Xmas itself lol.
 
They never really minded, buy I also didn't give them any reason to. I always made sure to fulfill my responsabilities first (school), so I could do what I wanted on my free time.
 
Last edited:
My parents yelled at us when we played too much too late at night. But nothing hardcore like grounding or banning us from playing. In fact, they would add to it by buying us more games!

As long as my siblings and I all got good grades (which we did), they didn't really care at the end of the day.

The more important thing was it was a money waster. And them being cheap it was a big no no. But then if it was why buy us consoles and more games? lol

My dad did play a bit of gaming with us in the early 80s. Not a lot. He just played some easy to understand shoot everything that moves games.
 
Last edited:
I can remember three times my parents spoke out about my enjoyment of games. One was when I asked my dad about going to get Capcom vs SNK on Xbox. He made the comment that I was too old for that. The other was when I was driving my mom to work and I was listening to the Silent Hill 2 OST. She told me that it was time for me to grow up and that I had joyed games for far too long. The last one I remember was my step father made the comment over dinner "isn't that something someone only does in their 20's". Granted I was in my mid to late 20's this time. It didn't feel any different.

They don't ask what you like, they don't ask why you like it, nor do they ask what the game is called. It's just them telling you you shouldn't enjoy it.
 
This was AGES ago but I do remember one specific moment. My dad never liked me playing video games, especially violent ones which I played all the time. I was playing Max Payne 1, I put the speakers on blast because it was that one trippy level where you have to follow a blood trail on the empty ground and listen to where the baby and wife screams are coming from, prompting you to turn into that direction. He was in the same room reading a book, he went into full on Karen mode lol. Told me I was a satanist, how can I play such trash, that i must be a junkie and failure in life bla bla bla. I think that was the game that broke the camels back. Since then I couldnt play those type of games if he was in the same area.
 
Last edited:
They didn't care, but always looked down on it.
It all started with both my parents getting wrecked by the 1st goomba in SMB1.
Couldn't even pass it, despite 8-year-old me explaining how to run and jump.
They've been salty ever since.
 
Dad fucked off with another woman when I was 2. These days I speak to him occasionally but that's it. My mom actually got me into games. I remember watching her play super mario world and being amazed. Maybe I never would have been into games without her.

I have had extended family members who look down on it though. They still see it as childish and a "waste of time". Makes no sense because you can define so many things as wasting time. Atleast gaming is more interactive than watching TV like a zombie.
 
Last edited:
You know those red skidmarks you leave when you run people over in GTA 1? Yeah, my parents didn't appreciate those in what they thought was a cute little top down driving game I was playing.
 
Back in the 80's, my Dad had a case with a lot of media attention. One afternoon, his office called our house asking where my Dad was. Local news had showed up to interview him at his office, but he had left early saying he was going home. Apparently, he told my Mom that he had to work late that night, so she started pitching a fit thinking he was having an affair. No mobile phones in the 80's. No one knew where he was.

A few hours later, someone spotted my Dad in a mall arcade. No shit he had been there all day playing Ms. Pacman.

My Dad lied to his wife and co-workers and blew off a guaranteed TV spot for video games. He was my hero.
 
The time I stayed up till 4am playing Secret of Evermore. I ended up never getting to finish it. Square needs to remaster that game.
 
Parents never really told me off but they never were really happy I played them. They were just indifferent on the issue.
I do remember one time working in retail and there was a brand new Sega Saturn that we had spare for $80 that I found in the back stockroom. I had it on hold to buy once I'd finished but I decided against it as I thought my parents would've gotten upset if I wasted money on another console. Massive regrets there I can tell you that much…
 
Nah, I don't recall my folks ever criticizing my enthusiasm for gaming but then again, I spent a lot of my free time hanging out with friends and doing typical teenager shit so maybe that's why my gaming didn't bother them that much.
 
Back in school my mom would not allow us to play videogames for more than one hour a day, despite the fact that we did our homework.
She even restricted us during summer break. And when she went away during the moring hours to summer class (english teacher), the doors to the livingroom would be locked so we couldnt play uncontrolled.
Sadly for her we were smarter and noticed that all the keys to the house-internal doors were imprinted with tiny numbers, with some numbers repeating across the keys in the house. So we would wait for her to leave, take another fitting key from another door and play N64 all morning.
We even had friends over. Never got caught either.
Good old times.
 
Last edited:
My parents are pretty awesome :)
Usually when I talk to my mum on the phone or visit, mum or dad will ask me what I'm currently playing.

My mum doesn't play video games, but she thinks they are incredible value for the price you pay and the amount entertainment you receive.

My dad does though, he stopped for a VERY long time, thanks to Dino Crises 3, what he hated, but prior to that he really enjoyed Golden Axe 1/2, The Immortal, Soul Reaver, Vagrant Story, Dino Crises 1/2, Onimusha Genma, Blue Stinger, Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, 4, code Veronica.

& Then I gave him my old Xbox one X, he got hooked on shadow of war for a long time, and now Witcher 3 & has a series X now (completed it once already eliminating every single ? Of the map in the base game and expansions, and now doing a second run-through on one difficulty below the highest)

& I have got resident evil 4 remake ordered for him for release date (he beat that game so many times back to back on the GameCube) :)
 
Last edited:
Never. My parents actually got me into gaming when I was a kid. It also didn't hurt that I played multiple sports growing up, and if it was daylight I was outside playing. I imagine if I sat in the house all day playing games they would have had issues with it, though.
 
Having grown up with boomer parents , they weren't interested in video games what's so ever. Only game my mom played was ms pac man and the Mario land game for the original game boy.

Though when me and my brother started playing Diablo 2, my mom would at time take the keyboard / mouse and phone line (this was 2000 again… dial up) and give them back on on weekends. No gaming during school nights.


23 years later, I'm sure I'm going to limit the screen time my kid will have on their iPad / computer / console (he's only 1 year old atm), though I'll never judge them for playing games when I myself still do at present day at the age of 38. Going to be interesting when he gets old enough to play video games for thr first time around 5 - 7.
 
Last edited:
TheGodfather07 said:
Dad fucked off with another woman when I was 2. These days I speak to him occasionally but that's it. My mom actually got me into games. I remember watching her play super mario world and being amazed. Maybe I never would have been into games without her.

I have had extended family members who look down on it though. They still see it as childish and a "waste of time". Makes no sense because you can define so many things as wasting time. Atleast gaming is more interactive than watching TV like a zombie.
Click to expand...


Technically, since we are all mortal and doomed to die, literally everything we do is a "waste of time." Might as well do something that you enjoy while you're alive.
 
My father would always come with me at the arcades ~ 1996, and watch me play Aliens by Konami. Every weekend. It was such a nice time, we loved those moments.

I also had an Atari, and a bit later a Master System, at home and my mother would go nuts whenever i used the colour TV in the living room, because someone told her the console would break the TV.
 
Aw - I just got back from my Dad's 85th birthday party. Nice night!

This reminds me of when I was a kid. I have twin brothers who were two grades behind me in school. I can remember when the Atari 2600 first game out and me and my brothers would play games like Combat and Adventure for hours after school. My Dad came home from work every day at 5:00, and we would always be playing. This would set him off, and I can remember him yelling at us "Look at you just sitting there MOVING LIGHTS AROUND ON THE SCREEN. You should go outside and get some exercise!!!!"

Looking back on that, the man was ahead of his time in terms of anticipating the childhood obesity crisis and kids not getting enough exercise. :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Not only that, knowing what I know now, I should have been outside working on my golf game after school (as opposed to waiting until the age of 50 to pick up golf).
 
Got in trouble a few times because my older brother and I should have been bundling newspapers for our paper routes but we were too occupied trying to get another Star in Mario 64, lol.

Needless to say, my mom was not impressed that my older brother managed to get all 120 stars and found Yoshi on the castle roof. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
My mom herself was addicted to Arkanoid and was honestly better at it than I was. She also liked Spyro on PS1 and even though it is not the game she is enjoying TLOU tv show.
 
Parents never once took away my video game. Being that i have a high iq, i would constantly question and pester them about various topics. They liked me on the "video game" because it calmed me down and let me focus on something (for a while)
 
And.... as parents around the world know.. that only makes you want to play games more!
ResetEra and /r/gamingcirclejerk would be wise to have learned from this.. but they aren't wise, so they haven't.
 
My parents were cool with me playing games as long as my school grades were good so nothing bad on my side.

in 1998 though, my father got us a computer with an internet connection which was mostly used by me to play games. after about 3 weeks, he got mad about hearing the clicky sound of the keyboard and mouse while watching tv and told me to take the damn thing in my bedroom (my bedroom was formerly an large attic he renovated into a bedroom). He drilled into 2 ceilings a few days later so I could plug the internet cable in the bedroom and there I was: 12 years old with a computer and an internet connection away from everybody. Do I need to say more?
 
fart town usa said:
Got in trouble a few times because my older brother and I should have been bundling newspapers for our paper routes but we were too occupied trying to get another Star in Mario 64, lol.

Needless to say, my mom was not impressed that my older brother managed to get all 120 stars and found Yoshi on the castle roof. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
Click to expand...


I must say, as a 49-year-old divorced parent, finding Yoshi on the roof is a more satisfying achievement than the paper route.

This is one of those lessons you learn after your entire office department gets de-rezzed after a corporate merger. Work harder, Jetson!
 
My dad hates it. Still does. He tells me grow up and get a job.

I'm all "dad I'm 36, I'm grown, also where's mom at? I need a sandwich"

Thank goodness my mom just stays in her lane and makes me sandwiches!
 
Just one time specifically.

Got up around 7 or 8 AM on a Saturday to link up with the guild and get ready to run NAXX.

Think my dad left the house around 9am for what ever.

Usual unorganized guild bullshit so we didn't actually start the run until around 11am.

Dad pulled in just after 11. Asks why im still on the computer and if im going fishing still or what ever it was I was thinking of doing on a nice summers day.

Uhh no. Im just starting now.

A lot of stress in the house for a multitude of reasons but yea. He lost his shit.
 
user friendly said:
I'll never forget learning the sub zero finisher in MK.

"HEY MOM COME LOOK"

"ok watch....... Oh woah see that?! I pulled his head right off and his spine is there and everything, look at the blood dripping off!!!

What a stupid idea that was. She yanked it out of the genesis and took it away. I can't remember what happened after that...
Click to expand...
Did you end up trying it in real life when you grew up?

Be honest now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Your Top 3 Shocking Moments in Videogames
2 3
118
664
xrnzaaas replied
  • Poll
Do you consider videogames as an art?
2 3
111
647
Jesb replied
  • Poll
For those of you that played the original Death Stranding
2 3
149
1K
Danny22 replied
  • Locked
My man Musk berates Ubi sponsoring controversial streamer for Shadows, got ratio'ed by Ubi: "the guy playing your POE2 account told you that?"
Social Drama  2 3
140
9K
Hugare replied
Whats your favorite videogame *Trailer* of all time? Share here!
2 3
139
4K
MasterDerico replied
Top Bottom