Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has made gaming his profession: He discovered Fortnite at just the right time and took over Twitch by storm in 2018. Now he gives parents tips in a podcast on how to deal with their gamer children.
Where do the tips come from? Tyler “Ninja” Blevins reached unprecedented heights on Twitch with the Fortnite hype in 2018. Three years later, he had lost 88% of his viewers. In the meantime, he is also involved in other projects besides streaming. He offered a course for aspiring content creators and has now launched his own podcast, AFK w/Ninja.
In the first episode, which aired on September 11, 2023, on Spotify, he spoke with his Fortnite colleague Ali “SypherPK” Hassan about how his parents handled the young Ninja’s passion for gaming and explained why the hobby can definitely be something positive.
Twitch streamer advises: Use it to your advantage
What tips does Ninja give to parents of gamers? The streamer acknowledges that gaming does not necessarily have the best reputation among parents. However, he advises parents not to see the hobby as “this terrible thing” that just happens to children.
Ninja explains: The kids are well cared for in their parents’ home: “There is no safer place in the world than being in your room playing video games as long as you keep an eye on what they are doing there.” The last note is probably important, after all, Ninja’s favorite game Fortnite has the reputation of not always being quite a safe place for children.
In addition, he advises parents to use their children’s passion for gaming:
You can use it to your advantage. I mean, my mom made me do more chores around the house. I had to be more active outside to be able to play more inside. And that was when I was really young, like 7 to 12.
SypherPK agreed with Ninja, there must be a balance. For his parents, gaming was fine as long as he could maintain his grades and didn’t miss any basketball practice.
Ninja’s words are probably directed more at parents who are not so familiar with gaming themselves. For parents who are passionate gamers themselves, it looks a bit different. If you want to cautiously introduce your offspring to gaming, you can find a list of suitable games with us:
